Tandy Eco Flo Dye

Sgt. C.J. Sabre · July 17, 2010, 08:24:42 PM

Hi Guys,
I'm fairly new here, but I have been working with leather for ten years or so. Mostly gun belts, holsters, knife sheaths, and such.
Recently I was told that oil and alcohal based dyes are going away, so I tried some Eco Flo dye. I am NOT impressed. :-[after dyeing and letting set a while, I went to buff the piece only to have the dye, (black), almost peel off.
Anybody got any suggestions on how to have that not happen?

amin ledbetter · July 17, 2010, 08:45:53 PM

Man never heard of Eco peelin off! What were you dying? ( what type of leather, and what had been done to it previously? )

Sgt. C.J. Sabre · July 17, 2010, 11:43:31 PM

Maybe peeling isn't a good description. Wiping off in strips might be more accurate. It was new, veg tanned leather. The only thing that had been applied was a liittle water for the border.

cowboywc · July 18, 2010, 04:20:32 AM

Howdy
Who said the other dyes were going away? A Tandy store?
WC

santee · July 18, 2010, 08:28:56 AM

I was told that, too, at our Tandy store: "We're slowly switching over to eco-flo dyes"
I have to tell you, they ain't bad so far. Just did some spur straps with their Ranger Tan and come out nice. Still did a good job of drying the leather out, though.

Sgt. C.J. Sabre · July 18, 2010, 10:41:39 AM

Quote from: santee on July 18, 2010, 08:28:56 AM
I have to tell you, they ain't bad so far. Just did some spur straps with their Ranger Tan and come out nice. Still did a good job of drying the leather out, though.

Glad to hear it. How did you get the stuff to stay in the leather?

Mogorilla · July 18, 2010, 11:09:10 AM

I too have had good luck with the eco-flo. I essentially case the leather before applying the dye. Works fine. I wipe off after a few minutes and buff when the piece is dry.

amin ledbetter · July 18, 2010, 11:49:42 AM

Same here Mongo! I have had my stuff turn out fine with the Eco Flow stuff. I just recently started using Fiebings Spirit and Oil dyes, but I have had good turn outs with the Eco Flo As well.

These were all done with Eco Flo

cowboywc · July 18, 2010, 01:31:25 PM

The other dyes are not going away, it's just that Tandy is pushing hard on their dyes. Fiebings has all the others available.
WC

amin ledbetter · July 18, 2010, 04:50:11 PM

Quote from: cowboywc on July 18, 2010, 01:31:25 PM
The other dyes are not going away, it's just that Tandy is pushing hard on their dyes. Fiebings has all the others available.
WC

Isn't most of Tandy's decision to wean out the spirit dyes because of California regulations and being unable to ship the spirit and alcohol based products into or out of California?

JD Alan · July 18, 2010, 10:25:45 PM

I will not use the Eco Flo all in one again. What a mess!

Mogorilla · July 19, 2010, 06:51:00 AM

JD,
I have had good luck with the all-in-ones, same method, as with the other eco flos. I semi-case the leather, put on the dye, then spray the leather with a squrit bottle and go over it with a soft cotton cloth. The first one is ranger tan all-in-one, second colour I can't remember.

Ten Wolves Fiveshooter · July 19, 2010, 09:00:45 AM

Quote from: Mogorilla on July 19, 2010, 06:51:00 AM
JD,
I have had good luck with the all-in-ones, same method, as with the other eco flos. I semi-case the leather, put on the dye, then spray the leather with a squrit bottle and go over it with a soft cotton cloth. The first one is ranger tan all-in-one, second colour I can't remember.

Howdy Mongo

You say you spray the leather after casing and dyeing, using a squirt bottle to spray, what are you spraying with, water?or dye?

Thanks for the information, this should help us all when using Ecoflo dyes.

tEN wOLVES

JD Alan · July 19, 2010, 09:02:42 AM

Well, it just goes to show if someone actually knows what they are doing, things go a little better

I used it to try to color match a Wild Bunch holster to a guys existing SAA rig. I will experiment with it the way you indicated.

10 W, sounds to me like water, but then we've already established that I don't know much!

Thanks for the tip, JD

Springfield Slim · July 19, 2010, 10:47:38 AM

About 2 years ago the California Tandy stores had to get rid of the alcohol based dyes due to the high VOC content, and started selling the Eco-Flo. Fiebings has since started making a version that is legal here but I haven't tried it yet. With the Eco-Flo I have found that you REALLY have to let it dry for a couple of days. Especially with the antique dys, which are my favorite, but also with the solid colors, most of the sealers/top coats that Tandy sells(Super Shene, Tan coat, Leather Amore) tend to remove some of the dye. This is especially troublesome if you wet mould the holster and have to handle it more that just a little, the dye can dissappear in places, especially the antique darkening part. To counteract this, I have had to change my procedure a bit. I used to wet the holster and then put the holster body through the loops when making double loop holsters, but the holster was being handled too much. Now I usually just use EVOO on the holsters, putting on a couple of coats during a 2-3 day period. The EVOO doesn't seen to affect the dye at all. Since it is a water based dye apparantly oil doesn't remove any dye. Then I put the holster body through the loops dry, maybe wetting the top edge to make it easier but not wetting any dye. Then I wet the holster and insert the pistol for moulding making sure I don't touch the dyed part any more than necessary. Some of the antique dye is removed but not much, and it actually seems to even out the color a bit. I liked the older oil based dyes better but they aren't coming back so I have learned to deal with what I have available. Still have to try the Fiebings, but I don't think it will be a nice as it used to be.

Mogorilla · July 19, 2010, 11:59:04 AM

yup, water, sorry, it was early and coffee hadn't kicked in yet. I keep a bottle of water on my bench to keep leather cased. Use it to dampen the leather before dyeing and after spreading the dye on. My main issue with dyes is I have loads of the small wool daubers. I use those and you get streaks or heavy in one spot, lighter in others. I have had great luck with the damp leather, dye on with dauber, spray with water, really as soon as I am done with the dauber, rub with cotton tee-shirt to even out the dye.

Ten Wolves Fiveshooter · July 19, 2010, 02:07:07 PM

Thanks for the explanation TN, that makes sense.

Sgt. C.J. Sabre · July 19, 2010, 08:51:44 PM

Quote from: Springfield Slim on July 19, 2010, 10:47:38 AM
(Super Shene, Tan coat, Leather Amore)

Unfortunatly, Tandy doesn't HAVE Leather Amore OR Super Sheen anymore.

I did a little experimenting over the weekend. I took a strip of leather, Wiped one end with alcohol, the other I dipped in water, and left the middle dry. I applied two coats of the dye, and let dry in the sun for an hour. After drying, I buffed with a clean cloth. So far so good. Then, I applied a couple coats of Tan Coat. Let dry. Buff as before. So far so good. Applied two coats of Eco Flo Satin Sheen. Let dry, buff. So far so good. Looks good, buffs up nicely, no rubbing off. Dampen cloth, COLOR COMES RIGHT OFF!!!
Apparently, I need to find a WATER PROOF finish for the stuff. Any ideas?

Springfield Slim · July 20, 2010, 02:57:21 PM

My Tandy still has super shene. I had the same trouble, none of the top coats water proof worth a hoot, so I switched to a few coats of EVOO. May not work any better but it sure isn't worse, and doesn't pull off my color.

Mogorilla · July 20, 2010, 03:30:27 PM

I made a mix of 1 part extra virgin olive oil, 1 part neatsfoot oil, and 1 part bee's wax. heated the neatsfoot/olive oil just enough to melt the bee's wax. poured the warm mixture into a wide mouth container and shook it periodically until it set up. put a little on a soft cloth and go over the leather.