Wet molding pistol holsters??

[daddyeaux]

Ok guys, my Cobra is on the truck to Houston, my pattern is cut and ready to be sewn and molded. I know I will do my tooling before hand, should I go ahead and dye my leather before I wet mold it? And the main question, any good cd or video on wet molding?

[rickk]

If it were me I would dye it before I sewed it, and then touch it up again after sewing it (like the edge where it gets trimmed).  The reason being the I use barge cement on the areas being sewn and it is hard to dye thru barge cement in areas that the glue is visible.

You can certainly wet mold after applying dye. I would save top-coat application until after wet molding because the top coat inhibits the water penetration.

So, in a nutshell... Cut, tool, dye, glue and sew, trim, touch-up edges with more dye, let it all dry a day, wet with warm water in the parts needing forming, jamb gun into a ziplock bag and then jamb the bagged gun into the holster. Rub things around with your hands... work the gun in an out.... push it really far into the holster until it seats fully, leave the gun in there and let it dry. Then apply top dressings and your oil of choice.

That's my story anyway.

Rick

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I agree with Rickk. We have a thread linked in our FAQ thread on wet molding.

[daddyeaux]

Thanks Guys.........

[daddyeaux]

Just how wet do I get the leather before molding?

[JD Alan]

Thast's the 64 dollar question pard. You're going to hear everything from a few seconds to a complete soaking. I mold when dying, and that generally works for me. Since dying is the last thing I do, except for a top coat it just makes sense to do it then.

Just my 2 cents. There are fellas here with far more experience than I have.   

[rickk]

Like JD Alan says, you can mold when the leather is wet from the dye, and I admit that I have shaped things when in that condition, especially when going for a deep black as there will be plenty of dye involved. It can get messy however... your mileage may vary.

As far as how much water, enough that 100% of the leather is wet. It does not have to be dripping wet, but all the leather wants to have water completely through it. There is nothing wrong with more water than less as far as I have found. Warm water seems to soak in better.

I think "100% damp" would be a good way to describe it.  You do not have to dampen parts that you are not molding, like a belt loop. If they get a little wet, they get a little wet, but you don't need to get them wet, and if you do get them wet make sure that they do not get formed into something you don't want them to get formed into.

The water will also help distribute the dye a bit, leaving behind a better dye job when it is done and dry again.

Remember that when the leather is this damp that you want to be careful not to mark the leather by accident. It is pretty easy in this state to empress an unwanted mark into the leather. Some people use boning tools to help form the leather. I believe John Bianchi does so in his video. John certainly knows what he is doing. To each his own. I prefer to just use my hands to reduce the risk of accidentally marking the leather.

[Ned Buckshot]

I mold by hand also but you have to be very carefull of finger nail dents and scratches!

Ned

[Skeeter Lewis]

Do pards find that wet-molding compromises the burnishing?

[Ned Buckshot]

A little maybe but I dye mine after it's molded so I do a little touch up of everything before dying.

Ned

[rickk]

When it is wet you can re-burnish anything that needs it. The gum tragacanth will be re-wetted and the leather on the edges will be soft once again. Just run a bone or plastic pulley over anything that needs it. Unless you ding an edge though it probably won't need any rework.

[Springfield Slim]

How would you dye a mexican 2 loop holster after moulding? Do you always dip dye? I still dye with a sheepskin pad, so I mould after dying, as I dye before sewing. 

[Trailrider]

I do any stamping and carving, then dye, do a preliminary form, stitch, and then allow to dry and finish (burnish edges, etc.).  After the holster is completely formed...the body passed through the slots in the skirt in the case of a Mexican loop, I wet form the holster to the gun at the end.  How wet do I get the leather?  I run tepid water from the faucet and wet down the entire rig for about 15-30 seconds or however long it takes to wet the whole surface, inside and out.  I smooth the drops off using my hand so it won't watermark.  I use several sizes of hardwood dowels... 7/8", 5/8" and 3/8" diameter that have the ends rounded by rasp and sanding.  The larger one goes down to the bottom of the body, the smaller ones are use to make a track for the ejector rod thumbpiece and the trigger guard.  Then I stick the gun in a plastic baggie and wrap it tightly around the gun, stick the gun in the holster and work it around slightly.  I then leave it in the holster for about 4 hours or so. After that, I remove the gun and allow the inside of the leather to dry for a few hours.  Then I stick the gun back in (in the baggie), and let it dry overnight.  After that, I work the gun in and out of the holster.  You need to be sure that the ejector thumbpiece or other parts that stick out do NOT form a pocket with the gun in the holster....there needs to be a trough up from the lowest point so the gun isn't trapped.  Let the holster dry for a few days, trying the gun WITHOUT the baggie until it comes out smoothly.  If the holster strinks so the gun is tight, repeat the wet fitting process.

That's how I do it, and how I tell my customers to do any final fitting.  It is fairly easy to stretch leather, but not quite as easy to shrnk it back.