Really comprehensive video. So helpful in determining how to gauge their coloring system--beyond 1 coat, basically go lighter than you think you'll need! Also very helpful with comparing multiple coats on both wet & dry. Much appreciated.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for watching my video and leaving a remark. Comments like yours make doing KZread worth it.

great job. thanks for doing this. really helped confirm some things I was experiencing.

Thanks for the time making and explaining what you were doing. I am a jeweler that is looking into leather not for jewelry but expanding what I do. I have spent the first 4 months buying tools hardware and supplies. Buying leather now so this came in handy especially after buying pro dye as my dye.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you for taking the time to watch my video. I am very glad that you found my video helpful. Please subscribe if you haven't I have many videos planned this year.

@zband9016

5 жыл бұрын

1. If you use the alcohol dye you can use some denatured alcohol to dilute it. Just make sure that you do your dying jobs in a well ventilated area as it stinks really bad. Denatured alcohol will really extend the amount of dye that you are using per each color. The alcohol dyes are very concentrated. 2. You should consider getting small leather patches like he did in the video and play with dying different colors on to each piece of scrap leather to get your colors the way that you want. 3. Make sure that you pay attention to the ratio of how much dye to denatured alcohol as this will help you when mixing in the future. 4. If you dye something to dark when using alcohol dyes you can still lighten your work some when you put the finish on or even before that you can take a rag with denatured alcohol and use it on the leather that you dyed. 5. Use mink oil to put the moisture content back into the leather. If you get swirl marks on your leather from using alcohol dye you can make them go away by rubbing the leather with some of the denatured alcohol on a rag or when you put the finish on the leather. I have found that the finish will mix the colors some. 6. If you don't want to be stuck just using Fiebings products which are fine you can use Zelikovitz or Angelus. There are even other brands of dyes for leather you can just use google and type in Fiebings dye alternative. Hope this information helps you.

@gggilligan9770

3 жыл бұрын

Didn’t he accidentally use the alcohol dye for the third coat on the pro dye uncase leather?

@itsaustraliadayeveryday7234

Жыл бұрын

@@gggilligan9770 Yes he did at 19:25 OOPS :)

I am not criticizing. Just informing what i have found to work best for me. To get a fully even color without streaks. I buff off the residue between coats.The residue clogs the poors of the leather and caused it not to absorb evenly. About 2-5 mins after each coat. You get a full color without any streaks at all. because you buff while it's still a bit wet it smooths and shines the leather surface also. Im not sure how to share a photo or id share some.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing your experience. Unfortunately KZread will not allow sharing of pictures in comments, or if they do I do not know how to do it.

I just used the alcohol based dye and mine came out dark, with a red tinge to it. Thanks for this. Good to know I'm not loosing my mind.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

glad the video was helpful!, Thanks for watching!

Thank you! I appreciate the video!

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for taking the time to watch the video and leave a comment! Please Subscribe if you haven't already as I have more videos coming out soon!

Great VDO, Been looking for a comparison like this for a while! Used the regular leather dye on aging faux stag knife handles and boots, and pretty satisfied with the results but didn't do any happy dance either! The Pro dye might just put me in the mood ta bust out my dancing shoes!

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

Жыл бұрын

if you have the room to dip dye your projects using Pro-Dye you get very consistent results in just a matter of minutes

I’ve purchased sole bends from Montana Leather and they are beautiful, big, thick (as requested 5-6mm) and blemish free. I’ve also bought leather outsoles and some hardware.. great place!

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for taking the time to watch the video and leave a comment. I’ve done a lot of business with Montana leather and have always been satisfied with their customer service and products.

Great video!

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

thank you!

Pro Dye is also alcohol based. The pigments in Pro Dye are oil based.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

Technically they both contain alcohol.

@MountainFisher

5 жыл бұрын

@@MichaelMaysLeatherworks yep and I thin Pro dye to get lighter colors with 93% rubbing alcohol. Works great to get an even color without getting too dark. Notice how neither one of your dyes went on even. I thin the Pro dye and get the even color without being dark brown before it gets evenly colored. Light brown without thinning becomes dark brown before you can get the colors even! An airbrush setup is the best way to get an even color, but not everyone can do that.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

@@MountainFisher thank you for the info. I recently picked up an airbrush and compressor and have noticed that it goes on much more even, but you do not get nearly as much penetration into the leather.

@jakemccluremd

4 жыл бұрын

@@MountainFisher Thanks for all those gems of advice. Do you thin it with a certain ratio of the alcohol to dye, say 1:1 for example?

@MountainFisher

4 жыл бұрын

@@jakemccluremd I ttypically do just that 50-50 and I use the largest applicator to the job. I mostly make belts and use a foam paint brush the same width, but if making a wallet I use the dauber. I do the edges of my belts with unthinned Light brown dye with a dauber and dipping the dauber onto a paper towel first so it doesn't apply too much. A friend uses Q-tips because he says he never screws up and time doesn't matter. I've used that method with alligator and croc belts where I can't allow bleed over.

Good explanations! Thank you. Would love to see this kind of effort with different finishes over different dyes.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for your kind comment & for watching!!

I really appreciate the comprehensive look you gave to include casing vs dry and alcohol base vs. the pro dye. One question - did you notice any additional lightening of the color over the next few days?

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Seth, the colors actually hold pretty true. I still have the pieces and I have noticed no change. Thanks for the question.

When I want light brown I use saddle tan with a few drops of light brown, that works pretty well for me

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

2 жыл бұрын

in all honesty the best way to get light shades of any color is to use an airbrush.

I like the alcohol better than oil. I think the Med Brown dye is alot darker than the bottle example. I found that reducing the Med. Brown about 70/30 makes a very nice color that my customers seem to buy alot more than any other. You are correct tho, the alcohol dye does seem to dry out the leather and will sometimes crack with some leather depending on the thickness and or the quality. So i do the bullet loops while it is just a tad wet still.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your comment. I have also found that using an airbrush allows you to get much lighter colors without diluting the dye.

Cool video !!

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! a lot of time went into this video.

Can you add oil in the regular dye

Very helpful mate, thanks for the video, what works best for buffing??

@deanbriggs5058

5 жыл бұрын

How long will it take to buff out??

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

A soft cloth or a bit of sheep's wool works great.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

Thr pro dye doesn't leave a lot of dye on the surface. A quick, light buff over the dyed surface is all it takes. If using the standard dye it takes a while. You need to buff lightly until you see no more dye bleeding off.

@deanbriggs5058

5 жыл бұрын

Michael Mays Leatherworks thanks for the tips, very much appreciated 🙏🏼🙏🏼

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

@@deanbriggs5058 no problem, anytime.

thank you for doing this, but what is case leather?

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

Casing leather is when you dampen the leather and allow that moisture time too absorb into the inner fibers.

Hello, I have a pair of Asolo Fugitive hiking boots. There is a piece of split grain leather on the back of the boot that is light green and I want to dye it black. The boots will get wet. I did a test piece with regular Fiebing’s black sued and roughout dye. I let it sit for 2 days and it was wiping off on a paper towel! When I wet it, it was 10 times worse. What would you recommend for my situation getting this piece dyed black and no bleeding when wet or rub off? Would the black oil dye work for this application? Thank You! 👍🏻👍🏻

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

I would use pro dye and seal the piece with acrylic resolene

@akaredcrossbow

4 жыл бұрын

Michael Mays Leatherworks Thank you! I’m working on a test piece now. The piece on the shoe that needs the dye is rough almost like suede. I’m also waiting on a Fiebing’s dye that is made for sports and outside conditions. I’m still going to use the resolene and cut 50/50. I will take all 3 test pieces and torture them and see which one holds up the best with the least color transfer/bleeding. I appreciate your help! 👍🏻👍🏻

It has been three years since this video. Since then have you changed any thing you do differently on your dye jobs? I like to give my vegtan a light coat of oil, let it dry and then stain. Gives a more uniform color for me.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

2 жыл бұрын

with leather dyeing, it can be very inconsistent from one hide to the next. I have found that what works on one doesn’t always work as well on another. The only thing that I’ve changed is doing a small dye test on every new hide that I get

Great video, question: What product did you used after the Dye?

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your question. When you dye leather it dries it out considerably. After dying a project I will buff it really well to remove any leftover die, and then apply Aussies leather conditioner. Once my project is dry I will use my airbrush and apply a few layers of acrylic resolene with a few hours of drying time in between.

Didn't know if i was having a brain hemorrhage :) but starting at 19:25 you applied a third coat and coated the Alcohol with the pro and vice versa.

@13ranzz

3 ай бұрын

He completely messed up the test 🤦‍♂️

What do you recommend for chromexcel leather to change burgundy to black? I really wonder bcz there wasn't any information about it.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

2 жыл бұрын

yes you can. test it on a scrap piece first. You should be able to dye any other color black. I would recommend only using a pro dye and making sure you clean the leather well before dying it. I would also go the route of dip dying to allow for even distribution of dye throughout the leather piece.

@tbcc

2 жыл бұрын

@@MichaelMaysLeatherworksreally thank you for the answer. I would try that tomorrow then.

Thank you for this!! After 40 years in the business of using leather, you have reinforced EXACTLY what I've found, Fiebings Alcohol dye is useless. I have only made the mistake of using it once!! I have a bottle of it here in Light Brown and it'll stay in my shop until I'm gone. Pro Oil dye is the ONLY dye I'll use. Also, I found that casing does not work for me. Water impedes the uniform absorption of my dyes. Thank you again. God bless: Dave

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

2 жыл бұрын

thank you for watching ash leaving a comment! Glad to see your findings were the same

@kristi94

Жыл бұрын

I think Pro oil is best for veg tan anyway! Doesn't dry the leather as much(from what I researched). I'm new to leather so the people from the leather community are a godsend for beginners like me!

I have mostly seen video. I think the only real way to use the standard dye is to dilute it with clear dye, the pigmentation in the standard is just too excessive if your not airbrushing it on.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

The standard dye applies much darker and in my opinion over saturates the leather.

I liked your experimental design. Confusion could have been perhaps avoided if you placed the labeled samples in fixed location tupperware tubs (attached to board or something) that also had large visible labels: perhaps AD & PD for dry and AC & PC for cased. Good experiments have heuristic value; i.e. they generate more experiments / thought. Yours does this to an extent because the next step would be to duplicate the process with each dye sample diluted with 1:1 carrier; Alcohol - water, Pro - the appropriate mfg thinner. My guess is you would get a better result on the Alcohol for sure. Not certain about the Pro. Thank you for the time and effort you took in the presentation. If you decide to do the 1:1 experiment you can jump into short briefs then results without needing all the time to watch you work. (not complaining tho... I like your accent!)

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

Michael, thank you for taking the time to watch the video and leave your comment. A follow-up video showing the use of diluted dyes would be interesting. I will put that on my list of video ideas. Please Subscribe if you haven't already as I do have more videos planned.

@michaelpcooksey5096

4 жыл бұрын

@@MichaelMaysLeatherworks Great, am subscribed. Please consider the fixed location labeled tubs idea. I watched the pea being moved from one shell to another but handled it ok. :)

Can you tell me how to stop the dye coming off on jeans? I’m Using Fiebings pro dye and it leaves colour on my jeans.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the question. This is happening because you are not sealing your projects. After dying I will normally lightly apply a bit of neatsfoot oil or Mink oil, as dying will remove natural oils in the leather which can lead to a more brittle final project. I then allow the project to sit undisturbed for 24 hours. I then buff with a soft cloth. I then apply a coating of Acrylic Resolene using my airbrush from harbor freight. I will allow a few hours of drying time, buff, then apply a 2nd coat of resolene. Allow to dry for 24 hours.

@frogslips

4 жыл бұрын

Michael Mays Leatherworks Thank you very much for that. I’ll be sure to follow that advice.

You mixed dyes on the third coat. Edit: for other viewers, I missed an edit between shots. He didn’t mix the two.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

No, but good eye. I edited a piece out where I moved the leather test pieces . Thanks for watching

@antioch84

5 жыл бұрын

My mistake!

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

@@antioch84 not really a mistake you would have been correct. That just shows you were paying close attention. My kids came in while I was recording and messed up the flow of my video. So I edited out a short piece.

@itsaustraliadayeveryday7234

Жыл бұрын

@@Amazonian11 Yes mate agree with you its ok to make mistakes but to dispute what can be completely seen is well sad

Can you recommend another product? I used it a few times and will not use it again. Thanks.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

I compared two different dyes in this video. I need you to be more specific with your question. Are you referring to Fiebings dye in general? I know others like EcoFlo, but personally I prefer Fiebings.

Thanks for the video but my god man, you could have done that in 10 minutes.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching

@qveenissac

4 жыл бұрын

Fast forward button? Light bulb moment.

@dalanatrumble7332

Жыл бұрын

Personally, I appreciated all 47+ minutes for his voice alone. 😊

What do you use to seal after dying

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

3 жыл бұрын

Acrylic resolene

Have fiebings stopped making oil dye? Is pro dye the replacement?

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

Yes, pro dye is oil based, standard dye is alcohol bssed.

@bigg4089

4 жыл бұрын

Ok thanks

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

@@bigg4089 anytime!

@themonkeydrunken

4 жыл бұрын

@@MichaelMaysLeatherworks Both are alcohol-based. They both use alcohol as the carrier. The difference is that they put a powdered pigment into the regular dye, and they put an oil-based pigment in the pro dye.

I put oil before dying with alchohol based...

I am pretty sure that you went side to side on your 1st 2 coats of alcohol dye and oil dye and the 3d coat went top to bottom. watch your vid again

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

Me moving the pieces got cut out in editing. Good eye though, & thank you for watching!

What worries me is the Pro is water/alcohol based dye and when I worked with leather we used water/alcohol to make leather super hard, like for a molded gun holster! So in short if ya give leather a good soak in water/alcohol it will make the leather super hard and un-bendable!

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

Жыл бұрын

any type of dye will make your leather stiffer. The pro dye does not produce nearly as much stiffness in the dyed piece.

third application was incorrect....you used alcohol dye on the two most left ones etc. basically third coat was incorrect

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

This has been addressed in the comments. Thank you for watching.

You messed up on the 3rd coat. You applied the alcohol die to both dry pieces and the pro die to both cased.

I liked the video in general, but you did your third coat wrong. You put the alcohol based dye on both "dry" pieces, and the Pro dye on both "cased" pieces. I'll be using the Pro dye. Thanks.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

That was addressed in earlier comments. The pieces had been moved but that part was cut out in editing. The right dye was applied to the correct pieces. Thank you for watching and for taking the time to comment

For the would be sofa dyer..(i realise this vid is not for that, but here is some info for the novice .I recently dyed a leather chair from light beige to black. I used a pro/oil dye for a deeper and richer black. The pro dye on this relatively large project will need at least over night to dry between coats (in a dry warm home with ventilation) and ideally 24hrs. The NON pro dye (by all expert accounts) takes much less time to dry for a similar project. Small undyed leather projects as shown here have different effects and times, so you must do your own research for your specific project.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

Жыл бұрын

I actually found the pro dye, dried much faster and evenly than the non-pro dye in every single occasion.

They are both alcohol based?

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

They are both alcohol carriers. Regular (not Pro) uses a powder based dye colorant. Pro dye on the other hand utilizes an oil based dye colorant, that's the game changer !!

@TonyCiobanu

4 жыл бұрын

@@MichaelMaysLeatherworks Thank you. I ordered the Pro Dye, for my motorcycle saddlebags. Hopefully will do the job. I'm about to order some Fiebing's Mink Oil Paste for definition, but not sure what kind of oil shall I use as preparation, before the dye. Mink oil or any regular leather oil?

How about thinning the dye?

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

Yes the dye can be thinned, I always thin when airbrushing dye, but for the purpose of this video I wanted a straight comparison out of the bottle.

@edsnowden4990

5 жыл бұрын

@@MichaelMaysLeatherworks Oh ok, I just wondered why you mentioned the darker appearance so many times. I figured, I miss something 👍

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

@@edsnowden4990 with any dye, especially if you are trying to get lighter colors the more you saturate the leather to get even coverage the darker your overall color will be once the dye dries

@edsnowden4990

5 жыл бұрын

@@MichaelMaysLeatherworks each layer adds more pigments, right. I'm just starting out, dyeing leather by myself. Trying to figure out which kind of dye and thinning ratio will fit my purposes. I think I'll mess around with some dyes in combination with conditioners and finishes...

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

@@edsnowden4990 if you are trying to achieve a lighter color then use a pro dye and applied using an airbrush. This will not over saturate the leather and we'll give you some very nice effects

You screwed up your test when you put alcohol dye on the dry leather that was supposed to get pro dye! 🤦‍♂️

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

2 жыл бұрын

I’ve already addressed this

Y'all shoulda let that da dra a bit mo

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

The coats had plenty time to dry between applications. Thanks for your comment.

@CorvusNumber6

4 жыл бұрын

Whoosh...

You messed up on third coat

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching & for the comment. Read the other comments please, this has been addressed a few times already.

I Use an airbrush and it works WHAY better.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

I use an airbrush also, but that technique was not the point of this video.

@FRIGHTLINERDELUX

4 жыл бұрын

@@MichaelMaysLeatherworks Your right I was surpised at the different colors.

good video but I fell like i'm the pigeon in 3 card Monty

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

3 жыл бұрын

Lol, when starting KZread we all have to start somewhere. I hope my layouts and production quality have improved.

Brown is so boring, why not electric blue, or anything besides brown?

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

2 жыл бұрын

actually that’s a great question. I offer many color options to my customers, but time and time again when asked what color they would like they chose a shade of brown or black. With this being the case I thought it was a fitting choice. thank you for your comment!

When I see a video that has a title that interests me, next thing I do is look for time stamps… Your video interested me, but 47 minutes? Not willing to spend that amount of time to get to the end. Maybe edit down to shorter vids would help. Thanks anyway, good luck!

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. Although since you have not watched the video and cannot speak up the quality it’s hard to state that 47 minutes is too long when covering such a diverse topic.

angelus

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

Angelus does make great paint for leather. This video only compared 2 dye types. Thanks for watching.

waste of time because you mixed up 3rd coat 🙄

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

If you had read through the comments this has been addressed; there was no mixup.Thank you for watching .

@markedwards2005

4 жыл бұрын

@@MichaelMaysLeatherworks Sorry if I was mistaken. Have you tried airbrush application.. I haven't yet but intend to. Regards Mark.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

4 жыл бұрын

@@markedwards2005 yes, I plan on making a video on using an airbrush to apply dye and top coats. An airbrush allows you to get many wonderful effects on leather.

Sorry Sir, too much talk..

I hope you don't just leave leather alone after dying it.

@MichaelMaysLeatherworks

Жыл бұрын

That wasn't the purpose of the video, thanks for watching.