What stain for leather

[Raynor]

Is there a homebrew that can be mixed up to stain leather?

I used wood stain on a scrap piece and didn't like the results. Looking for a reddish brown color.

Makes me wonder if there are special stains out there for leathers. :hmm:

 

Fiebings leather dye. You can get it from any Tandy leather shop. The mahogany is likely what you are looking for.

Cody

 

Try walnut hulls or shucks in water.

 

[Raynor]

Thanks guys,

I'll give walnut hulls a try. If the color isn't quite right I'll get something from Tandy's. Never thought to look there for stains.

 

[Coot]

If you do not have a Tandys Leather near you, try a tack (horse saddle & equipment) shop. The tack shops carry all kinds of leather conditioners, cleaners and (mostly browns & black) dye. Fiebings is an excellent dye.

 

[tom hargrove]

or hobby-lobby or any shoe repair. :grin:

 

[Black Hand]

Make sure that after the Fiebings has dried, that you buff the surface very well. These dyes (the alcohol-based, I've not use the oil-based) tend to leave a surface haze that transfer to clothes, hands, etc.

 

[fw707]

I've used the Kiwi brand leather dye you find in the shoe polish department at Wal-Mart. Seems to work fine for me.

 

[Norskie]

Walnut hull dye has no red tone to it. What kind of leather do you want to color? If it's veg tan, try a little neatsfoot oil on a scrap, you may not need dye at all.

 

[Raynor]

Thanks for all the info.

It's moose and elk leather, grain on. I'll take a piece of scrap and do a little testing.

 

[TN.Frank]

I use oak tanned leather to make holsters and stuff and I generally just use olive oil on em', gives em' a nice chocolet brown color. Also, makes it easy to refinish if I get a scratch on it.

 

[Norskie]

I'm experimenting with red bark from an azalea bush. I've got some of it in wood alcohol and color is moving out into the alky. I believe they call this a tincture. I'll be trying it on veg tan as soon as I get a free moment.

 

[Raynor]

Please keep us up to date on your results.

 

Laurel Mountain Forge stock stains are a alcohol base stain and work great on leather just like the old alcohol based stains I used when I was a kid repairing saddles. I think they were called Omega dyes. Neat-Lac makes a good finish for these stains.
Olive Oil, Huh? I'll have to try that. It sounds interesting.

 

[svk9612]

I've used Fiebing's (sp?) dark brown leather dye
to dye horn, antler, leather, wood, and usually
some part of my hands, fingers, clothes, etc. I've found that when dying leather and it has lighter and darker areas, oiling the leather with mink oil will even out the color.
Be safe,

One Ear

 

[Norskie]

My experiment worked. Nice reddish brown color from a tincture of azalea bark. I'll post a picture as soon as I can. This was on veg tan leather.