# Dye Tests



## bassman00 (Feb 22, 2005)

Well, I received a small order of the Angelus Leather Dyes last week and worked up some barrels.  I bought Blue, Red, Greem, Yellow, Teal, Navy and Neutral.  Thanks to jimr for the pointer to the source, www.turtlefeathers.com

First up is a Chrome Baron in Navy Blue.  I was hoping to somewhat match the color of my Whale Blue PRS guitar.











I think the clip in the 2nd picture casts a shadow on the upper barrel making it look darker than the lower barrel.  

Next up are some barrels made with other colors and a couple attempts at mixing colors on the wood.




(top to bottom) Teal & Green on Burl Maple, Blue & Red on Curly Maple, Blue on Burl, Teal on Curly & Red on Burl.  The two mixes were done on the lathe.  I wiped on the first color and quickly applied the 2nd.  I guess I should mix the colors up before applying as I don't like the results.  The 2nd application darkened the finish up considerably.  The teal & green combo came out interesting because there was some CA exposed as I had to deal with some punky spots.  I wanted a seafoam green look.  The blue & red is too dark.  I had hoped for purple but it didn't work out there.

One thing I noticed is that the finish, even though dry, color the rag I use to wipe on sanding sealer (Mylands) or friction polish.  It didn't bleed off when I applied TSW but that was always after the friction polish.  The color did lighten each time I applied the sealer and/or friction polish.  It seems to dry quickly but the bleed off happens about the same whether I continue finishing 5 mins or 24 hours later.

Anyway, I don't know about the longevity of the color but they talk about dying sneakers and other leather products so I imagine it's colorfast.  All in all, I like the results.  The price is definitely right.  There are some 30 other colors available and I can always mix up my own custom colors.


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## tipusnr (Feb 22, 2005)

Thanks, Paul, for the information.  I learned a lot from your posting.


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## jwoodwright (Feb 22, 2005)

Great dyeing job, Paul. []
Have you tried dyeing the Birch yet [?]


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## KKingery (Feb 22, 2005)

I think they all look pretty darn good! Without a doubt though, the red really stand out!


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## Gary (Feb 22, 2005)

Very nice work, Paul. It looks great, I guess the only thing to be determined is how leather dye holds up when used on wood.


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## Old Griz (Feb 22, 2005)

MMMM I wonder if that stuff will work on stabilized woods... I have some really sweet curly maple being stabilized... that blue, teal and red are really intense.. Is the green as intense.. 
BTW.. I did some dying with Chestnut dye on a maple burl (same rubbing off when dried)... it was darker than I wanted... I just hit it lightly with some 0000 steel wool and the harder parts of the burl lightened up giving it a real nice two tone effect.. you might want to try that on the blue/red mix...


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## bassman00 (Feb 22, 2005)

Thanks for the comments.  I hope the dye resists fading. 

Tom - I'm not sure if the dye will penetrate the stabilized woods.  The CA I used on the top blank (that I didn't sand completely off) definitely stopped it from penetrating in spots.  I'll probably try sanding the blue/red one down a bit to lighten it some.  I'll be trying the green dye tonight on a maple bottle stopper so I'll try to get a pic up soon. 

John - Not yet.  I had these maple blanks already cut and glued up for a while so I wanted to jump right in.  I'll be trying that birch in the near future.  

Thanks


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## jimr (Feb 23, 2005)

That is great information, Paul. I am impressed with the results of leather dye. I appears the dye went on very evenly with no splotching. The wood looks like curly maple. I tried mixing some of the analine dyes I have and could never get a real good purple or green. With the analine dyes I also experienced some color coming off when applying the sealer. I tried gently applying the sealer with the lathe off and then a second coat. That helped but still got a bit of color off when smoothing the sealer off. I can confirm your comment about CA affecting the dye saturation. I was using some red and had put CA on a tiny worm hole for filler. I got a bit of it outside the hole and it definitely repelled a lot of color. So much so I did not finish the pen.  
From your description I assume your finish was sealer, friction polish and TSW. Is that correct? The blanks look great. There is a much greater selection of leather dyes than the analine.


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## bassman00 (Feb 23, 2005)

Correct.  Sealer, FP and TSW.  The wood is both Curly and Burl maple.  Unstabilized.  I think it alternates in the picture.  The dye does go on evenly though if there's exposed end grain as in cross or angle cut blanks, it might get splotchy.  I kind of like how the CA blocked some of the dye in the top blank myself.  I plan on mixing some colors together before applying to the barrels later this week and unless it's a total failure, I'll post pictures when I do it.  I'll also try applying the dye after a coat or so of sealer to see what happens.  Since the color continues to bleed off after applying the sealer, I imagine it should still get to the wood if applied over the sealer.


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## jdavis (Feb 23, 2005)

Great turning and dying jobs. Always good to see pretty blanks. I need to try dying with my students. Thanks


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## Tom McMillan (Feb 23, 2005)

Nice work with the dyes!!!  Lookin good!!!


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## pipemaker (Feb 23, 2005)

I have been using leather dye for years on my pipes, and would like to offer some comments and procedures on using this dye.

I am relatively new to this group, and am not sure if I should post this in the tips and tricks section, or the articles section.

Mike


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## woodscavenger (Feb 23, 2005)

Post it in the TIP section.  Any advise and hints would be great.


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## elody21 (Feb 23, 2005)

Great Dying Job!  I have been using the same leather dyes for 3 years. I have always had great luck with them! I doubt if it will work on stabilized wood. I also use these for dying the inside of the pen blank for acrylics or solid surface material that is transparent. The material is roughed up from the drill bit so it accepts the dye and helps prevent the brass tube from showing through!
If anyone is interested. They work well on bone and antler! That is why I orginally purchased them.


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## opfoto (Feb 23, 2005)

I agree with Gary.... I think the colors look good. Combinations are unlimited. How they last would be good to know.


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## bassman00 (Feb 24, 2005)

Mike - Please do post any comments, tips, etc on using leather dyes on wood.

Alice - So the color from these dyes will hold up over time?  Have you noticed any fading?  The color is very nice on the few I've used so far.  The price is definitely right.

Thanks,


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## PatLawson (Feb 25, 2005)

> _Originally posted by bassman00_
> <br />Well, I received a small order of the Angelus Leather Dyes last week and worked up some barrels...I don't know about the longevity of the color but they talk about dying sneakers and other leather products so I imagine it's colorfast.


Paul,
I've worked with leather dyes in doing gourd art and my experience it that leather dyes can fade pretty badly. Gourd artists do a couple of things to help the problem. One is to add vinegar to the dyes to "set" them. (Just like we add vinegar to Easter egg dyes.) The amount for leather dyes is one capful per bottle.
The second thing is to use a UV protective clear coat over the dyed wood, such as Deft or Krylon lacquer, or other outdoor clear coat with UV protection.
The vinegar doesn't completely solve the fading problem, but it does help. Then if you use a UV protector over the dye too, you've got a better chance of the color lasting.
The colors of leather dye that fade the most are: turquoise, dark green, navy blue, and purple, but they all fade to some degree. 
Dyes like Aniline and Spirit dyes are much more fade resistant, (I really like CSUSA's Spirit dyes), but of course they do cost more. 
Pipemaker said he's had experience with these dyes too and has some tips, so maybe he can add more and/or differnt ideas too. 

Pat

Pens By Patricia
Laguna Beach, CA  USA
Penmakers Guild album
http://tinyurl.com/5dtvm


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## bassman00 (Feb 26, 2005)

Thanks for the information, Pat.  Oh well, I thought these might be a nice alternative to the Spirit dyes as CSUSA only has the larger sizes now.  I'll leave these barrels where the sun can get to them to see what happens.  

Thanks.


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## Fleabit (Mar 9, 2005)

Good information.


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## bassman00 (Jun 7, 2005)

Well, it's been over three months since I dyed the pen barrels.  I left some completed barrels and a stopper on the window sill.  They faded.  Worse on the side facing the window.  The green was the worst.  I made a few pens from the barrels in the photos above and they've held up pretty good but they rarely seen direct light.  I gave a couple to my boys so once they find them &lt;sigh&gt;, I can see how they look.

Oh well.  Fortunately, these dyes weren't expensive.  Anyone need leather dye?


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## ctEaglesc (Jun 7, 2005)

Why are you sounding as if you had a failure?
Have you ever seen what happens to jeans when they hang on a clothesline?
Some thing you might want to try,
Vinegar to set the dyes.
When we were kids, we used to draw comic book faces"rat Fink etc on our t-shirts.
My mom would wash them and they faded.
My grandmother suggested soaking in viegar prior to washing.
The colors did not bleed or fade nearly as bad.
I am playing around with dyes for a different effect but haven't needed to try the vinegar yet,I thought you might like to  be the guinea pig.


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## bassman00 (Jun 7, 2005)

I guess try again with vineger.  The reason I didn't initially was based on Pat's not so ringing endorsement "... doesn't completely solve the fading problem..."   The reason I considered this initial test a failure as my goal was to be able to sell dyed pens.  I don't want to sell or give away pens whose color will fade or disappear over time.

Once I finish up this bookcase for my wife, I can get back to turning...


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