Which Fiebing dye for a nice brown, not too dark or light?

G

GrizzlyBear

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Dec 5, 2009
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It's incredibly hard to judge a dye color by the little panel they put on the color chart since it's not on actual leather.

I'm currently using the Fiebing Pro Oil black, and love it. I would like to add a nice brown to my sheath making. I don't want too dark or too light.

You guys using Fiebing's colors, can you give a recommendation?
 
I like a more reddish brown, if that makes any sense :) I'll see if I can find some pics of the color I'm looking for.
 
Try Feibings Pro Oil "Lt. Brown".....it's a "nice brown":thumbup:

Try some on a small swatch....then wet down another swatch and dye it....see the difference in color...both are pretty nice browns.
 
Get the oil dyes though. I find the dye to be more even and there's none of that powdery residue that you get with the spirit dyes.
If you were thinking Medium Brown in the spirit dyes be advised that it is very dark if you put enough on for an even finish.
 
SBranson said:
If you were thinking Medium Brown in the spirit dyes be advised that it is very dark if you put enough on for an even finish.
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I agree...I would also get a "light brown" and do some testing.....and as long as I'm spending your money, and you're looking for a reddish effect in your brown, try "saddle tan". On dry leather it looks like "saddle tan"....apply it to wet leather, you'll get a darker, more brown/reddish look.

And be sure to get PRO OIL Dyes!!
 
I like the dark brown and the medium brown oil dye. The dark brn is a dark chocolate and the medium is a red brown.

Regards

Robin
 
I use the fiebings med. Brown and its good stuff. I also like mixing med brown and mahogany for that reddish brown look
 
Amon81 said:
I like British tan, I've been using that of late.
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I just bought a jar of British Tan.
Nice reddish brown that more or less matches the rosewood(?) handle of my Western W49 that I am making a sheath for.

For medium brown I've just used snow seal on the leather and it turns a nice shade.
Plain leather with snow seal edged with Feibings Chocolate brown
619sheath1.jpg
 
This is Fiebings 'Lt Brown' Professional dye cut 3:1 alcohol/dye applied with a HF el cheapo air brush until it was even, then oiled with neatsfoot oil and finished with 50/50 Resolene/water. I've been playing a lot with dyes and found the brush makes the single biggest difference for lighter shades!

16.jpg
 
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That is extremely nice! Thanks for sharing! One question I have concerning the air brush, is how much penetration do you get with the dye?
 
GrizzlyBear said:
That is extremely nice! Thanks for sharing! One question I have concerning the air brush, is how much penetration do you get with the dye?
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Thanks for the compliments. That was maybe my fifth time making this mixture so I know it should be fairly consistent results for W&C leather. If you would like next time I spray later in the week, I will spray a scrap and cut it so you can judge for yourself. I was having a really hard time getting consistent coloring without any streaking, and by the time I got it consistent they were MUCH darker than I had intended. I'm assuming your worried about penetrating for scratches?
 
Yes, that would be great if you don't mind doing it.

Scratches are my concern but I figure the top coat should deflect most scratches from actually penetrating through and into the dyed leather.

I think the versatility in using the airbrush and the dyeing effects you can create is awesome. I especially love a lighter reddish brown center on a sheath/holster with dark brown or black around the outside.
 
No problem, I can handle that. I know my topcoat is holding up, after 3 consistent weekends working on eradicating locust trees from the farm neither the sheath nor the holster have any scratches to speak of. If your not familiar with the trees just think of a tree covered in longer and thicker sewing needles! I think that this kind of field testing is the best thing I can do to see how they will hold up long term.

The airbrush has been the best investment so far. I've about maxed out what I can do with my single action, the next step will be a lower end 'big name' brush from one of the hobby shops locally. I'd love to be able to shade effect on the edges and what not.
 
I am all to familiar with locust. Burns like crazy in a wood stove and puts out massive heat. I had a locust thorn lodged in my arm a few years ago, was not a fun experience pulling that thing out. I've seen em puncture tires before lol.

Would you explain what you mean by maxing out what you can do with your single action brush? I have yet to buy one and would like to know if a single or double would suit me best.
 
Since your familiar with them lets just say about 25 loads a weekend like this:

IMAG0359.jpg


But back to topic. Here are your shots - you can see how inconsistent the dauber coverage is. Bottom is none, middle is dauber, top is airbrush:

DSC_0047.jpg

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As far as the brushes are concerned a single action is just that, either on or off. A dual action allows you more control over spray/amount of dye etc. A little google goes a long way on those as this was my first time using one as well. You could also look into PreVal aerosol sprayers from your local hardware store, little crude but I got pretty decent results. Were you to want to do a run of a few same colors with airbrush highlights I would probably want a automotive style sprayer with a larger capacity. Only downfall to multiple pieces with the airbrush is the capacity IMO. Hope that helps and keep in mind I'm by far an expert on the matter!
 
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