Coloring leather

[cobb]

OK, a question for you holster makers out here.

What is the best way or product to dye, or in my case, re dye one of my belts?

I have a black belt from Brommeland and the finish is wearing off in several locations, especially where the bezel of my Surefire rubs on the belt when I am seated and have that Surefire in my weak side front pocket. I know I could contact Gary and he would probably make it right, but the man is so busy and I don't want to wait or spend the postage when the postage would probably be about the same as the cost of the dye.

Info would be appreciated.

[wallcloud]

You might try asking Gary which black dye he uses. The thing with dye is, even with black, there are different tones of black. What this means is that you can have a warm tone black with a slight brown tone, or a cool tone black with a slight blue tone, or something closer to neutral. I tried this with a pair of shoes, and found the tone of Tandy Black 22055-1 Pro Dye did not match, and it looks a little funny.

Then again, who's looking? It depends on how closely it needs to match, and if its just a small spot, its not a big deal.

After the dye dries, you can apply a couple coats of tandy Satin Sheen with a cotton ball, the satin sheen is a non-glossy finish and works for belts too. If its just a small spot, a Q-tip works really good.

Vinyl gloves will keep the dye and the satin sheen off your hands

[cobb]

I will have to try and call Gary, I can't find an e-mails for him and it seems that all his stuff is now sold through Coal Creek Armory. So I sent them an e-mail to either answer or to forward on to Gary.

[Srigs]

Only major challenge is a belt will have a top coat finish that will make it hard to match the wear areas and the non-wear areas. It can be done but you might see a difference in black shades.

Most holster makers use Fiebengs USMC Black including myself. Touching up can be done with this just wear plastic gloves and a cotton cloth to dab over the warn spot.
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/prod ... er=2100-01

Then you need to buff it and a top coat after a couple days of drying with something like this... Most people cut it 50-50 so it is not too thick. This is the area to ask Gary on.
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/prod ... er=2270-01

[cobb]

Only major challenge is a belt will have a top coat finish that will make it hard to match the wear areas and the non-wear areas.

It can't look as bad as the worn area does now, so black will be black, even if the sheen is a little different.

I still haven't had the chance to call Gary, but will let you know what he says about it.

[cobb]

Did call Gary and got what I expected. Ya, send it in and we will take care of it for you in a couple days.

[Srigs]

Did call Gary and got what I expected. Ya, send it in and we will take care of it for you in a couple days.

Good for you. Gary is a good guy just a little backed up.

[Wadero]

So if I bought a belt and didn't like the color of it, would it be possible to make it a darker brown color?

[cobb]

So if I bought a belt and didn't like the color of it, would it be possible to make it a darker brown color?

I would think so, kinda like a board that is too long, you can always make it shorter. So I think making a belt darker wouldn't be much of an issue, but making it lighter might be about the same as making the board longer.

In my case I haven't sent my belt back to Gary yet, it is my favorite belt and used daily to support an IWB holster with a 1911.