Dying a holster

guitar1580 · February 6, 2010, 07:04 PM

Is there a good way to darken a leather holster from light brown to very dark brown? Without using a dye that will bleed, streak, fade, or come off if it gets wet, etc? I'd rather leave it alone if there's not a good way to do it.

JP

Lavid2002 · February 6, 2010, 07:22 PM

oil? Seems to make leather a darker shade to me..... IDK

rcurry · February 8, 2010, 10:46 AM

If you don’t find the information you’re looking for on TFL, I’m sure someone could give you some guidance at http://leatherworker.net/content/
It’s a nice place to find info on leather.

Pahoo · February 8, 2010, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Is there a good way to darken a leather holster from light brown to very dark brown?

Rather difficult to be specific on what you can do but will add my input in hopes of providing some assist on this. Basically you have three items on the surface; wax, a laquor type coating and some dye. The wax and laquor will have to be removed in order to get the penetration you want out of your darker dye. I have used Wil-Bond solvent to remove the wax and laquor. Get some "Spirit" type dye from Tandy or other suppliers. Go slow and let the dye penetrate and dry or to let the solvents evaporate. The Will-Bond and some spirit dyes can give off some strong fumes so use good ventilation. With the application of the darker dye, you might note areas where you missed some laquor or wax. As best you can, rework these areas. Recently did one in a dark Mahogany and another in black. Might also want to practice on the back side of your holster. Also, go to the forum that rcurry posted and see what those boys suggest.

Be Safe !!!

nitetrane98 · February 8, 2010, 02:44 PM

I had to change a brown holster to black for departmental policy. I took it to a shoe repair shop. It's still as black as the inside of a hat.

rcurry · February 9, 2010, 12:45 PM

nitetrane98, that an excellent idea! It never crossed my mind that a shoe repair shop could do other things. That opens up a lot of possibilities without having to invest in supplies and equipment myself. That box of used leather at the pawn shop may have something useful for me after all.

guitar1580 · February 11, 2010, 11:53 PM

Thx guys, those are great ideas.

I recently bought a big bottle of Lexol, to try to soften a 90 yr old dried out holster.

I've been putting it on some of my newer leather holsters, and it does seem to darken them some. Seems to soften the leather up without feeling greasy and without evaporating.

Josh P

jreXD9 · February 13, 2010, 10:25 AM

I did this a couple weeks ago to a very light brown holster that I wanted to dye black. I talked to a guy at a shoe repair shop and he said to.....
get some paint thinner and a bristle brush.
I dunked it in the paint thinner and scrubbed it hard with the brush and did it again the next day.
On the 3rd day I brushed it with black leather dye and let it dry for a few hrs and then did it again.
The next day I did the same thing.
After it dried again I took it back to the shoe repair shop and he took a high speed soft brush to it to get off the excess. He then sprayed it with something and let it dry for a couple minutes. The light brown holster is now shiny black and looks sharp with the PM9 in it.
Total cost for this was less than $10.

February 6, 2010, 07:04 PM	#1
guitar1580 Senior Member Join Date: December 8, 2009 Posts: 201	Dying a holster Is there a good way to darken a leather holster from light brown to very dark brown? Without using a dye that will bleed, streak, fade, or come off if it gets wet, etc? I'd rather leave it alone if there's not a good way to do it. JP

February 6, 2010, 07:22 PM	#2
Lavid2002 Senior Member Join Date: April 6, 2007 Posts: 2,568	oil? Seems to make leather a darker shade to me..... IDK __________________ Math>Grammar

February 8, 2010, 10:46 AM	#3
rcurry Member Join Date: March 21, 2009 Location: south central ky Posts: 63	If you don’t find the information you’re looking for on TFL, I’m sure someone could give you some guidance at http://leatherworker.net/content/ It’s a nice place to find info on leather. __________________ I have questions to ask, and you have answers. Just make sure you know what your talking about before you fill my head with a bunch of crap and we should get along just fine.

February 9, 2010, 12:45 PM	#6
rcurry Member Join Date: March 21, 2009 Location: south central ky Posts: 63	nitetrane98, that an excellent idea! It never crossed my mind that a shoe repair shop could do other things. That opens up a lot of possibilities without having to invest in supplies and equipment myself. That box of used leather at the pawn shop may have something useful for me after all. __________________ I have questions to ask, and you have answers. Just make sure you know what your talking about before you fill my head with a bunch of crap and we should get along just fine.

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February 8, 2010, 02:44 PM	#5
nitetrane98 Junior member Join Date: May 23, 2009 Posts: 143	I had to change a brown holster to black for departmental policy. I took it to a shoe repair shop. It's still as black as the inside of a hat.

February 11, 2010, 11:53 PM	#7
guitar1580 Senior Member Join Date: December 8, 2009 Posts: 201	Thx guys, those are great ideas. I recently bought a big bottle of Lexol, to try to soften a 90 yr old dried out holster. I've been putting it on some of my newer leather holsters, and it does seem to darken them some. Seems to soften the leather up without feeling greasy and without evaporating. Josh P

February 13, 2010, 10:25 AM	#8
jreXD9 Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 2009 Posts: 404	I did this a couple weeks ago to a very light brown holster that I wanted to dye black. I talked to a guy at a shoe repair shop and he said to..... get some paint thinner and a bristle brush. I dunked it in the paint thinner and scrubbed it hard with the brush and did it again the next day. On the 3rd day I brushed it with black leather dye and let it dry for a few hrs and then did it again. The next day I did the same thing. After it dried again I took it back to the shoe repair shop and he took a high speed soft brush to it to get off the excess. He then sprayed it with something and let it dry for a couple minutes. The light brown holster is now shiny black and looks sharp with the PM9 in it. Total cost for this was less than $10.