Where do you buy this stuff that I see so often recommended for weathering? Is it available in some stores? Or only via the internet, and if so who sells it? I find shoe polish, but not dye. Thanks!
Most larger drugstores carry leather dye. I use Kiwi brand and get it at Walgreens or Safeway. When diluted with alcohol or water, it is excellent for weathering and staining wood.
Thanks for the reply on30francisco. I’ll look again but I haven’t been able to find it here in Michigan. Does it actually say leather leather dye on the label?
Yes, the label says leather dye on the bottle. It comes in either brown or black.
The best stuff is fiebings shoe dye. Its very strong and needs to be thinned about One dye to ten alcohol.,and start from there. You should be able to get it from anyone doing shoe repair or maybe they’re online and will show you a dealer. It makes great wood dye too for trestles and water tanks etc. BILL
One of the things I’ve used over the years is Kiwi black leather dye mixed with rubbing alcohol. The proportion isn’t really important, just a little dye to a lot of alcohol. Another thing you can try is black acrylic paint mixed with alcohol.
Acrylic paint “watered” down with isopropyl alcohol is certainly one of the proven recipes for weathering paints and washes. Is shoe dye so much cheaper that it is worth trying? I doubt it!
I usually use the shoe dye/alcohol wash for scenery effect and the acrylic paint/alcohol wash for models. I find the paint to be much cheaper than the dye.
I have used Fiebings Leather Dye to dye leather, but use India Ink diluted with alcohol for weathering, even in my airbrush. Don’t know if this is cheaper than acrylic but it works really well and there are many colors available at most art supply stores (Hobby Lobby carries several brands including Dr. Martins which is expensive but very concentrated). All told, any of the suggestions should work; just get started and have fun.
bob