Church & Son
Well-Known Member
I've had several e-mails about my "homebrew dyes" this one is the black called Vinegar Black( AKA Vinegaroon). This recipe goes back to Medieval days or the first time someone stumbled and dropped leather in a bucket of rusty water, vinegar just accelerates the process.
Vinegaroon- Apple cider vinegar with iron shavings in it.
Let it sit for a couple of weeks and you have black leather dye that will not stain your hands.
I catch the filings under the vise but instead of iron shavings you can use steel wool. But steel wool has oil in it that you must git rid of. I dip it in acetone and light it off in an old pan . Doesn't hurt to have a lid around 'cause acetone burns big.
I use the plastic coffee containers with the lid, pour a quart of vinegar in, add 2-3 steel wool pads and let it set in the sun to ferment. Poke a hole in the lid to prevent buildup of gases and shake it up every few days. The wool or shavings will dissolve and you have Vinegaroon.
This bucket is about 2 years old, good looking stuff, I add filings and vinegar every couple of months to keep it going.
A scrap of veg-tan
This is 5 minutes later. Gets darker and less purple colored, more of a deep charcoal gray
When it gets to the color you like, neutralize it with baking soda mixed with water and oil it.
This one on veg-tanned
And this one on rawhide
Vinageroon is not actually a dye, it is a chemical reaction with leather. It doesn't work well on chem-tanned or previously dyed or finished leather.
It's fun to mess with and costs very little, most of it you already have.........Randy
Vinegaroon- Apple cider vinegar with iron shavings in it.
Let it sit for a couple of weeks and you have black leather dye that will not stain your hands.
I catch the filings under the vise but instead of iron shavings you can use steel wool. But steel wool has oil in it that you must git rid of. I dip it in acetone and light it off in an old pan . Doesn't hurt to have a lid around 'cause acetone burns big.
I use the plastic coffee containers with the lid, pour a quart of vinegar in, add 2-3 steel wool pads and let it set in the sun to ferment. Poke a hole in the lid to prevent buildup of gases and shake it up every few days. The wool or shavings will dissolve and you have Vinegaroon.
This bucket is about 2 years old, good looking stuff, I add filings and vinegar every couple of months to keep it going.
A scrap of veg-tan
This is 5 minutes later. Gets darker and less purple colored, more of a deep charcoal gray
When it gets to the color you like, neutralize it with baking soda mixed with water and oil it.
This one on veg-tanned
And this one on rawhide
Vinageroon is not actually a dye, it is a chemical reaction with leather. It doesn't work well on chem-tanned or previously dyed or finished leather.
It's fun to mess with and costs very little, most of it you already have.........Randy
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