Making My Cascade Seal Brown...

[Tommer45]

Thought I'd bring this one over too...

I'm sure you're wondering what the heck this thread is about, right? Well, in the evergoing quest for the perfect jacket, I have modified the color of my Langlitz Cascade. My first Cascade was dark brown, and while I liked that it was dark, I didn't like how the color lacked depth or character if that makes any sense. I don't know how else to describe what I was after. For my second Cascade, I tried a different color (rust) and still wasn't totally happy with it. I like a dark brown with a little shine to it.

So... I purchased some Fiebing's dark brown leather dye, tested it on a few swatches of leather I have from Langlitz, and then moved on to the jacket. I am VERY pleased with how this turned out, but I admit I was a little scared altering and possibly ruining my rather expensive jacket. What I got was nearly the EXACT color I was after.. plus it is colorfast and doesn't come off even when soaked and rubbed with a cloth (but I guess that's a how a professional dye should be). So on to the pictures... some of you will hate my abombination, some of you may actually like it.



Here is the original color.. just removed from packaging. I think I was bored of this color by the end of day one!! It did nothing for me and I quickly wished Langlitz offered colors similar to Aero's cordovan.

Here's the jacket 48 hours after the dye was applied...

The back has only one light coat... It was the first section I dyed and I wanted to make sure I had enough dye for the entire jacket. I will go back and touch up as needed.

Notice how grainy the sleeve has become after only two months of daily wear.. I really love how this jacket looks...

Front of the jacket with a swatch of original Rust color on top..

Here's the finished product out on the road...

I feel as if the new color really brings out how beautiful the leather is. It has that depth I was after. And like I said... some of you will think I'm a freakin moron, and others might like the look. I love it. Even my wife said the jacket looks, and I quote, "400 times better!". This Cascade is by far the most comfortable leather jacket I have ever owned... now that I love the color it just might be THE perfect jacket (is there such a thing?).

Thanks for looking.. thought some of you might find this interesting.

Tommer

 

[bfrench]

Hi, Tommer,

Yes that color does definitely give the jacket that old rich deep luxury leather look.

Man, are you ever one for taking chances - but then the old adage - nothing ventures, nothing gained.

And this time you have really gained.

Bill French

 

[Tommer45]

Thanks Bill... I absolutely love the color. I was in a leather shop down in Florida (they actually had American made jackets, too) and the salesperson couldn't get over how beautiful and rich the color of the jacket was. I had another guy at work take down Langlitz' website because he loved the color and look of the jacket (I didn't tell him I dyed it myself.. he's gonna have a hard time explaining to Dave what color he saw!).

So all in all I am extremely please with the new color and I guess others like the look as well.

Tommer

P.S. Thanks for all your hard work with the new site!

 

[T-Bolt]

Tommer,

I would like to put my two cents worth in on your project. My first thought was that you were pretty ballsy for taking a chance with a redye on a high end leather jacket. My second thought is........AWESOME looking color! From the photos, I would say you ended up with a beautiful shade of brown....congratulations!

I live about 45 miles from the Langlitz shop and I am seriously thinking of going up and talking to Dave about a custom jacket once I get done with the Good Wear A-2 project I am now involved with. I have got to think about it.


Ted

 

[Tommer45]

Ted, what I would give to be able to stop by the Langlitz shop. I've communicated via phone and email with a few of the guys there (Dave and I still email regularly.. just seeing what's new and how things have been, etc) and they are all very nice. I'd love to be able to try on and see all the different styles and variations that they have on the racks. Get in there, man!

Tommer

 

[chicken]

Congratulations Tommer.

The original color you got actually looks kind of cheap, and I'm guessing it would've taken months for it to take on some patina to it. The new color looks really rich. I'd love to see how they evolve over course of time too.

Hoping my new Aero Highway Man I'm getting will be nearly as good. Thanks for sharing.

 

[zoomer]

Good work Tommer!
...How did you apply the dye (dauber wand, dauber wool, cloth, spray)?
...Any pre-treatment (alcohol, cleaners, etc.)?
...Any after-treatment (sealer, sheener, etc.)?
...Any rub-off?

 

[Tommer45]

Hey Zoomer...

At first I applied the dye with a dauber wand, but the head was small and didn't cover too much area and it was taking forever. So I cut up an old t-shirt, folded up a piece, pressed it to the top of the dye bottle and turned it upside down so some could soak in.. and then applied it to the leather. That's how I did the rest of the jacket.

I used no pre-treatment. The jacket was only a couple months old, so it was still pretty clean. I did buy a topcoat remover just in case the dye wouldn't soak in but there was no problem with that so I never even used the remover. I also bought a sealer because I was afraid the color would rub right off, but I never had to use that, either. After the first coat was applied and thoroughly dried, I took a damp cloth and vigorously rubbed down the jacket. Some color came off (very lightly on the cloth) and I then re-applied a second coat. After rubbing down the jacket a second time I haven't touched it since and the color has stayed perfect. I've worn it in some pretty heavy rain, and even when soaking wet I can't rub off any more color. Seems like everything worked fine.

Take care...

Tommer

 

[zoomer]

Thanks - good to know...I did a Willis & Geiger A-2 in seal brown awhile back and got mixed results, mostly because of the tough plasticcy acrylic finish that was already on it. Looked great in normal light, but up close it was 2 different shades of seal (needed 2 vials to do 2 coats) and never really stopped rubbing off.

I'm guessing the Langlitzs are vegetable tanned - those take dye better than acrylic or chrome tanning.

 

[better duck]

Ted, what I would give to be able to stop by the Langlitz shop. Tommer

He man, I see you sitting on that big bike of yours: why not get on it and take the long way home some day.
Like I sometimes say to a friend of mine who lives some 250 km away: "Hey Bart, I'm happen to be nowhere near you, so how about a cup of coffee in two hours time?"
I know, distances in the US are somewhat "further down the road": so make it a two week trip: that's what riding a bike is about - isn't it?

BTW: very good result on the jacket: I understand perfectly what you mean by depth of colour: you only have to hold the two-dimensional original next to your handywork and it is clear: perfectly done!!

 

[deeb7]

He man, I see you sitting on that big bike of yours: why not get on it and take the long way home some day.

Tommer's ahead of you, Peter, you may have missed this thread ...

viewtopic.php?p=380#p380

 

[MikeyB-17]

Tommer, that took some balls, but it's a huge improvement. Hell of a nice jacket.

 

[Tommer45]

Thanks for the backup, Deeb!

Thanks to the rest for the nice comments. I'm still lovin' the color.

Tommer