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Wild Stallion... DYE JOB!

Tommer45

Active Member
So as some of you remember, a couple of years ago I crossed my fingers and dyed my Langlitz Cascade with amazing results. Since then I have been a dye machine.. leather gloves, boots, belts.. anything leather that isn't quite the shade of brown that I want.. I bring 'em down into the secret room in my basement and dye them. Well, my Legendary Wild Stallion has just emerged from that same secret room...

I knew when purchasing the jacket that it wasn't quite as dark as I like and that eventually I'd probably dye it. I tried to hold off but I just couldn't. There was an unopened jar of cordovan dye that was just calling my name. So one night I headed down to Omega Sector (my basement), put on "Defiance" and dyed the jacket. On to the pics...

Here's a stock pic from Legendary's site...
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And here's the finished product.. I let it dry for a week, then rubbed it hard with a wet rag to get off any dye, then applied leather dressing and let it dry for another week before rubbing down one last time. I can't get any dye to rub off anymore.
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Without the flash..
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I'm really impressed with the grain that is popping out of this thing already.. I made a point to wear it in the snow one day with my 3 year old daughter and the jacket got good and wet.. once inside I scrunched the heck out of it.
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My only complaint about this jacket.. some of the zipper tapes appear to have been too long for their openings, so they are very wavy. This one in particular (a rear cargo pocket) is the worst of them all and needs to be carefully zipped closed or it snags. (you can see the original color on the swatch of leather inside the pocket.

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And lastly, pictures of the jacket worn to get an idea for it's size. My suit jackets are a size 44R (although I measure 46"), and this one is in size 46.

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Tommer
 

442RCT

New Member
Kewl, did you ever post instructions on "How To Dye a Jacket" ?
The reason I asked was that I bought a W&G A-2 over ebay and when it arrived, I could see this jacket had been on a coat hook exposed to direct sunlight. Where the folded part was in the sunlight, it was 2 to 3 shades lighter than the parts protected from the sun. I took it to the local cobbler and asked him to dye the whole jacket a russet brown. He told me it wasn't practical, all he could do was try to 'even' out the light areas by darkening them slowly.
How did you prep your jacket ?
What kind of dye did you use ?
 

Tommer45

Active Member
442RCT... like I say in that other thread Deeb linked up for you I didn't prep the jacket. It was pretty new so I just went for it. I use a cut up piece of old t-shirt to apply the dye, and first test it on some of the leather that's on the inside of the jacket to make sure the dye will take. I have had one jacket in the past where the dye just wouldn't soak in.. I'd apply it, let it appear to dry and then when I'd wipe it with a cloth it would come off in its entirety and the color hadn't changed a bit. I use painter's tape to tape up the zippers so the dye won't discolor or stain them. Other than that my technique is pretty basic and would probably be looked down upon by people who work with leather for a living. I just dip the folded piece of t-shirt into the dye and then rub it in. Like I said previously I then let the jacket dry for about a week and then rub it down good with a damp cloth. A pretty good amount of dye will come off onto the cloth. Then I apply some Montana Pitch Blend and let that dry. I wipe it down again after another week and it's good to go. After heavy use you can tell some in some spots that the dye has worn off more than others, but I love how it looks. Here's an example...


Here's my Langlitz right after I dyed it.. the dye was nice and uniform.

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And here's a shot out in the sunlight after about a year and a half of use and about 12k miles on the bike.. you can see how the dye has become less uniform.

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Honestly though I love the look and wouldn't have it any other way. I just dyed a knife sheath tonight! I need my leathers dark brown!! Gotta love it!


Tommer
 
Wow good job Tom! I never would have thought about dieing a jacket myself. I dropped off my jacket that I was wearing when I went down at 70 mph a few months ago at a local shoe repair guy. He said he could make my jacket look as good as new. I figured what the heck! I have nothing to loose seeing as how fuct up it is anyway! I'm looking forward to seeing how it comes out!
 

Tommer45

Active Member
Yeah Bill I'm interested to see how your jacket comes out.. if I recall the pictures correctly the jacket was pretty messed up. Weren't there grooved pavement lines ground into it?
 
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