dyeing a swedish mauser ammo belt

[Kommissar]

My wife is really interested in doing a Nomad costume

my plan is to give a belt and pouches like this
http://www.musclecars.net/parts/par...y-mauser-ammo-belt-bandolier_320638229932.jpg

a good deep shade of red,

i'd rather not use paint, as that cracks and would just look like a poorly done prop,

any good bits of advice dying military gear?
should i give it a light sanding to get rid of the gloss finish to help saturation?

what kinds of dye would be best?
thanks

 

[Risu]

Re: dying a swedish mauser ammo belt

Go into your local Tandy Leather and get some red leather dye and satin shene. Apply the red dye with a douber and then after it dries use the shene with the rag to cover all the dyed surfaces and clean off all the excess dye dust.

 

[Cenobyte]

Re: dying a swedish mauser ammo belt

There is a Tandy Leather in La Mesa..
7018 University Avenue
La Mesa, CA 91942
(619) 589-0267

 

[BornKilr]

Re: dying a swedish mauser ammo belt

Make sure you check the color first. The one near me recently changed brands from what I had used (went to organic or something less harmful, I can't remember) but instead of a good deep blood red, I got a magenta-ish red. It was useless.

 

[eltee]

Re: dying a swedish mauser ammo belt

Also check out Tandy's leather "paint" as an alternative. On weathered, etc. leather that you want to look new and evenly colored, the leather paint is an alternative as dyeing worn or weathered leather may have lighter and darker areas. It is specially made for leather and has the ability to flex, certainly as much as a belt and ammo pouches might flex in normal use. Regular paint does not flex or adhere to leather nearly as well.

Bring your belt into a Tandy store and they may be able to help you select the most appropriate coloring agent for your use.

I used Tandy black leather paint to recolor some military ammo pouches for my Sandtrooper display and it worked fine.

 

[Kommissar]

Re: dying a swedish mauser ammo belt

nice thanks everyone!

ive been to the tandy place a few times, it was where i was planning on getting my supplies, i just trust RPF for advice about this stuff, since before my questions at that particular tandy store have been met with irritation :/

my only other real question would be,
should i worry about sanding the leather first? or not?

 

[AMP]

Re: dying a swedish mauser ammo belt

Also, spray the dye on. If you use the supplied daubers, it will streak and not come close to being evenly dyed.

 

[Kommissar]

Re: dying a swedish mauser ammo belt

spray? like with an air brush?

 

[Cameron]

Re: dying a swedish mauser ammo belt

I agree with AMP, spray on the dye in several light coats.

 

[Risu]

Re: dying a swedish mauser ammo belt

I've probably dye over 50 square yards of leather with daubers and sponge brushes in the past, and if you do it right there's no streaking at all. (especially with dark colors). Just make sure you apply it quickly so it doesn't have time to fully soak in in one place and not another, which will form a defined line.

 

[Pete SSS]

Re: dying a swedish mauser ammo belt

my only other real question would be,
should i worry about sanding the leather first? or not?

You shouldn't need to sand it, but, depending on how old/new it is, it may still have a protective coat of something on top which could interfere with your dye. You can buy leather strippers from Tandy too I think, it takes it back down to the raw leather so you can start again. If you've got a really vintage piece though, any protective coat will probably be long gone. I say just try a little on the back and if it takes then go ahead with the rest, if it soaks in unevenly, or not at all, then try the stripping stuff.

 

[BornKilr]

Re: dying a swedish mauser ammo belt

nice thanks everyone!

my only other real question would be,
should i worry about sanding the leather first? or not?

I wouldn't think so. I used Tandy's USMC Black dye on a relatively unused finished (still had a glossy sheen) brown leather coat, and it dyed fine. I had showed it to several people who work with and re-dye leather, telling me it would require a bunch of (expensive) steps to be re-dyed. But it looks great and has held up fine.

 

[Kommissar]

fantastic! i'll try to share progress when the belts have arrived