dyeing a sheepskin

[adventurer 08]

went last night to a ikea store and picked up a sheepskin for my rsv seat.they really had a varity of sizes and hair types to choose from. i want to try to dye it bkack. has anyone had good luck trying to dye one? if so what kind of dye did you use? ikea had skins that were 32in to 35in long for$20 and skins 36in to39in long for $40. i picked one that was 38in and it was just right.

[Just-Jack]

this could be kind of interesting I would love to find it out also but I would worry about the color running if it rained when we were riding that would be really bad to have a big black spot on my back side

[BEER30]

I've dyed sheepskin and other skins as well in the past , but not very often . Rather than typing all this out , I did a search and found a procedure very close to what I have done. Here's a C & P of that procedure :

 

1. Have a very understanding wife.

2. Procure the right dye. If you are not fussy and the color is right, get some liquid RIT dye from a fabric store. If you need an exact match, try your Yellow pages for “Carpet & Rug-Dyers” and find a person that does rugs and carpets; it is usually a franchise of Langenwalter Co http://www.langdye.com . Try to talk the guy into selling you some dye that will match your covers. They can mix exact colors, although it is always a crap shoot as it may not end up exact on the sheepskin.

3. Clean the covers. I simply vacuumed mine and then put them (one at a time) in the washing machine, COLD water, delicate setting, and washed them in Woolite Fabric Wash http://www.woolite.com . Do a double rinse to get all the soap out. For the final rinse, add ½ cup of white vinegar to get the pH of the wool right to accept dye. Spin all the water out that you can, then hang them up in a place where the air freely circulates to dry thoroughly in a few days. Stretch the skins as much as you can and add weights to be sure that they will not shrink. I cut a piece of closet rod the width of the skin, ran wires from the rod through the headrest holes and Hung it that way, then put a couple of gallon bottles of water in the lower section to stretch it.

4. Clean the grease from the racks and walls of your kitchen oven.

5. Get at least two (2) good quality, clean plastic sprayers (you may screw up one in the middle of the job)

6. Heat the clean oven to about 180 degrees.

7. Dilute the dye to the proper proportion. I used 10:1 ratio, although 1:20 should also work.

8. Cover the work area in the kitchen with a sheet of plastic or you will dye the tile, grout, etc. and your wife will not be a happy camper. Remember spray travels, so include the walls. If weather permits, do the job outside.

9. Shut off the oven and put the sheepskin into it to warm thoroughly for about 5 minutes.

10. Heat about a pint of the diluted dye in a Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave to 180-190 degrees.

11. Remove the sheepskin from the oven, turn the oven back ON. Lay the warm sheepskin on the protected work surface.

12. Wearing rubber gloves, pout the hot dye into the sprayer, spray the sheepskin and rub it into the wool with your hands. Cover all areas. Keep re-heating the dye. It will not work unless it is above 140 degrees. You don’t have to soak the wool, just dampen it thoroughly.

13. When you have done an area such as the seat or the seat back, turn the oven off and put the sheepskin into the heated oven to bake. This step will insure that the dye reaches the working temperature ON the wool. Let it sit for 5 minutes, re-heat the dye, repeat steps 11-13.

14. Take the finished cover out into the sun or a bright area and critically inspect it for missed areas. Spot dye them and re-bake. It helps to rub the wool different ways.

15. When you are satisfied, do a double rinse in your washer with cold water, Add 1/4 cup of bleach to the first rinse, spin dry and hang to dry. Rub while damp with a clean, white cloth to make sure you got all the dye out and re-rinse if you did not. Stretch the skins as much as you can and add weights to be sure that they will not shrink. I cut a piece of closet rod the width of the skin, ran wires from the rod through the headrest holes and Hung it that way, then put a couple of gallon bottles of water in the lower section to stretch it. Don’t put the covers back on until they are completely dry and no longer smelling like a wet sheep.

16. Clean up the area, including the washing machine, so you won’t get divorced. Household bleach should remove all traces of the dye. Clorox® http://www.clorox.com makes a kitchen cleaner in a spray bottle that has some bleach in it and also works well. Store any remaining dye in a capped jar in your refrigerator.

 

CAUTIONS

1. This will work only for all sheepskin covers. Any cheapos with acrylic backing will be absolutely ruined by the baking process.

2. Be sure to NEVER put the sheepskin in the oven when it is ON. The heating element may catch it on fire. Just in case, have a fire extinguisher handy. I used an electric oven. If you have a gas oven and have a exposed pilot light, be careful it does not light up the wool. The dye is water based, so only the actual wool may burn.

3. If you have a sheepskin headrest cover, try that first to be sure your dye color is satisfactory.

4. If you only have a very small area to do, try spraying the area, rub it in, then heat the area with a heat gun or a very hot hair dryer, or even a halogen light to set the dye. When satisfied, use a wet vacuum to remove the excess dye and clean up so you won’t get dye on your clothes.

5. Before sitting on the dyed covers, rub with a clean cloth to see if any of the dye transfers.

 

 

Good Luck ,

BEER30

[adventurer 08]

thanks for the tips. ill keep it in mind. just want to dye it black. my bike is black cherry and black.

john:stirthepot::stirthepot:

[KiteSquid]

There has to be an easyer way.

 

I would recomend Acid Dyes from Dharma Trading or the nice folks over a Pro Dye and Chemical.

 

 

I purchsase from both houses for the dyes I use on my kites.

 

If they recomend Acid Dye, I might have some spare black I could give you.... But I would have to dig thru some boxes in the garage for it.

 

Dont let the term Acid Dye throw you off, you use some Citric Acid to make the Ph about that of Lemon Aid....

 

The only thing I dont know about is how to keep the underlying skin soft and supple at the end of the process..... but it must be easy to do, as there are a lot of dyed sheepskins out there.

[BEER30]

Yes , there is an easier way , just buy the color you needed . As the EPA has major restrictions that constitute the chemicals used . Acid dyes are the best , or even spirit dyes as well . But the key is to dye the skins the best way without having a shiner on the rear end .

Household dyes will be under the radar with the EPA and being less residue to consider .

Skins are dyed at the leather processing plants .They have large Vats that do the dyeing . Even a properly treated rinse cycle to reduce the dye transfer . We just do not have the luxury of all these machinery and chemicals .

 

As the old saying says , "I've done so long with so little , I can do anything with nothing ".

 

If all else fails , rob your wife's black hair dye . Or "Just for Men " ..... going to wash that grey right out of my hair , gonna wash that grey right out of my hair ,............

 

 

BEER30