Fiebing's 4 Fluid Ounce Bottle of Leather Dye Prep

Good product though seller has delayed/slow communication regarding lost orders

Very good!!!

Perfectly good product does what they say it will with awesome results.

Ce travail très bien

Pretty much a must have before dying leather.

I have only used the dye prep on undyed leather before applying the dye that I want. It has worked well with only a couple negatives that are likely inherent in formulation for the product to work.When applying a color dye (like ) to undyed leather with a , the first dye that is applied quickly soaks into the leather and the color is light. If more dye is applied to the same area then the area is darker and appears "wet" with some of the dye sitting on top of the leather to be absorbed more slowly. The final color is then darker than a "single coat" of dye. If more dye is added (another coat), the leather may get darker, but eventually most dyes stop changing color.It is difficult to get the entire piece the light colored "first coat" color without creating streaks where one stroke of the dauber overlaps an adjacent area. Some people apply the dye with an airbrush to minimize overlap and keep the final color the light "single coat" color (or to create gradual changes from dark to light). The alternative is to apply two coats quickly so that a little extra dye is sitting on top of the leather and the entire piece is a uniform wetness and then let it dry. The result will be quite uniform, but darker than the single coat color.This dye prep helps get a uniform dye closer to the single coat color. Proper use of this material is to apply to undyed leather and while the leather is still "wet" from the dye prep apply the colored dye that you want. It is important that the leather still be wet from the dye prep when you apply the dye. The applied dye will look very wet and sit on top of the leather like the second coat of dye would look without using dye prep. The piece will look very dark and is slower to dry. However, upon full drying, the result will be a uniformly dyed piece of leather at a color only slightly darker than the first coat color.There are some negatives:1. The product has a strong ammonia smell when applying and that odor lingers in the leather after dying. It is not overly strong, but it is there. I like my products to smell like "leather" and this product leaves a residual odor. It is not strong, and some waxes or other leather treatments will cover up the odor. I took off a "star" for this.2. The dye prep allows the leather to absorb the dye in greater quantity. This is good for uniformity, but on very light dyes, it means that the lightest color achievable is darker than the first coat color. It is much closer to the first coat color than the two coat color, but still it is darker. Applying the same dye with an airbrush (if you are good at it) would give uniform coverage with a slightly lighter color.I have tested the product with blue, red, cherry, and several shades of brown. Each dye behaves a little different, but similar results are achieved. With black however, there is really no benefit. The single coat and multiple coat color is the same, so there is less need to use this product with black.

I used as instructed and it worked well in preparing the areas to accept the leather dye. I believe it also helped minimize blotching. Much like controlling water colors by wetting paper first with water.

Been using for years. Wouldn't think of using anything else, Great product for my type of hobby. Does the job

Preped light tan shoes and did two coats. Between medium and dark brown now, great color. The prep opened up the leather.

Had a B Makosky cream handbag which I loved and was in great shape, other than the color. I'm a little tough on the light colors. Bought the dye and the prep and I have a brand new black bag!!!