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I bought a natural color leather OWB holster for my new Glock 43 at a gun show yesterday, and was wondering if anyone here has successfully dyed a naturally tanned leather holster black. If so, how should I do it? Would a do-it-yourself black dye bleed on my clothing under any condition?

SIGFan43 wrote:I bought a natural color leather OWB holster for my new Glock 43 at a gun show yesterday, and was wondering if anyone here has successfully dyed a naturally tanned leather holster black. If so, how should I do it? Would a do-it-yourself black dye bleed on my clothing under any condition?

I haven't dyed a holster, but I have dyed other leather using commercial leather dyes (it's been a while so I don't remember the brand name) I had very poor luck with it and have not attempted it since. The leather dye faded, and was not consistent in color. There may be products out there now that are better for this. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

I just read an article about dyeing leather, and it sounds like a process that I should not attempt on a leather holster. The dye, oils, and testing seem too much of a project for a holster I probably won't EDC anyway. It just sounds like something I wouldn't want to do. Thanks for your input.

The natural, or undyed, leather will darken over time, from normal handling. It make for a nice coloration, in my opinion. It will never darken to black, however.

If natural, you can dye it but beware that liquid dyes will possibly impact molding and retention since leather is wet molded. (holster makers dye the leather before molding to avoid this)

If you decide to try it, you can get the dye and finish (to keep dye from bleeding on you) from Tandy Leather.


As an alternative, you can airbrush it- I'm not sure what kind of paint they use but several of the holster makers airbrush them. The airbrushing wouldn't wet it enough to alter the molding.