Hi Buddy, never used leather dyes and unsure of their properties but the Angelus brand seems to crop up in the odd build thread from time to time.

Ideally something spirit based shouldn't rehydrate timbermate and that makes applying the stain much easier.

If water based the rag being used to apply stain only needs to be just damp and not soaking wet otherwise you will have some dramas with the timbermate partially dissolving. Ok if it is being used to pop grain as multiple top coats will eventually act as a filler too, it just takes longer. If being used to create a dead flat surface more care will be required when applying initial stain coats.

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