Ashen Leather

[wyme84]

I'm making a small bag out of 8-9 ounce veg tan leather.

I have dyed it and I applied some neatsfoot oil, now the surface has this ashen appearance? Almost like a thin layer of wax. Is that normal with neatsfoot oil? Is the leather dry? Do I just need to buff it off?

Thanks for your help!

[MonicaJacobson]

Yes, that does happen. I've never tried buffing it off - it doesn't seem like it would work, but I dunno. I usually apply it after dying and before a finish. You will probably want to put some kind of finish on the raw veg-tan anyway. You could do a single layer of resolene, gives it a bit of a sheen without turning it too plastic-ey. Or you could use Aussie conditioner/wax. You can use a hair-dryer (or leave it in the sun) and the heat will help it melt in, after which it buffs up very nicely.

Here's a picture of a bag I made for someone and left completely without a finish. I made it for a friend in town, so he brought it back for a spruce-up two years later. I put Aussie on it and it looks much, much better. I think people use Carnauba cream as well, but I've never tried it.

[wyme84]

Thanks for the reply.

So, don't worry about it? Just move onto the finish and it'll fix itself?

[MonicaJacobson]

Oh yeah, as long as you put something else on it, it goes away. Here's a bag I was working on a month or so back - first picture, you can see the ashen look you're talking about after I applied neatsfoot oil, and the second picture is later, after three coats of resolene.