Solo Seat Block-Out Blues.....

[Spartan]

I finished dying my first solo seat last evening. I applied eco flow block-out to the skulls then antiqued the rest with med brown and let it set over night and plan to get back on it after work today... As I understand it, I should be able to take the stain and block-out off with acetone; will it? But the stain on the skulls is kind of growing on me. If I decide to leave it on can I finish it the way it is with resolene? I'm 50/50 eith way, my original plan was to stain the skulls desert tan or something close after I took the resist off, should I or just leave it the way it is. This is going to be a display for a rally this weekend. What would you do?

[Cyberthrasher]

Normally you wouldn't do anything with a resist afterward. It's just another layer on the product. You should usually get your different sections the color you want them BEFORE resisting because the resist will do funny stuff with the dye. Honestly, this doesn't look bad as it is. Keep in mind though, I've never worked with "block-out". I use Resolene as my primary resist and finish (thinned 50/50 with water and applied in several coats). I don't see any reason you couldn't apply Resolene over the top here. Here's a brief summary of a standard finishing process.

tool

lightly oil

dye

resist

anitque/stain

finish (usually with the same product you used to resist, but it can be different)

The only time I remove a "resist" is when I'm using liquid latex. It's basically a masking fluid and will need to be removed after all of the dye is completed and before you apply any kind of finish (including one you might use as a resist for antiquing).

[Spartan]

Thank you for the reply Thrasher and advise! I thought that about the resist after dying but a lady at the Tandy store here in San Antonio told me do put it on first then remove it with deglazer or acetone then dye it.. Oh well, live and learn. Guarantee I'll ask a question on here first before I make that mistake again.

[Cyberthrasher]

Thank you for the reply Thrasher and advise! I thought that about the resist after dying but a lady at the Tandy store here in San Antonio told me do put it on first then remove it with deglazer or acetone then dye it.. Oh well, live and learn. Guarantee I'll ask a question on here first before I make that mistake again.

I suppose it's possible, but it's really an unnecessary step and I've found that sometimes that stuff can mess with the leather too. Also, remember that none of you standard "resists" will actually resist DYE. The highlighters and stains aren't too bad, but dye will go straight through.

Here's some good information on resisting. http://www.johan-potgieter.com/ll/?cat=8

Pay special attention to the section titled "using resist - for antiquing" since that's the part that a lot of people seem to have some confusion on. That will give you a good idea on the outcome of different scenarios and how it should be used. That section is about 3/4 of the way down.