White Haze After Vinegaroon

[kurtalderson]

The first mistake was buying a Tandy gunbelt kit because it seemed like a good deal. The second mistake was putting Eco All-in-one finish on it. I was trying to match the color of the holster (see my avatar) which is an Eco Prairie Tan. I like the rich reddish-brown finish and hoped to get a matching belt. Next time I'll cut all my leather from the same hide. Anyway, when I put the color to the belt it didn't look anything like the holster. In fact, it was more yellow than red. I tried deglazing the All-in-one finish with both a homemade denatured alchohol/lemon juice mix. It worked good (thanks to the Forum resources) but the color was embedded even though the finish seemed to be broken. I followed up with some commercial deglazer (contained petroleum spirits) but it didn't take much more color off than the home-brewed deglazer.

Now I was ready for the vinegaroon phase. That worked very well (again, thanks to the Forum). I had a nice even black but with a little bit of white haze on the grain side. I tried a little Neatsfoot oil, thinking that deglazing and vinegarooning (yes, I used the bicarbonate of soda solution to neutralize) combined to leave this odd white cloud. It is not a residue and does not rub off. Freshly oiled, it does disappear. The next day, the grain side was better but the flesh side had a white bloom to it.

Now I think that a finish like Satin Sheen, since I have no more Neat Lac, might do the trick and eliminate the white haze. Any experiences to relate?

Things I will "never" do again:

1. Buy a Tandy leather kit.

2. Buy an Eco-anything color or finish for leather.

If all else fails, I will use the kit for a pattern and thereafter chuck it.

Thanks for any comments.

[RobDude30]

I had a very similar thing happen to the very first belt I ever made. I used eco-flo dye and could not get it colorfast, so I tried deglazing it with denatured alcohol. It removed most of the surface color, but as you also found it did not remove the dye that had soaked in. When it dried it had a white haze on top. I dyed again with some Fiebing's and top coated with Resolene with decent results.

I think the white haze comes from the reaction of the eco-flo with alcohol. An acrylic topcoat seems to cover it up (at least in my experience). I would also suggest chunking the eco-everything and stick with Fiebing's products. Most of the things I make need to be colorfast and resistant to moisture and I could never seem to get that with the eco stuff.

[JJLeatherworks]

Rob's right on the eco thing, but your in San Diego. Can't have the Fiebing's in California. Make a trip out of state to get the good stuff. Stupid California, thank God I got out.

[kurtalderson]

Thanks for your comments, guys. As soon as the Harley comes out of the shop, I'm making a run to Yuma.