ThisIsMyFirstRodeo

Having any issues with the interior? In the process of assembling a purse myself, but I made the dummy move of using water-based dye. I sealed the exterior with Pro Resist, but now I’m paranoid about bleed/stain on the inside (let’s say it got wet or something…). Before I stitch the panels together, is there anything I should do to seal the inside, or do I even need to worry about it? — AZR

Dwight, since you seem to know what you’re doing, I made the dummy move of using Fiebing’s regular dye instead of the pro dye for a purse, and I’m paranoid about rub off because of my mistake. Aside from a final coat of Pro Resist, is there something I can do to avoid the rub off? Also, because I went to the extra step of dying the interior/flesh side, what can I do to seal it? (Primarily concerned if it got wet…) — AZR

Thank you, Fred. Now that I realize that I didn’t even ask my initial question, will NFO penetrate Pro Resist? And follow-up, does saddle soap still clean/condition in spite of the resist? TIA, — AZR

Okay so this thread is so far dead that it’s fossilized, but I’m gonna dig it up again and hope for more insight… So I am actively in the step of finishing the panels for a purse, so I’ll give the process I just used. Full disclosure: just as my handle suggests, I don’t necessarily know what I’m doing aside from following tips from others… 1) I clean/wash the panels with warm water and Dawn dish soap, and rinse well. The intended purpose is to draw out the oils to the surface and wash off. 2) Once dry to touch, I gave a relatively light coat of NFO to replace the oils I removed, and let it sit overnight to even out in the fibers. 3) Cased the leather with water and let sit overnight. 4) Scribed in my stitch lines and pricked out (not punched) where the stitches would lie. 5) “re-cased” the panels with a spray bottle of water until the absorption slowed, and let sit for a few minutes until it looked kinda dry and was cool to touch, and tooled the panels. Sprayed again as needed, but only minimal. Once finished, I let it sit overnight. 6) Dye process. I’ll leave the method I used out because it was experimental for a sunburst effect (not what happened). But, after dying, I buff off the excess dye sitting on the surface, and let sit overnight to fully absorb and even out. 7) Gave it a light coat of Fiebing’s Pro Resist, mixed about 50/50 with water, and quickly wiped off (just to seal surface, not depressions). 😎 Applied a heavy coat of Fiebing’s antique paste (I use my finger so I can really work it down into the depressions), lightly buffing the excess off when I was done. 9) Let dry for half an hour or so, and buffed on my wheel to a nice sheen. This brings us up to now. The edges of one panel don’t feel quite dry enough for my liking, so I’m killing time with dishes, giving my pup some loving, and writing this post. Once I’m happy with the edges feeling dry, I’m going to give another coat maybe 2 of the 50/50 Pro Resist, buff out, and finally punch my stitch line to assemble, burnish the edges with gum trag and/or spit, and finish. Once again, I don’t really know what I’m doing, it just seems to work for me. Still feels like my first rodeo, — AZR

Thank you for that tidbit Dwight. I’ll give that a shot on the next piece that I do here. Like the craft/peach paper that I wrap my brisket with? — AZR

Fred, I wish I could agree. Perhaps tackiness is the wrong descriptor, but it’s like pulling your finger across acrylic resin, just resists movement. I applied only a light coat to both pieces yesterday morning. 24ish-hour dry time with good air circulation before I posted, currently sitting at 30ish hours. I even hit them on the buffing wheel earlier to no effect. Im not too proud to deny the possibility of user error, but I have no clue what’s going on. —AZR

Hey all, I guess first, is there a top coat with a low-friction finish? Or, is there a way to reduce the tackiness of a finish such as Pro Resist? Backstory: I’m making a business card holder, and I used the wrong dye. To prevent rub off on hands/clothes/cards, I had to use the Pro Resist to seal (only topcoat on my shelf…). But, it has that acrylic tack/friction that I foresee preventing the cards from sliding in/out, and sticking to them if I manage to get the cards in. So I’m looking for a way to reduce the tackiness for this project, but also looking for a solution for future projects. Any and all help greatly appreciated! Maybe it’s my second rodeo now… — AZR

Ok, so this may seem like somewhat of a moronic question, but I’m still learning how to use NFO… Should I be oiling before or after casing/tooling? Will casing just push the oil to the surface? Maybe it still is my first rodeo… — AZR

For those curious, the Pro Resist seems to have sealed. KGG — I oiled a piece last night. This morning, the color of the leather is just slightly little darker, but even across the piece. Seems to be a perfect blank canvas. Usually I tool before I dye, but today I plan to dye and tool tomorrow, along with a piece I didn’t oil, and we’ll see how much dye bleeds as I case it… AZR

I’m assuming that you’re also familiar with the Fiebings Pro black. What’s your preference? AZR

I should pick some Resolene up on my next Tandy run. I actually just made a bag using USMC black for the straps and billets, but I gave them a healthy coat of ProResist. Hopefully it’ll do the trick… — AZR

Oh and Darren, nice looking pieces. I’ve been looking at that template as well. — AZR

Oh I’m totally giving this a shot!

Thank you. Fiebings is definitely my go-to as well. And the Angelus is awesome, but it also feels like busting out the Pappy Van Winkle 9yr on a weeknight to me, if you know what I mean. I’ll give your method a try and see how it works for me. — AZR

Hey all, Has anyone experienced any issues with NFO and topcoats, whether NFO is applied before or after? Products used: Tandy’s econo veg tan shoulder, dyed with EcoFlo deep violet leather dye, Dr. Jackson’s pure NFO, EcoFlo super sheen) Backstory: After becoming accustomed to the juicy vibrancy of Angelus’s purple leather dye, I’m unimpressed with the EcoFlo, in depth of color as well as polished sheen (I did 3 coats total). Finally got my hands on some NFO (oil not compound), and figured I’d give it a try to see if it helped either color or sheen. Then it caught water spray while I was working another piece, and bled onto my hands and the paper towel I was using to dry it. And remembered that it’s water-based and I hadn’t sealed it yet so I grabbed the super sheen. No matter how many coats ive tried, it simply runs off. Deciding that the issue might be the NFO, I used some saddle soap to try to remove it, let it sit a couple minutes, and rinsed off before trying again. Super sheen still just rolled off. And that brings us up to now. I really don’t want to deal with unhappy wife or customers dealing with stained skin and clothes, so I’m looking for a solution. Thoughts? TIA, AZR

Is it illegal to carry a hatchet or ax? Curious minds want to know… But Chuck, both pieces look really nice! —AZR

Chuck, returning to your question, I use warm water and dawn dish soap beforehand. I figure if it’ll get crude oil off of a duck, then it’ll get whatever oils that come to the surface without damaging the hide, then rinsed as many times with warm water as needed, and once more for good measure. Because it’s usually fully-saturated by then, I let it air dry for several hours (AZ, it’s a dry heat, etc.) And I do have logic regarding dawn, albeit it may be flawed logic… It pulls the oils out, leaving it thirsty, which then will pull the oils from the dye deeper into the hide (almost exclusively use Fiebing’s Pro). But again, my logic could very well be flawed. With finished leather, then I use saddle soap. Only exception I can think of is my couch. Then I use dawn if I absolutely have to, followed by saddle soap. So far, it’s worked well for me, but if you have a different process, then I’m all ears. — AZR

And there is the answer to my question! Thank you KGG, I doubt I would have found the answer on my own. — AZR

Thank you, Bruce. I appreciate your input regarding the milky color. Most recently, it happened to be 2-3oz and 5-6oz econo veg tan from Tandy, probably Argentinian in origin, if I had to guess. (Before the peanut gallery chimes in dishing on their quality, it’s what I have available, and more importantly, it’s what I can afford…) As far as casing goes, I don’t believe there’s any problem with my process involved, only my execution. And I’m aware of it. Skill comes with practice, and im still learning the craft. These pieces I didn’t bother to clean first, and I only used a spray bottle of tap water, so it couldn’t have come from me. I had considered the possibility of it being something from the tanning process, but I also freely admit that I know nothing of the tanning process. I don’t know if I’m “glad” per se, but at least I know I’m not crazy, and someone else has also experienced this. — AZR

So the pebbling down the entire length is all stamped?

Hey all, Well the title kinda says it all: here and there while I’m actively stamping, a thin milky liquid will rise to the surface. Yes, water rising probably means that I’m casing too much, but that’s not the question. I had thought that perhaps I hadn’t rinsed the soap off thoroughly from cleaning the leather before working it, but then I noticed it even when I hadn’t cleaned it first. Wish I had a pic to show, but it’s not something I think about when it happens, and I have yet to find rhyme or rhythm to encourage it. Thanks for any insight. —AZR

Bruce — Wow, thank you. Your experience, especially being much closer (3hrs or so) to me helps a lot. Most definitely individual wrapped candy, and SF definitely. But more importantly, the ideas for what we called an “elevator pitch” in school (I barely passed speech class…), and communication with the promoters/managers. The general ideas I’m gathering from everyone are how to successfully invite people into my stall, and create a connection, however brief. Definitely stepping out of my comfort zone, but necessary for the potential of success. Returning to ideas for setup, what are people’s thoughts regarding a couple cable spools stacked to create a rounder, with my concept being to bring people in to see what else is out of sight? I’m wavering though, as I don’t want something too big to see around or take up half of my tent. I haven’t bothered yet to flesh out how to keep the design clean. But, if it winds up looking a little too redneck, it won’t be leaving my garage. At face value, I like the concept of a rounder, but what are other’s thoughts? — AZR

I do have, if nothing else, some store-type plastic bags, though I may be able to finagle some paper bags. But thank you for mentioning them, they weren’t even on my radar. As far as refreshments of some sort, we are working with the local health department to determine if we even need a permit for fresh-brewed tea (tea blends are one of my wife’s products 😉). They’re severely understaffed though, and haven’t returned any of our emails or calls yet. If I can’t get a response I will go ahead and ask forgiveness if I have to, since I’ve been trying for permission and failing. My wife may also attempt some baked goods, which fall under the cottage foods act, don’t need any permit. The dry tea blends are also “cottage”, but for some reason, adding hot water is problematic… 🤦🏻 The book idea I had started kicking around, especially since I want to push my bookmarks out, though I am hesitant about another expense that may not sell. We’ll see though, I have a full library that I could probably part with. What do you do with your flawed (not ruined) products that people may but probably not notice, such as a scratch on a panel or overstamping? (One of my more popular stamps/patterns is notoriously difficult to maintain a line or correct once it wanders…)

Toxo: We’re in the American SW, in Arizona. Monsoon season is already petering out, and it should be sunny and perhaps a bit cool (by our standards at least). We will be set up in our 3m x 3m popup tent (good quality), and we do have enough tables to set however desired. Great idea for the vertical displays, and hey, it’ll give me another creative puzzle to solve with all of the random bits of salvaged wood and scrap in my yard! Thank you for the note to work with the promoter for table position, it honestly had skipped my mind. Thanks, AZR

I’ll start with the easy one first… Bladegrinder: yes, we are set to accept credit, Zelle, CashApp, and Apple. Fred: thank you for the idea of the candy bowl. It’ll also be just a couple weeks after Halloween, so maybe I won’t eat all my.. ahem… my daughter’s candy… I think it will indeed draw people and keep them closer to strike up conversation, especially because I’m not the best “people person” and I’ll need to push myself outside of my comfort zone. I definitely need to talk leather and find what the local demographic is actually looking for. Thanks! AZR