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Cyberthrasher

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  1. Cyberthrasher
    I use Fiebing's antique paste. For your purposes, I'd say any of the browns would be a good choice. Resist the entire project as normal, then rub on the paste. It will leave some darker accents after you wipe it off without over-powering things. The key to this will be the right amount of resist to keep it from coloring the leather too much, but also not seal it all out. PRACTICE.
  2. Cyberthrasher
    I have an awl blade - it's tapered I have cheap tapestry needles small hole, don't push awl through as deep. Bigger hole, push awl through deeper As stated, you're seriously over-thinking the process. Take a loot at some of Nigel's videos. He's got a pretty tiny awl blade, but look more at his process. http://www.youtube.com/user/Nordicbadger/videos
  3. Cyberthrasher
    1) Dyes will always show the flaws in the leather - like woodworking, they penetrate the material instead of sitting on top like paint. But, don't confuse them with stains/highlights. Those are designed to primarily color the tooling - they're liquid antique. 2) Fiebing's Pro Oil is the more vibrant choice, but the color selection isn't the best. Use Pro-Oil for what you can, and Regular for the others. 3) Any finish you want will work. Resolene, Clear-Lac, Tan-Kote, RTC, etc... Choice in dye doesn't matter. What does matter is applying the finish correctly without streaks. 4.) Apply conditioners as the FINAL step - this is a maintenance task that a customer would use, apply it before it goes out the door as if you were the customer (I'm assuming you are at this point - it's more of a state of mind statement).
  4. Cyberthrasher
    I use Resolene to spray - pretty much on everything. It's a LOT more durable than Tan-Kote and has UV/Water resistance. ALWAYS thin it 50/50 with water, regardless of how you apply it. Think of Resolene like Leather Sheen on steroids. They're both acrylic finishes, but Resolene is a far superior product. Why do you want to spray the Tan-kote? In my experience, it usually goes on really easy and evenly with a sponge, rag, or sheep scrap.
  5. Cyberthrasher
    That's easy - Fiebing's Walnut Pro Oil Dye applied heavily. If you want some darker "spots", you can use some dark antique paste after applying a finish and then top coat it again.
  6. Cyberthrasher
    The 8/9 oz is going to be stiff, but it will break down with use. Are you oiling after you dye?
  7. Cyberthrasher
    Google "airbrush hood system", "airbrush spray booth", "home made airbrush ventilation". There are LOTS of good ideas out there. For myself and my limited space, I'm planning on repairing an old bathroom fan that's sitting there and building a box around it that pipes out my window. Either that, or building a filtered hood system that recycles the air back to the room by using a high CFM fan sucking the air up into a large filter. Something like this: http://www.coastairbrush.com/proddetail.asp?prod=FAN9900&cat=18
  8. Cyberthrasher
    I would verify that there isn't an available dye color first. Dye will ALWAYS be better than paint. As long as you don't pile things on thick, you should be fine with that type of product. Angelus has quite a large selection of colors in their dyes, and their acrylic paints are really good too.
  9. Cyberthrasher
    Springfield carries it all too. It is lacquer though, so you could use lacquer thinner. http://springfieldleather.com/23272/Thinner%2CClear-Lac%2C32oz/
  10. Cyberthrasher
    Flexible enough for what I use it on. I ONLY cover the portions that have color with varnish. I've never experimented with a large coverage area to see how it bends. It doesn't go on thick though, so I wouldn't imagine it would be a huge problem.
  11. Cyberthrasher
    I do it with a dry brush technique on a sponge. It takes some practice to get right, and i still screw it up here and there, but the results can be really cool. For my sponges, I dab them onto the residual pigment on the rim of the bottle, then stretch the sponge over my finger tip. The main thing to watch out for, which it sounds like you've seen, is that "spot" that has full pigment and will leave a line. That's where stretching it over the finger tip helps. Oh yeah, and hit it to some paper first to make sure you're not streaking or putting out too much color.
  12. Cyberthrasher
    Do you HAVE to have magnesium? There are several people who can do it in other materials. What are your goals exactly?
  13. Cyberthrasher
    It sounds like you're either cutting too deep, cutting at an angle, or you don't have properly cased leather. NEVER Tap, move, tap, move when beveling - especially with a smooth beveler. It should be a constant up down motion with your finger as a spring - like a jackhammer. Suspend the tool over your cut line (just a hair) and tap it repeatedly with your mallet/maul. You'll see it spring back up. As it's doing that, you move your tool along the line - this is called walking the tool.
  14. Cyberthrasher
    NO! Always brush and don't move it around more than you have to. It's a sensitive product. The more you work it, it will end up getting cloudy and look funny. Also, when you pour some out to use, pour a couple drops and just get a little bit on your brush. It's quite amazing how it covers. Admittedly, I've never tried to airbrush it, but seeing what it does when you work it too much, I wouldn't. If you're gentle when brushing it, it will glide right on and come out looking like a layer of glass with absolutely no streaks.
  15. Cyberthrasher
    Vinegaroon soaks through the leather and chemically changes the color to black. So, there's really no dying it after that - it's black and you're done. You can Paint anything over the top of it though since paint merely sits on top of the leather and doesn't change the color.
  16. Cyberthrasher
    It's not varnish. It's their version of an acrylic top coat. I don't know if it has the same properties as Resolene though, but it's the same type of product. I use Liquitex Satin Varnish, but they have different levels of gloss available. One coat is enough. Don't be frightened by the price-tag either - it will go a LONG way. I prefer to airbrush Resolene when possible. It just goes on a lot better that way. If you do, I'd say 3 - 4 coats. Here's a guitar strap with white acrylic paint, Liquitex Varnish over the paint only, and then airbrushed Resolene over the entire strap. If you scroll through my gallery, there's another one with gold artwork that's also got the Varnish over the gold paint.
  17. Cyberthrasher
    They usually have some at China-Mart and craft stores.
  18. Cyberthrasher
    How many coats of Resolene? Depends on how heavy your coat is - I do 3 - 4 LIGHT coats of 50/50 Resolene. I prefer it because it's water and UV resistant. What to put over the paint before the Resolene? The results will be better with varnish over the paint and under the Resolene. It evens out the paint and protects it from the Resolene, which can re-activate the paint since they're both acrylic. It's also another layer to protect it all together. It's what's used by world class painters to protect the color on their paintings - and those are just sitting in a gallery.
  19. Cyberthrasher
    Yep, you can stitch it on there as well. I haven't done it myself because I have it in my head that a "leather" wallet should be leather. But, many of the legends do it. Peter Main is actually the one who suggested wide ribbon with contact cement holding it in. Remember, there should also be a "liner" behind it for whatever cash pocket that's there, which will also hold everything in place and hide the ribbon.
  20. Cyberthrasher
    Well, hello there from a couple of hours south.
  21. Cyberthrasher
    I'm not sure if there's a difference in the Lansky you're using, but they're designed to go over the blade in a "W" pattern - as it states in the instructions that come with the kit, which means that you're not trying to get the whole blade in one stroke, not even on a tiny pocket knife.
  22. Cyberthrasher
    It's usually a single piece of either fabric, ribbon, Tyvek that's folded up in an accordion. Put it over the back of the top slot, fold it over and up to the second slot, and so on so that the fold is what holds the card in place. Ribbon and Tyvek will last longer than fabric.
  23. Cyberthrasher
    All those little trimmings you cut off (cutting to size as well as edge beveling) and holes you punch out and other garbage that's too small - grind it up in a blender.
  24. Cyberthrasher
    The oil in your fingers are a little bit different. It's actually a mixture of the oils and everything else you touch. Before you dye, wipe your piece down with some alcohol - either denatured or isopropyl. The problem usually presents itself the most when you press down with oily fingers on slightly wet leather. Another related issue is if you do it with metal particles on your hand from gripping your tools. This SHOULD NOT be rubbed with alcohol. If it's a slightly grey finger print or smudge - DO NOT RUB. Instead, get some pure lemon juice and dab it on then let it sit. The mark will dissapear, then you can clean it with alcohol and get back to dying. If you rub it, you'll push the particles into the leather and they'll be there for good.
  25. Cyberthrasher
    Whenever you're embossing leather (pushing up the work from the flesh side to make it the design stand off the leather, not using an embossing wheel) you should fill the cavity you created. You mix ground up leather bits with rubber cement to the consistency of peanut butter and fill it in like bondo so that your work will hold its shape. Here's something Kings X has written up about it. You'll need to browse around the pages (newer and older) to get the full story. http://kingsxcustomleatherworks.blogspot.com/2012/10/embossing-rings.html
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