Hi group. I have been playing with leather for many years now, off and on.
I have a decent grasp of what I'm doing, within the perimeters that I'm working. That said, being only self-taught there is much I still do not know, especially concerning restoring old leather. My Sister brought me her handbag to see if I could clean it up for her. It had been in storage for many years and looked like it. After a full bottle of 'Fiebings liquid Glycerin saddle soap', some "Lexol Ph cleaner", several warm water rinses and a couple of rags (now destroyed) later, my rag stopped coming back caked with brown "gunk". I have no idea what I was cleaning off, an old dye paste wax? Years of crud accumulation? Both? Finally the leather started to look like I was making progress. I used some Lexol conditioner on it last night, so the color has gone dark. I assume it will fade in days!? (I (now) know that "before" pics would have gone a long way in helping to better understand where I was and where I am now, but it's too late for that now, so instead I offer pics of the situation as of now.) Here's a couple of pics showing the spots I am questioning. 1) The 'shiny' spots I assume are an old finish? What is it and how do I removed it? 2) Once I get it cleaned of the old finish I assume it will look like the areas that are now dull/leather looking? 3) At this point what do I do? Do I put more conditioner on it, and then put a coat of light dye on it? 4) Now for the "finish". What kind of finish would be best for this bag? I am partial to a natural finish, but I want it to have some protection. 5) The last image is of a scuffed area inside the bag. Can this be sanded with sand paper? Also the handles are rough. Do they need more oils? Could they be sanded smoothe? I recently read somewhere that that was an option in some cases. If anybody here would/could help me figure this out, I would be ever grateful.
