harleysue

I use a 1" High Density Foam... I purchase from Rockland Textiles in Ottawa ON Canada... you can also purchase it on line from Foam for you in Michigan USA here is the link http://www.foamforyou.com/Open_Cell_Foam.htm

Not sure if you have found anyone yet to work on your seat... If not let me know maybe we could work something out... I am in Canada as well but half way the other end... Use to live in BC on the Island... So let me know if your still looking cause we do seats for our biker friends around this area... If your interested you can check out my web site I will send you the info for that if you like... Anyway I am sure we can work something out to work together on your seat design... Let me know... Regards Harley Sue

Hi Just wondering if you have found anyone yet to do your seat for you... If not let me know I am in the Ottawa Ontario Area in Canada... But I am sure that we could work something out if you have not find anyone closer to you... You can check out some of our earlier work if you like on our Web Site I will give you the info once you reply... I use to live in BC on Vancouver Island... So let me know... Regards Harley Sue

Hi Chris Thank you so much for your positive feed back .. Greatly appreciated... . You have a good eye for detail... Will definetly add more shading to my next acrylic piece... Yes we do get a lot of requests for skulls... but this one was nice to do since this one was an exact replica of the customers tattoo... We have been watching this site for quite some time now and it is simply amazing to see the work that has been done by its members... So nice to see that it is no longer a dying art... Thanks again Cheers Harley Sue

Hi Guys I asked for your suggestions the other day on which products to use to finish this seat... but did not receive any replys... so I searced around the site and other forums and finally found the answer myself... Thanks anyways guys For those of you who are confronted with the same question here is the posting that I found... Hope it helps... I have also posted a picture of the finshied seat... would greatly appreciated your feed back and comments... Thanks Hello everyone, my name is Johnny Trek and I am new to Leatherworker.net. I have been lurking around in the background for a while and thought it was time to introduce myself and post my first question. I am interested in making motorcycle seats. Mainly for me and my riding buddies. I have been successful in making a few already. I have been working with leather for a while and I have to say the thinig that gives me the most trouble is dyeing and sealing. I have used fiebings oil and that eco flo stuff tandy sells, mainly because its a whole lot easier to get. To be honest I have had good results with both, but I am not sure of whats gonna happen in th long run. I deffinately want some advice with sealing. After reading so many posts and looking around online I am more confused now than when I started. I have tried tan kote, neatsfoot oil, super sheen and satin sheen. After using these I am not completely satisfied. I hate the rubbery plastic look that these leave. I feel like it ruins the look of my work. I want it to look just like it does right after it gets dyed. No shine or very little shine. I'd love it if I could just get the name of a product that will work and the directions on how to use it. Fast and easy. Please help me figure this out and point me in the right direction. Thanks Answers: You might want to try Resolene. It looks like milk smells like ammonia and works great. I use it to water proof my belts and lock the dye in the leather. All you need to apply it is a rag or paper towel. Get the rag wet with Resolene and wipe it on your project and allow it to dry. Do not lay a wet piece on another piece of leather it will stick and ruin the finish. I hang my belts on a nail and allow them to dry. A flat piece just leave it where it lies and allow it to dry. Hey Johnny, Something you can do is to buff back the shine you're getting from the sealers with a good conditioner & wax/waterproofer. I'm the same, I don't like the high shine the acrylics (tank-kote, Resolene, etc) leave but they are part of the process. Check out the motorcycle kick from Pecard. it includes a conditioner, weatherproof dressing and a high-shine spray all for $20. Simply dye the piece, apply neatsfoot to restore the natural oils and then seal with an acrylic. Let the sealer dry completely and then give the piece a good rub with the conditioner and a soft cloth (old t-shirts work great). This will buff back the shine and mute it quite a bit. Once that's done, the leather should have a great feel to it. Then apply the weatherproof dressing in thin layers and buff in by hand. The friction from the buffing will work it into the fibers. Let it set for about 15-20 minutes and then buff off any residue with a clean rag. Here's a pic of a tank bib I recently did this way. If you go this route, I suggest also spending the extra $6 and getting the Black dressing. It works great for all black leathers and makes the color just that much deeper. Here are the links: Motorcycle kit: Black Weatherproof Dressing: Chris Resolene is not high gloss. Johnny, welcome to the site and to the biggest problem that seat builders encounter. First black dye stinks, no matter what kind you use. It rubs off. So will most of the colors like the cordovan, red, blue, etc...... Still, Fiebings dye is the best. Oil or Alcohol based are about the same as far as I can tell..... Eco Flo belongs in the trash...best place for it. It is too fragile for bike seats. It will end up on the back of someone's jeans. Save the eco flo for coloring pictures that you hang on a wall, it doesn't belong on objects that you really use. The best thing to hold dye in place (it still isn't perfect) is Neat Lac. You want to apply it with a cloth, don't spray or brush it on....it can get super glossy that way. One coat, maybe two at the most is what to use. However, it can be pretty shiney, so I've been recommending that you try what the old timers used back before Neat Lac was on the market. It is a wood finish called Deft. It is available in gloss, satin and flat. Again apply with a cloth don't spray or brush; one maybe two coats at most. Rub it in until it looks almost dry after you are done. You want to get this stuff IN the leather not laying on top of the leather. If you get Deft or Neat Lac on too thick it can crack and actually peal off. I guess I should offer my appologies to Tandy here for hating their Eco Flo products..........nah they stink what can I say. This is of course just my personal opinion and should be taken for what you feel it is worth. There that was ALMOST an appology,.... right? Dave Nah don't appologize. I'm having so much trouble with eco-flo products. The biggest problem I am experienceing at the moment is creating a resist that is strong enough to have antique gel rubbed over it and remain sealed and clean. No matter what I do some of the dye always ends up coloring a spot that I sealed like 3 times. I can't figure out whether its the supersheen that doesn't work, the antique that doesn't work, or the process i'm using them in. I foud that fiebings dye rubbed over supersheen takes it right off. Basically just trying to get bright colors and an even background. In this pic I tooled, colored (with eco-flo), brushed two coats of supersheen on the colored areas (waiting 24 hours in between), then painted in a fiebings tan. You can see the brush marks and I think that's no good. So I figured that you seat makers must seal your colors in with something else then use maybe one of the fiebings paste antiques that I cant get in Cali and rub it down with that. That's the only way I can figure that being done. Am I wrong? 1021101114b.jpg IMHO the problem is - supersheen is the wrong product to use. (it doesn't give total resist in that it allows top color to stick to ANY indentations in the piece). I experimented and had to use 6 coats of ss to equal 1 of blockout. . I have no Idea what to use for a really durable topcoat/finish as on a seat. (but Im not up to that yet, and would go w/ test pieces before trusting something I had lots of hours in to ANY topcoat. I was just looking at your colors and I think they look great! I want to get colors like that on the firefighter shields I'm working on. You said you were using eco-flo products. Can you tell me what brushes you're using or any other tricks you could recommend for me to get bright opaque colors? The dyes I've used don't give me the coverage you have. Could I also use acrylic paints like I could get at a craft store? Your detail to the painting is very good. I use Montana pitch blend on most of my seats,It is waterproof and seals the leather with no shine at all. It is applied by rubbing it into the leather by hand or with a cloth and then dried with a blow dryer. Then buff it out, just to even the finish, but it will not shine. If I want some sheen to it I hit it with some neutral shoe polish. I think it needs to be redone fairly often if exposed the weather a lot, so I always recommend people pick up some kind of dressing to use regularly if they're worried about it. I hope this helps. John Thanks for all the replies. I will take this information and use it from now on

OMG! Thank you so much for this post... I posted a request yesterday in the Motorcycle and Gear Forum and had not yet received a reply on the process for acrylic paint and on what to use... I think that JReddings reply just gave me my answer.... I am ready to apply a protective coat over the work and was testing all types of products... This post really helped a lot.... I think I now know the direction I am going with this project now.... I was advised at the dealer to use Fiebings Resolene... What are your takes on this product... If any one could advise me on there experiences with this product it would be greatly appreciated... I have attached a picture of the project incase any one might have another suggestion... Thanks again to all of you so glad that I checked out this forum... much appreciated... I just love this site and all the information that the members provide... Regards, Harley Sue

Hi Everyone We have been watching this site for a couple of years now... and have only posted a reply once or twice... the work done by the members on this site is simply amazing.... My hat off to all of you The reason I am posting this picture today is that I really need your help and suggestions on what product to apply on this acrylic finish for this seat to protect it from the elements.... I live in Canada so the climate and weather is very unpredictable... Any and all your suggestions would be greatly appreciated since this is our first time using acrylic paint we are simply stumped on what product to apply to finsih and protect it... HELP Harley Sue

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Anne If you are still looking for someone to make your Wedding Clutch please email me and we can talk about it more in detail on exactly what type of a design you are looking for my email is "harleysue01(at)yahoo(dot)ca"... I guess it would also depend on where you are located and all for shipping charges... but I am certainly up for the challenge.

Great work as usual David... We have been watching this site for some time now... and we are so impressed at the work we have seen on this site... David your work is simply amazing. Have a question for you though? The wood plank that you use... well it looks like wood... the one that you show after the work has been tooled... Do you tape your work to this board to keep it flat while it is drying to keep the shape ??? just curious !!! Anyway!!! amazing work again... you are one of the ones who has really inspired us to work on leather !!!

Hey Kyle Pretty hard to critique your work... you did quite a good job... do not see anything wrong from the pictures... Great Work ! Hats off to you for your first !!

WOW Pretty Cool !! I really like the work very nicely done !! Looks like you have been doing it for years !!! I am a newby to this site and have enjoyed very much what I have seen and what I am learning from this site so far !! Keep it up.