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Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I am finishing edges using the excellent directions provided by Hidepounder. My issue is that I am getting a magenta like discoloration of the leather near the edges. In Hidepounder's step 3, I either use just water or beeswax. In step 4, I use the Fiebings yellow paste saddle soap and apply it using denim. I am finishing my edges before I finish the rest of the leather. Why do you think I am getting this discoloration? Thanks, Kren

So I reached a point with my 'messing around with leather hobby' that someone wants to pay me for a leather armguard. Hooray for me. Let my OCD kick into high gear! I've gone through pages and pages of the forum looking for advice on finishing projects and it seems that the consensus is different projects require different finishing techniques. If there's a link to an appropriate answer for this question I haven't found it yet and I apologize if this has been answered before. Right. So, considering the amount of sweat (and possibly rain) this piece of (tooled, vegtan, ecoflow all-in-oned and super sheened) leather is going to come into contact with I'd like to know your opinions on how to finish it so that it will last the longest both in the sun and with the sweat. Oh yeah, and the rough side will be against the skin. Thanks!

I recently fell into the leather crafting world by telling myself it would be easier to just make the item than purchase one. $300 + dollars later in tools and supplies I engaged in making a custom pair of suspenders for my job ( Fire Dept.) I finished my first pair last night but I have doubts about the type of dye I used. Here are a few questions I have.. I originally bought the Eco-flo Pro water stain with an eco flo gloss finish... I ended up finding a deal on the Eco-Flo all in one prairie tan quart ($14 quart) and decided to use the tan with a black letter inlay. I used the water stain black to dye the letters, and used the all in one prairie tan to cover the suspenders. I had issues getting a nice even coat, they came out a bit streaky, and had some dark sports on them ( i figure out it was from letting the dye sit to long before wiping it off) My main worry is the dye bleeding for rubbing off while im using them.. its obvious that firefighter suspenders will come in contact with a lot of sweat and moisture. 1. How do you think the "all in one" will hold up over time? 2. Is there something else I can apply over it ( another gloss coat) or something to keep it from bleeding or rubbing off. ( i did dye both sides) 1st attempt was kind of messy and I didnt cover the back side before applying the dye and I decided to jsut go ahead and finish the under ( rookie mistake )I was originally jsut gonna do the sides and top . 3. Is there a way to condition the leather prior to stamping and dyeing to make the leather not as stiff? Or is there a way to condition it after, once the dye gloss has been added? I know they will break in eventually, but I wasn't sure if there was a way to make them more comfortable first time around

I would like to get an airbrush, but I don't know a lot (or, well, anything) about airbrushing and I don't want to buy something that won't end up suiting my needs. Is it better to buy an all in one 'airbrush kit' complete with compressor, or is it better to buy things separate? What I'd like to do with it is apply all-over dyes and finishes as well as experiment with different techniques, like doing a gradient colour (example fading from red to black) - what kind of brushes do I need? Is it possible to get a decent machine (including compressor) for around $100-150, max $200? This is one that I'm possibly looking at - http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2-3-5-Gravity-Dual-Action-AIRBRUSH-KIT-Tank-Air-Compressor-Hobby-Cake-Tattoo-/200894367286?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec63cc636 - does anyone have experience with this brand?

I want to know the order of operation in leather strap work. I am trying to start a business selling custom dog collars. I want them to be quality and I seem to run into some kind of problem with every step I take. Here is the method I have adapted to so far: (I will note some of the other problems to see if I can get some extra advice.) 1. Cut and skive the leather with super skiver- (can't really find the trick to making this an easy task) 2. Sand the edges and the raw side of leather (for comfort) with a sanding wheel on a drill press 3. Bevel the edges 4.. Punch holes, wet and stamp 5.. Dye with the color of choice - Fiebings oil based Cordovan dye, Fiebings acrylic antique medium brown stain or a zelikovits water based pigment pink dye (pink seems to have streaks where the color doesn't take no matter how many coats I add and rubs off easily) 6. Let dry for an hour or so then color the letters with sharpie for the stained collars, metallic markers or paint markers for the dyed collars(paint markers are difficult to make even and not globby and metalic markers seem to wear off a little) 7. Spray with leather sheen 8. Let dry for an hour or so then burnish the edges with glycerin and saddle soap or Quik Slick on a nylon slicker attached to the drill press. (I am not sure how long this is supposed to take but it seems like forever and I still never get glass smooth edges) - ordered a wooden burnisher made for a drill press so hopefully it will help. My other problem is that sometimes the edges seem to crack in certain spots mostly around the buckle within just a few days. I use quality herman oak leather. 9. touch up the edges with the same dye 10. condition with lexol conditioner. 11. add hardware Ok... so where I get mixed reviews is at what time to apply the finishes and the conditioner. I am so confused that I kind of change it up every time I make one so I don't know if the order of operation is contributing to any of my problems or not. OR if the order of operations needs to change depending on what base of dye and marker I am using. I have been told to condition right after you stamp and before you dye and let it sit over night. I have been told you always put any oils conditioners or saddle soap very last because other products wont penetrate. I have also been told it's super important to use the leather sheen finish before you finish the edges and within two hours of dying But if a water resistant finish is applied won't it seal the leather from absorbing any other products - like conditioners, edge burnishing products and touch up dye?? I feel like if I understood the chemistry behind all of these products I would have a rule of thumb So confused. Any advice would be excellent! Quote MultiQuote Edit

I just completed my first leather project (a belt) and will be giving it to my dad for Christmas. I dyed the belt using Eco Flo all in one dye/finish. The belt didn't end up with a nice glossy finish, though, so I'd like to make it shine a bit more. I have some Fiebing's Leather Balm w/ Atom Wax, but it takes off the dye when applied with a cloth. I've read that you can use a sprayer to get an even coat to avoid removing the dye. My question is: could I just use black kiwi shoe polish to shine the belt? It would seem that this would avoid removing the dye and add some shine once buffed. I'm just worried about the dye/polish coming off on pants when worn. Thanks for the help!

Hi Everyone, I know there are some posts about finishing and conditioning belts, but I am still having a hard time finding the answers I need. First I want to explain what we are currently doing when making our belts. We use a 1.5" 8-9 oz, and we cut them to size and punch all the holes. After everything is punched and skived we dip the belt in Fiebings oil dye. Once that is dry we use Oakwood leather conditioner to soften and waterproof the leather. We rub this product in and work the belt quite a bit to make sure everything is soaked in and the desired flexibility is met. After the conditioner we use Tuff Kote, a clear coat that we also use on our holsters. Here is the problem, the Oakwood conditioner and the Tuff Kote are not working very well together. It is making the belts sticky and the Tuff Kote is not setting correctly. We decided recently to try and not use any conditioner. So basically we are trying now to just dye the belts, which after drying leaves them very stiff. But if you work with the leather it will become somewhat soft again, and then we just put the Tuff Kote clear on them. However I am afraid this is not sealing and waterproofing the belt enough, especially the back side which is touching peoples clothing directly. The last thing we want are dye bleeding issues. Just wondering if anyone has any advice or a preferred process and/or products that you use on your belts. Anything would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Scott