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I have been making veg tan notebook covers and antiquing them with Tandy's Eco-Flo Gel Antique. I can get a very nice look with lots of color variation. However I have found that the water-based antique is extremely susceptible to damage from water, even days after it is made. I looked on the board to find recommendations for a non-shiny top coat sealer, and couldn't find a good comparison of different products, so I went ahead and did my own testing on raw grain-side veg tan. I compared Fiebings Acrylic Resolene, Fiebings Leather Balm with Atom Wax, Fiebings Leather Sheen Acrylic Finish, and Angelus Matte Acrylic Finish. I used all at 100%, lightly shakened, with a small wool dauber dipped into the finish and wiped back and forth across a 3" x 3" square, starting wet and ending up dry, in a single coat. After drying for 20 minutes I spritzed water over them to check water resistance. Here are my findings: Resolene was the shiniest and the least absorbent of water. For my purpose it is too shiny. Angelus Matte was the second shiniest and tied with least absorbent of water. Leather Balm was the third shiniest, and the second most absorbent. Leather Sheen was least shiny, and most absorbent. There is an obvious direct correlation between shiny and water absorbency. I suspect that if I used the Leather Sheen in two or three coats it would perform better in water resistance and also become shinier, but I just did the single coat for comparison. Since I'd prefer to apply only one coat of finish I am going to use the Angelus Matte. It has the additional quality of being thin enough to easily airbrush.

Hi all, This question may sound dumb depending on the answer, but I simply don't know and I'm trying to learn. Can I use leather sheen on the flesh side of leather?

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