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Hi there, I have just finished a new leather case for my phone. I'm curious about an issue that I encounter on all my projects: I like to carve flowers and try to make a few deep pear shader marks. When I apply some antique (Fiebing Antique Finish or Tandy Hi-Lite, used as an antique), it never stays into the petals (see picture attached). My dream is to achieve something closer to this: https://www.instagram.com/p/BAdbOq4R2g3/. Beautiful and subtle shades. I'm quite far from this result Here is my routine after tooling & dying, do I do something wrong? - I apply 2 coats of Tandy's super sheen or, more frequently, Fiebing's Resolene (60% Resolene / 40% water), with a little spray bottle. I rapidly swipe with a piece of coton wool, to prevent the "bubbles" of resist to make stains on the leather. Let it dry several hours between the 2 coats, and after the 2d one. - I apply some antique (Fiebing's paste or Tandy's Hi-Lite): I put a glove on and spread the product all over the leather piece with my fingers, then remove the excess with paper towel, trying to go horizontal. Let it dry and buff. - I apply another coat of resist, sometimes 2. Most of the time, the antique tends to blend :-( My guess: maybe I don't carve deep enough? Maybe my way of doing this is all wrong? I thank you in advance for your help and suggestions! Sophie

Hi guys, so I used dubbin on my leather shoe thinking it will add waterproofing and I will still retain the shininess, Only to find that it actually made the shoe not take the cream polish now the shoe is dull and and not shiny. Is there anyway I could remove the dubbin?

Hi folks. I'm new to leather work and just bought a job lot of old kit. Apart from the leather smelling musty (now in my freezer) can tandy dyes, stains and super sheen go off. Going by the paperwork in the box, the liquid stuff is at least 20 years old. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hi All, I know this topic had been covered a lot previously, and I've tried looking for the answers without posting a new topic, but I'd still like to get some input from you. I've recently started making leather watch straps. I like the results, and have no big problems with any of the techniques, except from dying and finishing. I am using veg tan leather for this. The challenge with watch straps is that the leather is in direct contact with skin, so perspiration causes some dye to bleed out of the leather. Going forward I will probably avoid dying the side that is in contact with skin (this is not the flesh side, as I am folding the leather when making straps), but even for the top side, I would like to lock in the color as much as possible, to avoid damaging the sleeves from the color bleed and rub off. Here are some of the questions I have regarding this: 1. If I use acrylic resolene for waterproofing, to prevent the water from penetrating the leather (to a certain degree), it should work the other way around as well, preventing the dye to bleed out. Is this correct? 2. Does using acrylic resolene or leather sheen provide permanent protection from dye bleed/rub off, or is it a treatment that needs to be repeated after certain periods of time? I am not too worried about waterproofing or leather conditioning, as this will be the concern for the person who purchases the product going forward. I am more concerned with locking in the dye. 3. Right now I am using Eco-Flo water based dye. Now that I am reading the posts I see that most people recommend using spirit dyes instead. I am happy with the visual results of water based color, just concerned with locking in the color. Does spirit/oil based dye provide better results when it comes to this? Will I get similar results when using resolene or sheen on water based dyes? 4. Any additional advice/comments regarding the subject are more than welcome. Thanks everyone! Dejan

Im making a little card wallet for my girlfriend, and ive oiled it with extra virgin olive oil , and have applied the dye , i used ox blood which is really nice but its very difficult to get a nice even coat . if you guys have any tips on dying to get an even coat speak your mind please BUT ! my main problem after an hour drying i started buffing with some white paper towel and it just keeps coming off , ! there doesnt seem to be any end to it coming off. Am i doing something wrong or do i just have to keep buffing ? Did i leave it long enough to dry ? and what is a good finish to put on a wallet ?

Anyone have issues with the eco flow sheen peeling when you try to form it? Seems like the last 3 holsters I have made no matter how little I put on when I wet the holster to form it, it starts feeling away. Any suggestions or am I doing something wrong?