Ben00 Report post Posted May 7, 2022 Hello all: I am currently working on a DIY project that has been troubling me for a while now. My objective is to take two individual strips of leather and glue them together, and give the outside layer a glossy surface finish, creating a full wrist sized bracelet that is supposed to be sewn onto the cuff of a normal hoodie. The leather is supposed to be sewn onto the hoodie permanently and never removed. Meaning the leather strip applied will need to be 100% waterproof. for 20+ years. Essentially no coatings or chemicals made for leather are both 100% waterproof and durable enough to protect the leather of consistent water abused when laundry is done biweekly on average. so in conclusion I have turned to the Liquid Latex solution that is used for making stretchy clothes, and never breaking. my question is A) has anyone used liquid latex on leather that was painted with acrylic paint, and then once the latex dried with a glossy finish, you bent and manipulated the leather and saw the paint crack beneath the sealed surface of liquid latex? B ) I want to clean the leather before painting it but i don't know if any chemicals will cause the latex to not stick to the leather, as i have seen posts on here of people using liquid latex specifically to protect areas of their leather and then peel the liquid latex off of the leather surface afterwards, I'm hoping to apply a few coats of this stuff, and once dried I hope god himself cant pry it off of the leather. does anyone know if it works well or not? C ) I have noticed some different brands of latex around and i didn't know which one would work best on leather. any recommendations? D ) If I end up applying the latex to the rubber and it works great I don't know if I should puncture the seal and sew the leather strip to my sweater afterwards, or possibly glue the leather together, paint it, sew it to the sweater. then tape off the part of the sleave i don't want thew latex touching, and then the coat the leather so the sewing thread stays in place and is protected. thank you for all the help it means a lot as i have no clue what I'm doing thus far, thanks! I attached photos of the project below. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fredk Report post Posted May 7, 2022 From my experience, liquid latex will soak into the flesh side but will only remain on the surface of the grain side where it will peel off without too much effort Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
327fed Report post Posted May 7, 2022 I got some stuff at Walmart called Shoe Goo. Clear latex, kinda like caulk. Designed to repair athletic shoes, rubber, canvas and leather. It will stick to leather. The thing I put it on has not come back for repair but it has only been gone 10 days. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Garyak Report post Posted May 8, 2022 Latex is water based. It’ll resist water for long periods of time, but not underwater for a long time. It’ll break down. It cleans up with water so… use pro resist. No need to soak it. Just put it on in coats with an airbrush. If you’ve ever used it when antiquing you’ll know it can resist some wet. Not submerged for long periods. Try a leather from a water based animal. Maybe beaver, I wanna know now. Pro resist. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrisash Report post Posted May 8, 2022 Presumably the hoodie will have many washes during its lifetime which is another problem to overcome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben00 Report post Posted July 9, 2022 Thank you all, I will try the shoe goo, as well as the beaver leather. Garyak are you referring to pro resist sold by Fiebings?? I haven’t heard much about it. I will try thank you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben00 Report post Posted July 10, 2022 On 5/7/2022 at 9:06 PM, Garyak said: Latex is water based. It’ll resist water for long periods of time, but not underwater for a long time. It’ll break down. It cleans up with water so… use pro resist. No need to soak it. Just put it on in coats with an airbrush. If you’ve ever used it when antiquing you’ll know it can resist some wet. Not submerged for long periods. Try a leather from a water based animal. Maybe beaver, I wanna know now. Pro resist. Thank you garyak, I don’t have an airbrush to apply the resist, is it it possible to apply any resist to leather without an airbrush or will it just end up looking messy? Thanks bn Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rocky143 Report post Posted July 10, 2022 If you look up DIY silicone waterproofing, you will find instructions for dissolving silicone caulk in mineral spirits and using that to waterproof things. I think the ratio is 1 silicone to 4 mineral spirits and I don't know if that is by weight or volume. If you were to soak the leather in that, it would be thoroughly impregnated with silicone. To me, it sounds infeasible to expect leather to endure 20 years of being laundered. Could you make the cuffs removable and expect them to be wiped down instead of washed? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben00 Report post Posted July 10, 2022 3 hours ago, Rocky143 said: If you look up DIY silicone waterproofing, you will find instructions for dissolving silicone caulk in mineral spirits and using that to waterproof things. I think the ratio is 1 silicone to 4 mineral spirits and I don't know if that is by weight or volume. If you were to soak the leather in that, it would be thoroughly impregnated with silicone. To me, it sounds infeasible to expect leather to endure 20 years of being laundered. Could you make the cuffs removable and expect them to be wiped down instead of washed? Thank you rocky, I was hoping to be able to detach the cuffs but every thing I have tried isn’t very stable, like buttons, fasteners, they all don’t hold the leather firmly in place. But thank you i will definetly try doing that, have you done it before? Or with another material? How did it go? bn Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Garyak Report post Posted July 11, 2022 On 7/9/2022 at 12:26 AM, Ben00 said: Thank you all, I will try the shoe goo, as well as the beaver leather. Garyak are you referring to pro resist sold by Fiebings?? I haven’t heard much about it. I will try thank you. Yes sir Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Garyak Report post Posted July 11, 2022 On 7/9/2022 at 8:35 PM, Ben00 said: Thank you garyak, I don’t have an airbrush to apply the resist, is it it possible to apply any resist to leather without an airbrush or will it just end up looking messy? Thanks bn It is. In a rush I’ll apply with a sponge or wet cloth. Pro resist is thick and drys quickly. Wet what ever you use to avoid streaks. If the finish is too shiny like I think it is, after alls said and done, I apply a satin acrylic finish. Knocks the shine out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tsunkasapa Report post Posted July 11, 2022 On 7/8/2022 at 10:26 PM, Ben00 said: Thank you all, I will try the shoe goo, as well as the beaver leather. Garyak are you referring to pro resist sold by Fiebings?? I haven’t heard much about it. I will try thank you. I have a beaver skin hat for my buckskins. Believe me, beaver may live in the water, but they are just leather like anything else, they are no more water resistant than cow or goat. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Klara Report post Posted July 12, 2022 On 7/10/2022 at 10:52 AM, Ben00 said: Thank you rocky, I was hoping to be able to detach the cuffs but every thing I have tried isn’t very stable, like buttons, fasteners, they all don’t hold the leather firmly in place. .... How about putting grommets in both parts (or otherwise stabilizing the holes) and lacing the cuffs onto the fabric? In my opinion, in order to be laundry-proof, the leather would have to be so drenchend in/coated with chemicals that I don't quite see the point of using leather (instead of some sort of man-made material). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben00 Report post Posted July 13, 2022 Thank you garyak I have purchased the pro resist. On 7/10/2022 at 7:43 PM, tsunkasapa said: I have a beaver skin hat for my buckskins. Believe me, beaver may live in the water, but they are just leather like anything else, they are no more water resistant than cow or goat. good to know I will not use beaver skin. On 7/11/2022 at 10:43 PM, Klara said: How about putting grommets in both parts (or otherwise stabilizing the holes) and lacing the cuffs onto the fabric? In my opinion, in order to be laundry-proof, the leather would have to be so drenchend in/coated with chemicals that I don't quite see the point of using leather (instead of some sort of man-made material). This is a good point klara do you have any alternative suggestions before I start buying more leather materials. It honestly Would save me a pile of time and money. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Klara Report post Posted July 13, 2022 (edited) What exactly are you trying to achieve with your "leather" cuffs? Btw, I just remembered, I have sewn a leather patch on the elbow of a shirt when a hole appeared, because I wanted to prolong its lifetime. In all likelihood it was chrometan and the patched shirt has been in the washing machine quite a lot of times. Only problem is the hole in the other elbow that just appeared... And the frayed edges... Edited July 13, 2022 by Klara factual correction Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben00 Report post Posted August 1, 2022 On 7/13/2022 at 12:58 AM, Klara said: What exactly are you trying to achieve with your "leather" cuffs? Btw, I just remembered, I have sewn a leather patch on the elbow of a shirt when a hole appeared, because I wanted to prolong its lifetime. In all likelihood it was chrometan and the patched shirt has been in the washing machine quite a lot of times. Only problem is the hole in the other elbow that just appeared... And the frayed edges... Yes good question, the ideal outcome was to have embossed leather sewn on top of the sleeves of the sweater cuffs. Since leather seems to be the only material with good weight to it, that can hold a good quality shine to the outside surface. as I have painted the outside with acrylic paint. So I’m hoping to be able to wash the sweater and maintain the shine after a few washes. Did you treat your leather with anything? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Klara Report post Posted August 2, 2022 So you want to improve the look of the sweater for everyday wear? Then a plastic edging probably won't do... I'd think that acrylic paint should pretty much waterproof the leather from the outside - maybe put another layer on the inside? I did not treat the patches on my shirt, but there is a high likelihood that the leather came from my mom's winter boots, because I have had it since long before I learnt about leatherwork and where to buy leather. So the tannery probably did something to improve water resistance. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
