Stamping Technique for coloring?

[MtlBiker]

I just got my first ever stamps... just a simple maple leaf and a wolf from Tandy Leather.  I wanted to experiment with them.  Is there a technique for somehow coloring or darkening the stamp to make it more visible?  I heard something about using shoe polish but how do you do it?  How do you keep the polish from the surrounding leather?

Here is my first test... using a 1-ton arbor press and I did dampen the leather first.  The circled corner points of the maple leaf are for Tandy as that particular stamp is missing part of the outline and I'm sure they will replace it for me.

 

[fredk]

You are not going deep enough. I do trials on an off cut of the same leather every time I do a stamping and adjust my ram accordingly. I try not to cut through the leather but also to get a darkened patch on the back of the piece. With some of these stamps, pressing into your project which is on top of a soft piece of scrap leather or moderately hard rubber pad will bring out the 3D design in the stamp

Apply dye and then resist of some sort. Then apply the shoe polish on a cloth using your finger tip. Some polish will get on the other leather but quickly remove it with a bit of clean cloth and sometimes alcohol on the cloth will help but that will remove some resist as well

[chuck123wapati]

4 minutes ago, MtlBiker said:

I just got my first ever stamps... just a simple maple leaf and a wolf from Tandy Leather.  I wanted to experiment with them.  Is there a technique for somehow coloring or darkening the stamp to make it more visible?  I heard something about using shoe polish but how do you do it?  How do you keep the polish from the surrounding leather?

Here is my first test... using a 1-ton arbor press and I did dampen the leather first.  The circled corner points of the maple leaf are for Tandy as that particular stamp is missing part of the outline and I'm sure they will replace it for me.

 

you didn't stamp hard enough or get it damp enough before stamping. You can bevel around those and make them stand out better or use them as is. Use a resist on areas you dont want stained or polished or painted. 

[MtlBiker]

30 minutes ago, fredk said:

You are not going deep enough. I do trials on an off cut of the same leather every time I do a stamping and adjust my ram accordingly. I try not to cut through the leather but also to get a darkened patch on the back of the piece. With some of these stamps, pressing into your project which is on top of a soft piece of scrap leather or moderately hard rubber pad will bring out the 3D design in the stamp

Apply dye and then resist of some sort. Then apply the shoe polish on a cloth using your finger tip. Some polish will get on the other leather but quickly remove it with a bit of clean cloth and sometimes alcohol on the cloth will help but that will remove some resist as well

Geez, you're RIGHT!!   I just used my new poundo board under the leather and really pressed down even harder (my full weight) and yes, the stamp came out perfectly.  If anything, I may have even pressed too hard as the edge of the stamp shows in the leather.

I'm not completely clear on the advice you gave about dyeing...  Do you mean apply the dye to the whole piece first?  And I'm not quite sure what "resist" is.  And my sample piece is a pre-dyed veg tan which I really like to use.  So I wouldn't be applying dye to it.  I guess just a "resist"?  Is a "resist" another name for some kind of top coat, like maybe Fiebing's Leather Balm with Atom Wax (which I like using) or Tan Kote, or Resolene (which I find too hard and shiny).  Or is that a specific product?

This is my test piece (still wet).

 

 

[fredk]

1 hour ago, MtlBiker said:

I'm not completely clear on the advice you gave about dyeing...  Do you mean apply the dye to the whole piece first?  And I'm not quite sure what "resist" is.  And my sample piece is a pre-dyed veg tan which I really like to use.  So I wouldn't be applying dye to it.  I guess just a "resist"?  Is a "resist" another name for some kind of top coat, like maybe Fiebing's Leather Balm with Atom Wax (which I like using) or Tan Kote, or Resolene (which I find too hard and shiny).  Or is that a specific product?

A lot of us on here have our favourite 'resist'. Mine is a local version of 'Mop & Glo' floor polish which is actually a thin acrylic varnish. Some on here prefer Resolene.

What I do is to coat everything with a couple of thinned coats of my 'resist'. When that is dry I apply the shoe polish all over the design with a soft cloth. I prefer to use a darker shade of the colour of the project eg, dark red polish on red, dark lilac polish on light lilac et cetera. I work the polish into the design. Before it really dries I use another clean cloth to wipe off any excess which has got on the leather around the design. Sometimes I'll need to wet the cloth with alcohol and wipe. This will also remove the top coat of my resist, but that's ok as that is what it is there for

Just work slowly and carefully and it'll work out ok

[MtlBiker]

2 minutes ago, fredk said:

A lot of us on here have our favourite 'resist'. Mine is a local version of 'Mop & Glo' floor polish which is actually a thin acrylic varnish. Some on here prefer Resolene.

What I do is to coat everything with a couple of thinned coats of my 'resist'. When that is dry I apply the shoe polish all over the design with a soft cloth. I prefer to use a darker shade of the colour of the project eg, dark red polish on red, dark lilac polish on light lilac et cetera. I work the polish into the design. Before it really dries I use another clean cloth to wipe off any excess which has got on the leather around the design. Sometimes I'll need to wet the cloth with alcohol and wipe. This will also remove the top coat of my resist, but that's ok as that is what it is there for

Just work slowly and carefully and it'll work out ok

Thanks very much for the tips, Fred.  Much clearer to me now.  But if you're coating "everything" with your resist, how does the shoe polish stick to the stamped part?  Or do you gently apply the resist over the stamped area, trying to only hit the high parts?  So that then the polish would go in the depressed areas?  I'm just going to experiment I guess, but your tips are very helpful and will get me headed in the right direction.  Thanks!

 

[fredk]

The resist will stop the shoe polish, aka thick gel dye type stuff. from dyeing or staining everything, but it won't stop the polish remaining in the low spots of the design and colouring it. The shoe polish will dry there

[Tequila]

@MtlBiker ok as you can see it’s going to take some trial and error to get the stamping the way you want it.  Now on to your other questions.  If your using veg-tanned leather the first step is to dye it to the desired color, if you’re using pre-dyed leather you can skip that step.  About resist, you put a coat on to keep the antiquing from penetrating the leather.  Resist can be any number of products, things like Resolene, Pro Resist, are just a couple.  Here’s a link to Fiebing’s finishes: Fiebing   After whichever product you decide on dries you apply a coat of antique, the Fiebing website has the colors that are available.  

LOOKS LIKE FREDK BEAT ME TO THE PUNCH

Here’s a video that should help Don G is very talented

 

 

[MtlBiker]

45 minutes ago, Tequila said:

@MtlBiker ok as you can see it’s going to take some trial and error to get the stamping the way you want it.  Now on to your other questions.  If your using veg-tanned leather the first step is to dye it to the desired color, if you’re using pre-dyed leather you can skip that step.  About resist, you put a coat on to keep the antiquing from penetrating the leather.  Resist can be any number of products, things like Resolene, Pro Resist, are just a couple.  Here’s a link to Fiebing’s finishes: Fiebing   After whichever product you decide on dries you apply a coat of antique, the Fiebing website has the colors that are available.  

LOOKS LIKE FREDK BEAT ME TO THE PUNCH

Here’s a video that should help Don G is very talented

 

 

Gee, you linked to an antique video... aren't there any more recent or new ones?

Seriously, thanks very much!  When I started sewing and particularly working with leather, I had no idea there were so many facets to it, and oh so much to learn.  But it sure is fun!

 

[dikman]

Fred mentioned Mop & Glo floor polish, many use it in the US as it's cheaper than Resolene. It's not available here in Oz, of course, but by studying the MSDS I found a similar local product at a large hardware chain which does the same job.

[MtlBiker]

7 minutes ago, dikman said:

Fred mentioned Mop & Glo floor polish, many use it in the US as it's cheaper than Resolene. It's not available here in Oz, of course, but by studying the MSDS I found a similar local product at a large hardware chain which does the same job.

That's interesting about Mop & Glo... I just searched for it online here in Canada, and many retailers list it (Walmart.ca, HomeDepot.ca, Canadian Tire) but all say "not available in stores" and also "out of stock" online.   I don't know if this is a supply issue (many products seem to be out of stock since Covid) or if the product is no longer available in Canada, but the only place I found it was on Amazon Canada, but the price was insane!  $50 for a 32oz bottle!!!!!  The price from the other out of stock retailers is only $7-8 for the same bottle.  But not in stock.

I do have some Resolene though, and I also got a bottle of Fiebing's Pro Resist.  I'll be experimenting soon.