get a good antique job

[JustWakinUp]

I was asking around about the best way to get a good antique job and this was the answer.

After stamping and letting the leather dry use lexol to open pours of the piece. After the lexol

spray/sponge your stain on. After staining and letting it dry and buffing use a resist like leather balm/resolene.

After the resist drys put your antique on wiping off excess and allowing to dry then buff. Put another coat of

finish on the piece and buff to shine.

So my questions are this..

1) If i put the resist on the entire piece wouldn't it stop the antique from working properly

2) How should I be putting the resist on? ( sponge,spray,wood block with tshirt on it etc ...

3) How would you suggest wiping off the excess of antique? ( flat ruler with tshirt on it?)

[pete]

I've not put Lexol on a piece after tooling. I prefer to oil it only to open the pores but more importantly, to put the oil back into the leather. Casing tends to dry out the fibers.

After the oil I dye it if needed. I've never stained a piece and THEN antiqued it. If I want a darker leather to antique, I dye the oil. Why stain AND antique?

After the dye job, use neatlac or (what I like ) RTC by Bee Natural. It's an acrylic but dries in about 30 min.

THEN put the antique on THICKLY and wipe off with paper towel. Let it sit a few minutes THEN take a wool scrap and lightly buff it circularly to get the gobs out of the impressions.

Lastly take a tee shirt or paper towel and buff it all directions firmly.

Hope this helps

pete

ps- If you look up the archives under my name you should see some album covers that I did this way.

-p-

[CitizenKate]

After stamping and letting the leather dry use lexol to open pours of the piece.

I also treat the leather with Lexol after it's been tooled and dyed. The dye especially can really dry out the leather. Be sure to give the conditioner a good long while to dry before adding stain or antique.

After the lexol spray/sponge your stain on. After staining and letting it dry and buffing use a resist like leather balm/resolene. After the resist drys put your antique on wiping off excess and allowing to dry then buff. Put another coat of finish on the piece and buff to shine.

Hmmm... what product are you referring to as "stain"? All the products I've tried that the manufacturer refers to as a stain are not that far off from an antique. They all color the leather and accentuate tooling, so I've always thought of them as alternatives, rather than as treatments you use together. I just use one or the other depending on what color I like and how heavy I want the antique effect to be.

1) If i put the resist on the entire piece wouldn't it stop the antique from working properly

2) How should I be putting the resist on? ( sponge,spray,wood block with tshirt on it etc ...

3) How would you suggest wiping off the excess of antique? ( flat ruler with tshirt on it?)

1) A lot of people use a resist before applying antique. The antique still works properly, because it can still fill the depressed (tooled) areas and cure in those places. I just doesn't highlight the natural characteristics of the grain as much, so it renders a bit smoother and lighter appearance to the leather.

2) (I'll leave this question for someone who uses resist with antique.)

3) I've tried the ruler method, and for a long time I used a squeegee. Now I just use paper towels, and keep them flat as I wipe them over the leather to remove the excess stain/antique. The best way to wipe off the excess probably just depends on what you're using.

Kate

Edited November 20, 2007 by CitizenKate

[Guest]

I don't use Lexol or any other product before staining my leather. I use Tandy Pro dye on everything I make. The antiquing is used after the stain to further darken the leather and enhance the tooling. I use the paste type antique which has a wax base. My final finish is Leather Balm with atom wax. I've also been known to use Aussie cream after the leather balm.

On the enclosed photo....the stain is Tandy pro dye Buckskin, the antique is a combination of Sheridan and medium brown paste aniquing....then the leather balm.

Dave

[abn]

Has anyone tried the new Eco-Flo Gel Antiques? Just wondering how this formula stacks up...

[Regis]

Has anyone tried the new Eco-Flo Gel Antiques? Just wondering how this formula stacks up...

I've used it on a couple projects now. It applies very nice but, doesn't wipe off as well. Even over Tankote it leave a strong color after wiping (immediately). Now, I do like the look and will continue to use but, I don't get as much contrast as I would like. Continuing to experiment though. Previously I've been using paste.

Regis

[freak]

Has anyone tried the new Eco-Flo Gel Antiques? Just wondering how this formula stacks up...

I've used them about 6 times now and have only really got a good result once or at least to my liking. Just like

Regis said it will darken the whole piece darker then i was ready for. I don't know maybe it's just me but i don't see that it does much for darking the tooled/stamped areas only. They seem to mostly be the same darkness as the it made the rest of it.

But in saying that if you add the Tan antique gel to natural un-dyed leather it's a very , very nice color and very even.

[CitizenKate]

Has anyone tried the new Eco-Flo Gel Antiques? Just wondering how this formula stacks up...

I've tried it on a few pieces so far, and I got very nice color and antiquing from it. The only thing I didn't like was how shiny it was after it dried, and I like a more mellow finish. Putting a wax finish over it softened it up.

Kate

[JustWakinUp]

Ok, I've followed some advice here with less than standard results. I'm hoping you guys can tell me what I'm doing wrong.

The first image was treated with lexol, then stained with buckskin then antiqued with Med Brown then antiqued again with British tan.

It appears that everytime I use the Med. Brown antique I get irregular black splotches & spots all over the piece. Here's an example

This next image was not treated with lexol at all. It was simply rubbed with Med. Brown antique followed by buckskin stain. Notice all the splotches and spots an the irregular coverage. Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated.

I then had a scrap piece i simply rubbed Med. Brown (fiebings) antique on and the same results with the spots and splotches.

Any info on what I'm doing wrong?

[CitizenKate]

I will venture my best guess...

Since (I'm gathering) the splotches appeared after the first coat of antique, we can probably rule out any interaction between the two coats of antique. Without putting down a resist before the antique, the antique can sometimes highlight the leather's characteristic flaws, as well as your tooling and carving. That is, there are areas of the leather that the antique will absorb into more than others. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make working with antique a little different.

Another possible thing to rule out is, could there have been something on the leather before you applied the first coat of antique that it is "sticking" to, or reacting to in some other way? If so, then maybe eliminating them is as simple as making sure the leather is very clean and free of contaminants (and completely dry) before the antique is applied.

Another possibility - tanning flaws. I've had some leather that had some strange, light-colored areas that were barely visible before being treated, but when the antique hit it - HELLO! (I.e., Start over!) In those cases, maybe using a resist will prevent those kinds of splotches, especially if you're trying to get a smoother look on your leather after the antique. If you prefer a more natural or even a more distressed look, it may come down to learning to spot the flaws and avoid them.

Hope this helps...

Kate

[bustedlifter]

Has anyone tried the new Eco-Flo Gel Antiques? Just wondering how this formula stacks up...

I've used it on a couple projects now. It applies very nice but, doesn't wipe off as well. Even over Tankote it leave a strong color after wiping (immediately). Now, I do like the look and will continue to use but, I don't get as much contrast as I would like. Continuing to experiment though. Previously I've been using paste.

Regis

Try thinning it out with some water, I've been screwing around with that and it seems to work quite well.

[howardb]

I love not knowing what the heck I am doing. I get to make mistakes & learn from them.

I got some free stuff at the IFOLG show, so I am using what I have. I got a bottle of the Tandy eco flo gel antique and it's dark brown. Wear gloves with this stuff! I keep forgetting and end up with brown finger stains. Ewwww.

Attempt #1 - gel antique directly onto tooled leather. I got a dark brown (almost black) piece of leather with zero highlights. Good thing it was a scrap learning piece... I've sinced tossed it.

Attempt #2 - stained a piece with saddle tan (Tandy eco flo stain), and then two coats of bag cote (it's what I have). The saddle tan left some nice hilights all by itself, but I was on a mission. Now the gel antique. Flowed it on, wiped off the excess (damp sponges), and then buffed with a wooly thing.

Left - saddle tan stain & bag cote. Right - same plus antique gel stain. I can see that I didn't get it worked in very well, but here you go.

Brent

[Pip]

i like feibings antique finish, does exactly what it says on the tin, but pongs a bit!

[Leather Bum]

Ah yes, this is one of my favorite leathercraft topics. . . But remember, I'm no expert; I just have a few thoughts.

I was asking around about the best way to get a good antique job and this was the answer.

After stamping and letting the leather dry use lexol to open pours of the piece.

Though I've never used the Lexol this way (actually, I've never owned Lexol), it seems to me like a good idea; my thinking is that it seems good to kind of replenish the oils in the leather after casing/tooling.

After the lexol

spray/sponge your stain on. After staining and letting it dry and buffing use a resist like leather balm/resolene.

Now IMHO, here is where stains and dyes are somewhat confused. Did you mean, "spray/sponge your dye on"? As far as I know, one of the differences between dyes and stains is that dyes penetrate and color the leather pretty uniformly (or they should), whereas stains -- while they do color the leather -- dry slower and tend to highlight the impressions or other marks in the leather. Another important difference is that there aren't very many leather products that can keep a dye from soaking into the leather (that I know of at least ), while many finishes (Super/Satin Shene, Bee Natural RTC, Leather Sheen, Tan Kote, etc.) will (in differing degrees sometimes) "resist" or keep stain from soaking into and coloring the leather. So to me, it makes more sense to use a dye first followed by either a stain (to accentuate the carving, while at the same time darkening all the leather) or a finish (resist) and then maybe a stain. . .

After the resist drys put your antique on wiping off excess and allowing to dry then buff. Put another coat of

finish on the piece and buff to shine.

That sounds about like what most people recommend. . . However, I'm never sure what is meant by the phrase, "wipe off the excess antique, and allow to dry." Here's my thinking: if you put a resist all over the leather (carving), does this not, in effect, resist the stain? But if you resist the stain, it can't soak into and color the leather, right? So if you then "wipe off the excess antique," there isn't any left to dry -- unless, of course, you only remove the antique from the raised areas, allowing it to stay in the tool depressions (beveled, pear-shaded, veined, etc. areas) and dry. And that is where the trouble (for me, anyway :) begins; because if the stain does not soak into the leather, it can sometimes crack and come off the surface of the leather if it is bent -- it never soaked in much, so it's just sitting there on top.

Edited December 1, 2007 by Leather Bum

[Leather Bum]

1) If i put the resist on the entire piece wouldn't it stop the antique from working properly

IMO, you are exactly right. Of course, unless the resist is really strong or you apply several coats, the stain will probably still color the leather somewhat. But I've never known it to have the contrast I want: either it is too light where I want it dark (tool impressions etc. aren't colored much), or it is too dark where I want it light (plain, un-tooled, raised areas end up stained too dark).

2) How should I be putting the resist on? ( sponge,spray,wood block with tshirt on it etc ...

You know, I'm not really sure on that one. I'm thinking a wool douber, wool scrap, or sponge would work for coverage everywhere. I've never really sprayed finishes, but I'll bet it works well. A wood-block type of method (like block-dying?) would give good results if I could always get the resist only where I want it -- e.g. on the seeds but not on the low areas of a flower center.

3) How would you suggest wiping off the excess of antique? ( flat ruler with tshirt on it?)

If you have a resist down first and want the stain to just dry mostly on the top surface of the leather, then I'd say to carefully use paper towels or maybe a small, folded cloth to keep from swiping it out of the lower areas. However, if the stain can soak into the leather (there isn't something resisting it) and color it, I think removing all of the excess from the leather would be best -- to keep it from just drying on top since it may not all soak in. For this, I would try a towel/cloth of some sort to remove most of the stain/antique; then use a wool scrap to remove the stain from the cuts and other tool impressions.