My work got wet!

[Steel Dragon]

Hi,

I had some leather items for sale (on consignment) at a Renn Fair. Well the last day it rained really bad, as they were packing things up their tent collapsed. Two items got wet. Now before I dye both sets black or a dark brown I had a few questions.

I guess I should say they were lightly block dyed with Fiebings dyes. The dragon with buckskin, and Celtic knot with saddle tan oil dye. Then they were both antiqued with Fiebings liquid saddle tan antique. Then lightly sprayed with Fiebings Aerosol Leather Sheen. I thought this finish would was more durable. I started using it because it sprays on and I had problems streaking the antique with wipe on finishes.

This is the first time I have had something I antiqued get wet like this. The color appears to have faded away.

Is this normal for this to happen?

Should I have gone heaver with the finish?

Would using a spray on water proofing be better over antiques that might get wet?

Anyone know if I might be able to get the color back (with out a lot of work)?

Or just give up and dye them a dark brown or black?

Any tips would be much appreciated,

Alex

[whinewine]

I've never used it, but Fiebings has a deglazer... it may, possibly take off most of the finish to give an acceptable re-start. Good luck

[ClayB]

I think the first thing I would try is just re antiquing it with the original color and see what that does. If that doesn't work, then you might want to consider the de-glazer. I had a bottle of that stuff for years and never used it until recently. It does take off anything acrylic on the leather, paint, antique, etc and lets you start over but it is pretty nasty smelling stuff so I would guess it's not very good for you.

Clay

[Johanna]

I would NOT use deglazer. Deglazer does not actually "remove" anything, it just eats the top layer of the leather. It can make a bigger mess than what you currently have. The finish you applied obviously did not make the piece water resistant, so do what Clay said and repeat the antique. It may be darker than you originally intended, but it will be salvageable. After it dried, I would use Leather Balm or Carnuba Cream or something like that, buff until it shines, then lightly mist it with the Neat Lac spray.

I cringe when I hear of people routinely using deglazer on leather before they even start, but that's another rant for another day. But if you feel you have to use deglazer, for whatever reason, try it on a piece of scrap and watch what it does to the fibers of the leather, then if you must put it on a project, do it in an inconspicuous place first. It does not work like nail polish remover. If there is dye on a project, chances are it has already soaked in, and deglazer turns the leather into a big smear with a distressed look. And just in case someone stumbles on this thread down the line in a search, deglazer will not remove ballpoint pen or sharpie marker. It will not remove the accidental blot of dye you dropped. Deglazer is sold because there is a demand for it, not because it's useful.

Off my soapbox,

Johanna

[Steel Dragon]

I just ran upstairs to my office and took a look. Sure enough in the back of a shelf I have an unopened can of Deglazer. It's been there for a year atleast. Bought some to try it out .... then forgot about it.

I'm going to try to redo the antique on the Celtic band since it's only lightly faded. But the Dragon one has really changed colors. I'll try it, but I'm not holding my breath. I think I'll be deglazing that one.

[Steel Dragon]

Thanks Johanna ... something tells me your not really big fan of deglazing.

The more I think about it the more I'm leaning with trying different dye solutions instead.

Well that's why I'm here ... to get the benefit of everyone’s experience.

[Art]

Hi Johanna,

I think it is perfectly allright to "deglaze" before dyeing. It does remove some of the inconsistancies that occur from working or tooling. However, it is not necessary to use that industrial stuff that Fiebing makes. That stuff is mostly Ethyl Acetate and maybe a little Acetone. Instead I use Isopropyl Alcohol (hydrous), you could use Denatured Ethyl Alcohol also but the Isopropyl carries about 25% water which opens the pours of the leather to accept the dye. If going for a distressed or used look, I omit the deglazing step as any blochiness is in character.

If you screw-up with the acrylic edge paints the Fiebing's Deglazer works well if you get it while it is wet.

I don't deglaze if just doing an oil finish but you could, just let it dry for a couple of hours.

Just remember, deglazer of any type is just that, it removes surface finish and oils from the manufacturing process, not dye and it might push the antiqueing around and make a mess. It's best use is as a prep for dye.

Art

I would NOT use deglazer. Deglazer does not actually "remove" anything, it just eats the top layer of the leather. It can make a bigger mess than what you currently have. The finish you applied obviously did not make the piece water resistant, so do what Clay said and repeat the antique. It may be darker than you originally intended, but it will be salvageable. After it dried, I would use Leather Balm or Carnuba Cream or something like that, buff until it shines, then lightly mist it with the Neat Lac spray.

I cringe when I hear of people routinely using deglazer on leather before they even start, but that's another rant for another day. But if you feel you have to use deglazer, for whatever reason, try it on a piece of scrap and watch what it does to the fibers of the leather, then if you must put it on a project, do it in an inconspicuous place first. It does not work like nail polish remover. If there is dye on a project, chances are it has already soaked in, and deglazer turns the leather into a big smear with a distressed look. And just in case someone stumbles on this thread down the line in a search, deglazer will not remove ballpoint pen or sharpie marker. It will not remove the accidental blot of dye you dropped. Deglazer is sold because there is a demand for it, not because it's useful.

Off my soapbox,

Johanna

[ClayB]

I hope it didn't sound like I was endorsing the use of deglazer. My point was to try other solutions first and use deglazer only as a last resort. When I bought the deglazer I was told that it could turn leather to "mush". When I did try it, I was fully aware that it could ruin my project beyond repair. That said, I did use it on one of the projects I entered in the CIL show last week and it removed all the acrylic paint that I had put on it, and I then repainted the project. It didn't ruin the leather. So like so many here have said, try it on scraps first to see what it is going to do. Be prepared for unexpected results and the possibility of turning your project into scrap.

I hope you find something that will save your project.

Clay

[Steel Dragon]

There was not enough Leather Sheen to protect them from the water but it was enough to keep the dyes and antiques from working right. So I had to strip them and dye them black.

This continues in my other post on removing Leather Sheen.

Thanks anyway.

[Mrs Barry Hicks]

I'm sorry about your bracers.

On the other hand this was a fantastic thread! I just learned so much from the above comments about whether to use de-glazer or not and the different strengths depending on what you use. I might go and try and make some test pieces just so I will have a good idea when it does happen to me! Not that I'm saying it will, but better to be armed than not.

Like I said this is a great thread. And I am truly sorry about your bracers.

[busted]

Wet the other piece and that should take care of the mismatch.