Fiebing's Antique Finish splotched

[Russ]

Dad brought over this CD case, on which he carved a simple design. When we put Fiebing's Antique Finish (paste) on it, it sploched on the horse's face, as you can see. Anyone know what causes this? There wasn't any glue or other foreign substance on it, for sure, and I'm pretty sure it was of consistent moisture throughout. Needless to say, we are disappointed in the result and he is back to carving a new horse.

Ideas anyone, so we won't repeat the mistake?

Thanks!

Russ

[pete]

did you apply a blocker of any kind first? If you don't some of the subtleist of things will let it penetrate.

pete

[Russ]

Blocker such as what?

[Guest]

I've had similar things happen when i try to blend different colors of the antique paste.

Dave

[craftsman827]

Russ,

Antique finish can be tricky to apply,especally on a large surface.

The first spot you hit with the finish,if you don't blend it in, will look darker ,or different than the rest.

I've found better to apply it in circuler pattern, with alot of finish on your applicator.

Wtather it be a sponge or, I use clean white tee shirts.Then wipe off the excess, very quickly.

BUT, like Pete said, if you use a resist, like resoline or something like it, then you should have no splochy parts.

ALSO if your aniique finish is getting thick, from age then thin it with fiebings 'tan kote".that works good.

Don't forget, the trick is to apply it fast, so it don't get a chance to get "splochy". hope thats a word, lol.

I like using Fiebings antique finish,I like to use it in conjuction with resist, or dye.

But if you want to use just antique, practice & apply it fast.

[Russ]

Thanks guys. I did try mitigating the stain by mixing in some other colored paste, but no luck. Next time I'll try some resist on the flat areas first.

I'm not a fan of the paste, because I've always felt the results were too "iffy." But we'll give it another shot, after another carving.

[Billsotx]

It sounds like you'vd written it off, so try to remove the spot with rubbing alcohol and see what happens.

[broncobuster]

I use the paste a lot. ive learned to put in on a lesser noticeble spot like a corner n then work into the picture. it seems to be a concentrated spot of the color part of the stain or something like that. ive tried to figure it out to cause it happens to me most on the colors i dont consistanly use that sit for a while.

[ClayB]

I cant tell if there is hair on the horse or not, but I have found that when you use a hair blade on an animal, then antique really goes on splotchy.Seems like the cuts from the hair blade make antique go in really unevenly. I dont have any answers for how to make it better though.

[wolvenstien]

I have had this issue, and either brought it to this board or to Flasah, or both....

I will look for pix later if I even took some... Thing is, I was applying the antique with a dobber, and the very first place I hit with it would splotch, and I believe this is from the oil in the antique.... I later tried to slather antique onto a project in five or six areas, and all the areas I globbed it onto splotched.... even when i slathered it around evenly and left it sit for a short period before wiping it off..... I now use VIVA paper towels to apply both all-in-one, and antique. And have a clean one right there to wipe off the excess immediately.... and I do not put the antique on thick, I do it as thinly as possible. I also do like broncobuster does and start at the outer edge and work my way into the center. I have not had problems with splotching since doing it like this.

[Dale]

If you've got a less pixelated photo, that might help us narrow it down. Based on the photo posted, three things come to mind:

1. The paste was sitting in that spot for a comparatively longer period of time. (Based on the color, I'm not inclined to believe this one)

2. It actually looks like a dirty area to begin with. Maybe your color-matching effort changed the color.

3. The leather is "weak" in this area. This has hit me many times. I don't know if I can adequately describe it, but I'll try. It frequently happens near the belly and natural wrinkle areas (neck, leg areas). The spots near the belly are usually somewhat spongy and have odd shapes. You may be able to push the spongy area out of shape (it's not as stiff as other parts of the hide) The natural wrinkle areas have linear flaws and the leather has a natural tendency to fold along that line. It's easier to fold or push the piece out of shape in these areas as compared to the rest of the hide. These flaws can also exist in other, more firm, parts of the hide as part of its processing. For example, the hide is split too thin in one area making it weaker than others, or it gets folded over and excess weight ends up on it creating an unnatural wrinkle. In any case, these areas typically (I want to say "always," but then someone will probably make a liar out of me) turn darker when a stain or paste is applied. I actually like some of them and if I find them ahead of time, I'll try to use them creatively in the piece. I think it holds character and can actually look pretty cool...in the right place.

Sorry to ramble. I was just trying to explain as clearly as possible.

Dale

[Randy Cornelius]

I have always used a resist of some kind when applying antique, neat Lac is what works the best. That way the antique will only stay in the tooled areas. I have never put antique on leather without a resist of some type being applied before the antique.

Randy

[Russ]

Dale;

Thanks for the ideas. 1 and 2, I can say are not the problem. Since the CD case was part of the kit from Tandy, I don't know where the leather was cut from, so 3 is possible. I didn't see any differences in the leather with the naked eye, but that's not to say it isn't possible.

I've done one of these cases before with the paste, and like the results, so this was a surprise when it happened. I really appreciate everyone's ideas and suggestions. Think next time I'll use some resist first, and hope that area still takes a bit of color. I wonder what would happened if I oiled it first, to bring out some color, and then used the paste?

[rharris]

Russ

I have had the same problem in the past. Now I either put a light coat of needs foot oil or oakwood saddle conditioner on before I use the antique paste. I have not had a problem since.

RussH

[Leather Bum]

Keep in mind that a complete (or strong) resist will keep the stain from soaking into the leather -- it resists the stain. As far as I know, the stain will then just sit on top of the leather instead of penetrating and actually coloring it.

I wonder if a "partial" resist would do the trick -- something applied to the leather surface so it will accept the stain evenly. . . Maybe that's what the oil others have mentioned does. . .? Or perhaps a very thinned finish (Super/Satin Shene, RTC, Tan Kote, etc.) would work similarly. . .?

L'Bum