Neatlac Replacement

[Maeve]

I've been experimenting with some finishes since I DO NOT LIKE RESOLENE. Since I am also a woodcarver, I have a number of GOOD wood finished around here to experiment with while not incurring additional expenses. Yesterday I braided up a "test bracelet" and put Deft Brushing Lacquer Satin wood finish (NOT water bourne) on it. I only used 1 coat for the first test. It dried in a few hours although the smell lasted till today. I put it on last night and have worn it continually. Okay ... I WON'T wear it in the shower ... but I have worn it while cooking, doing dishes (I have a dishwasher so it's only rinsing), feeding horses, etc. On Day 2, it still looks perfect, resists water and has developed a nice natural shine. There is no flaking of any kind ... but then again ... I only used one light coat that I rubbed on with t-shirt material. My next test will be in a week or so when I will apply two more coats to see what happens. I could wear multiple bracelets (is that a fashion statement?) to do the tests.

My other thought is to use the shellac mix (French polish) with some Neatsfoot added. I'll have to experiment with the % though. I'll see if I have time to photograph my test bracelet with the Deft and post it here.

Love and Light,

Maeve

[barra]

I don't have a huge call for laquering my leather but when I do I have been using shellac, cut fairly thin with metholated spirits (denatured alcohol). It is cheap as is the metho so one bag of shellac flakes and a bottle of metho lasts a very long time. I make it up as I go in small batches as I am led to believe that pre mixed has a shelf life of about 1 year. I have found that depending on how thick/thin you mix it you can get a high gloss or a mellow satin finish. I started using it when I worked out that traditionally in Australia and I assume elsewhere, that whipmakers use shellac as a finish. I then researched uses of shellac and found it has been used for a multitude of items like glazes on confectionary, pharmaceuticals and leather dressings. My initial thought was well if it is used on whips which surely get a lot of punishment and a lot of flexing then it is worth a try. To date I have been getting good results. I have also applied the shellac and when dry I have attacked my test peice with a mallet and nil cracking was evident.

I also on occasion apply it to the edges of my strapping goods as a final coat after burnishing to get that factory made look that some people want. It also works well as a resist and has a low toxicity level.

Barra

Edited April 3, 2009 by barra

[julian]

On eBay a 95% unused Gallon of NeatLac. "Buy It Now for $40"

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEAT-LAC-LEATHER-FINIS...p3286.m20.l1116

[gtwister09]

Weaver's Top Coat #200 is actually Leather Coatings Top Coat #200. Sorry haven't tried it.

Regards,

Ben

[gtwister09]

In doing some research into the Neat lac replacement, there is some interesting information that I have been able to gather so far. I have visited with some manufacturers and even some of the paint engineers that I worked with in the past. I am still in the process of gathering more information, brochures, technical data sheets, MSDS sheets and some more detailed information on lacquers for comparison.

I have been able to locate the three different MSDS's for Neat lac over the years.

In reviews of types of lacquers, there are generally only 3 types.

1. Nitrocellulose
2. CAB
   
3. Catalyzed
   

Nitrocellulose is the original type used by Neat lac (per the MSDS and brochures from James Day, the manufacturer). Catalyzed lacquers are rarely used except for specialty purposes where they want the ease of nitrocellulose but want some additional properties also. These always contain some acid catalyst for curing. Sometimes they contain urea and other compounds for these properties. Therefore they have an relative short shelf life. Since they are never used on leather (or I should say most people haven't used them on leather), I won't provide additional information on them.

Looking at the pros/cons of Nitrocellulose and CAB shows a couple of things that are interesting to say the least.

Nitrocellulose

Pros for nitrocellulose is that it is an inexpensive material that flows easily and was originally used as a shellac replacement. It sprays well and can be easily built up with bonding to previous layers. It is also moderately resistant to water, heat, abrasion, and certain solvents such as alcohol

The cons are that it can crack when bending and has a tendency to yellow slightly over time (some mixtures have reduced - NOT ELIMINATED that to a degree).

CAB - Cellulose Acetate Butyrate

CAB-acrylic lacquer dries to a less brittle and more flexible film than that of nitrocellulose lacquer. It has the same general features/characteristics as nitrocellulose but doesn't have a tendency to yellow over time.

One of it's inherent flaws is that it is not quite as clear as nitrocellulose. Therefore many times an acrylic resin is added to compensate for this and gain both benefits of not yellowing but gaining the clarity back.

In woodworking, CAB-acrylic lacquer is often used as a protective topcoat over colored pigment nitrocellulose lacquers to make them wear better and to enhance their resistance to scratches.

Solvent Note

Another very interesting thing that I have found in reviewing many of the "wood" lacquers is that several of them HAVE LESS solvents in them than Neat lac does. Obviously there were some that had more but that surprised me especially since many thought that the specific "wood" ones would drive the lacquer deeper into the leather due to the solvents. On the other hand there are several that line up on the MSDS lists almost verbatim with Neat lac.

Another item is that there is some misunderstandings in describing airborne pollutants, VOC (volatile organic compunds) and carcinogens. For instance looking up Toluene, it is an airborne pollutant but not a carcinogen. Falling on one list doesn't automatically mean that the materials fall into the other lists. Many of the MSDS lists will list if the material is on the carcinogen list. There are various places that will list carcinogens. One of them is a potentcy list at Berkeley. Berkeley Potency Toluene. There are many others such as OSHA, NIOSH, etc that you can also look on.

Will post some more when I get some more information.

Regards,

Ben

Edited April 8, 2009 by gtwister09

[Go2Tex]

...... Just go down to Home Depot or even Walmart and you can get contact cement that smells bad, works great and costs a lot less..............Kathy

Smells Bad? What smells bad? I actually have learned to really LIke the smell of cement. In fact, I can't hardly wait to get back out to the shop so I can sniff some more of it. heheh

[hidepounder]

Smells Bad? What smells bad? I actually have learned to really LIke the smell of cement. In fact, I can't hardly wait to get back out to the shop so I can sniff some more of it. heheh

I'm with you Brent...when the Barge can isn't strong enough I open up my can of Neat-Lac too!

[Maeve]

In doing some research into the Neat lac replacement, there is some interesting information that I have been able to gather so far. I have visited with some manufacturers and even some of the paint engineers that I worked with in the past. I am still in the process of gathering more information, brochures, technical data sheets, MSDS sheets and some more detailed information on lacquers for comparison.

Great information, Ben! Thanks for all of your work! I just pulled up the MSDS sheet on the Deft Brushing Lacquer. I'll post it here for comparison. I'm not a chemist (not even CLOSE!) but some of this looked promising to me.

Component CAS Number Weight % Reporting Ranges

ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBON 8052-41-3 10-30

ISOBUTYL ISOBUTYRATE 97-85-8 10-30

METHYL n-AMYL KETONE 110-43-0 7-13

2-BUTOXYETHANOL 111-76-2 7-13

VM & P NAPHTHA 64742-89-8 5-10

n-BUTYL ALCOHOL 71-36-3 3-7

ZINC STEARATE 557-05-1 3-7

XYLENE 1330-20-7 1-5

ISOPROPANOL ANHYDROUS 67-63-0 1-5

NITROCELLULOSE 9004-70-0 1-5

ETHYL BENZENE 100-41-4 0.1-1.0

ISOBUTYL ALCOHOL 78-83-1 0.1-1.0

ETHYL BENZENE 100-41-4 0.1-1.0

Well that chart totally fell apart on me! Sheesh. Hope it's legible!

[kevinhopkins]

Actually, neat lac was made by LCI for tandy. Tandy, in their infinite wisdom, discontinued it. LCI calls it Clear Lac. I'm going to be carrying it in qts. They didn't make the original neat lac, but they did make it for the last several years. James B Day co. made the original, I believe.

Kevin/springfield leather

[hidepounder]

Actually, neat lac was made by LCI for tandy. Tandy, in their infinite wisdom, discontinued it. LCI calls it Clear Lac. I'm going to be carrying it in qts. They didn't make the original neat lac, but they did make it for the last several years. James B Day co. made the original, I believe.

Kevin/springfield leather

I love this place! I learn something new everyday! But I guess this means I didn't need to spend all my money buying up everything in town...oh well...I've got it now! Thanks for the info, Kevin, I didn't know about ClearLac until the other day and certainly didn't know they were the same thing! good to know.

Bob