Contributing Member TwinOaks Posted January 23, 2010 Contributing Member Report Posted January 23, 2010 Vinegaroon if making something black, and it "self-finishes". On everything else, I use Aussie conditioner followed up with Neat-lac rubbed in or Leather Balm w/ atom wax. I do like the Resolene on the interiors, as it seals very well and provides a good slick feel. Quote Mike DeLoach Esse Quam Videri (Be rather than Seem) "Don't learn the tricks of the trade.....Learn the trade." "Teach what you know......Learn what you don't." LEATHER ARTISAN'S DIGITAL GUILD on Facebook.
Members SouthernHolsters Posted January 24, 2010 Members Report Posted January 24, 2010 .... On everything else, I use Aussie conditioner.... http://www.aussie.co...ume-conditioner Does it really add volume? I could save money on leather! LOL For me, exterior: 1 light coat of Neetsfoot oil, 3 coats of 50/50 Resolene/water airbrushed, 1 coat of neutral Angelus shoe wax polish. Interior: 3 coats of 50/50 Resolene/water airbrushed. Quote Tom Burks Southern Holsters, LLC Custom Holsters and Gun Friendly Auction Site If you are a holster maker, contact me at sales"at"southernholsters.com to be able to auction or sell your holsters for free at our auction site, www.southernholsters.com/auction.
Members Ross Posted February 1, 2010 Members Report Posted February 1, 2010 i've had good luck with polyurethane. too much looks like plastic, but just a little looks pretty good. Quote Ross Croft www.rosscroft.com ross@rosscroft.com
Members Kate Posted February 3, 2010 Members Report Posted February 3, 2010 Well, I just never have liked lacquer or other varnish-type finishes on leather. The acrylic version is only marginally better for leather that must withstand hard wear, often in all weathers. I treat my finished gunleather with my own concoction, beeswax melted together with equal amounts of pure neatsfoot oil. It solidifies. into a paste, which can be rubbed into the finished piece, then warmed with a hair dryer to "melt it in" to the grain. Then a serious buffing with soft clean cloth will bring up the sheen. It gets better with age, and is easily fixed if scuffed or scratched, unlike painted on clear coatings. Done right, it's virtually waterproof too, and will NOT attack a fine blued finish. Guess maybe I'm still too old fashioned, but I like the results. The pic is of my personal carry holster - got to be 12 years old now, still looks pretty good. Quote KATE'S CUSTOM GUNLEATHER and KATE'S CUSTOM BRIDLEWORKS Sultan, WA USA
Members LeatherCaptain Posted February 5, 2010 Author Members Report Posted February 5, 2010 Well, I just never have liked lacquer or other varnish-type finishes on leather. The acrylic version is only marginally better for leather that must withstand hard wear, often in all weathers. I treat my finished gunleather with my own concoction, beeswax melted together with equal amounts of pure neatsfoot oil. It solidifies. into a paste, which can be rubbed into the finished piece, then warmed with a hair dryer to "melt it in" to the grain. Then a serious buffing with soft clean cloth will bring up the sheen. It gets better with age, and is easily fixed if scuffed or scratched, unlike painted on clear coatings. Done right, it's virtually waterproof too, and will NOT attack a fine blued finish. Guess maybe I'm still too old fashioned, but I like the results. The pic is of my personal carry holster - got to be 12 years old now, still looks pretty good. Very nice, Kate! I think I'm going to try this with the inside of my holsters. I think this will definetely give them the waxier feel I've been looking for. I just couldn't figure out how to get the wax down into the holster without seriously making a mess or distorting the leather. This process sort of reminds me of that Sno Seal product where you warm up your leather item and then apply a small amount of product onto the leather and let it melt in. Quote
Members JeffGC Posted February 21, 2010 Members Report Posted February 21, 2010 How and, more importantly, when in your assembly cycle to you finish the inside of your holsters? Quote
Members BigRiverLeather Posted March 11, 2010 Members Report Posted March 11, 2010 How and, more importantly, when in your assembly cycle to you finish the inside of your holsters? I was hoping someone would answer this question. I have to believe that, especially if using an acrylic type fininsh inside, it has to be done after wet forming or the water would not penetrate like it should. Airbrushing the inside? I could see where maybe the beeswax/ neatsfoot paste could be rubbed in before hand. I've not used resolene in my airbrush yet. When I do use it on the inside of my holsters, I use a small sponge and run it down in. I recently bought a bunch of the foam paint brushes and I'm going to try that. Quote Big River Leather
Members woolfe Posted March 11, 2010 Members Report Posted March 11, 2010 I finish mine after wet molding I let them dry over night, wax my edges then apply my finish. I dunk them in a 50/50 resolene/water mix count to 10 pull them out. Then lightly blow off the excess with an air compressor. Then they sit for 3 full days before I assemble them. I get great results and its quick and easy. The only down side is waiting 3 days for it to fully cure. Quote http://www.woolfegunleather.com/
Members LeatherCaptain Posted March 26, 2010 Author Members Report Posted March 26, 2010 (edited) Good afternoon! So, I embarked on the wax/oil adventure and I think I've been outsmarted. I took some of the beeswax/paraffin mixture I use for edges and mixed it with some neatsfoot oil over a double boiler. Got everything cooled down and started to work on applying. And, now that I'm reading this thread again, I think I missed the crucial part - HEAT. I don't know why I stopped working on it but I just couldn't get the waxy white residue to disappear as I was rubbing it in and I think I just got frustrated. I did buy some SnoSeal a couple of weeks ago for my boots and it didn't dawn on me until today when I was applying it that I needed to add heat. I know Kate mentioned it in her post but I guess my limited brain capacity was already full or, as my wife would say, I just wasn't listening. So, back to the workbench to see if heating it up will do the trick. I think I might need to stick with straight beeswax and oil mixture leaving out the paraffin. I think it's the paraffin that's leaving the white residue. I wonder how hot it needs to get to melt properly without deforming the holster at all. Maybe I'll try a hairdryer and then maybe i'll try using a propane torch for quick and dirty applications ...oh yeah, I do all my finishing after the holster is formed...even the edge work. I tried doing the edges before forming and found it to be a waste of time for me. I always had to go back and redo them at the end. Edited March 26, 2010 by LeatherCaptain Quote
MADMAX22 Posted March 26, 2010 Report Posted March 26, 2010 I really like sno-seal as a sealer on my projects. I dont know about using parafin and bees wax on anything other then the edges. With the sno-seal I usually apply one thin coat and let that dry over night and then buff it out, then Ill do another coat if the leather absorbed that pretty well. A hair dryer does a good job of helping it get worked into the leather. Only thing with sno-seal is you need to reapply everyonce in a while depending on how hard you use the project. Quote
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