Little Advice

[chevvy64]

Hello everyone, I'm very new to all this but am loving the adventure. I have just made a belt and some wristbands for some friends whilst I am learning. I have used antique stain on all of them to colour, and so it would make the tooling/stamping stand out, ;and then (as advised when I said I didnt want a very shiny finish) used aussie leather conditioner on top. I have given it 2 very light coats and have buffed it up and I love the finish, it looks to me like leather should, sorta mellow-ish if you follow me, very pleased with it.

The only problem I have now, is that i was wondering if only using this will mean thatthe colour may rub off in use? I'm told the Aussie will make it waterproof which is what I wanted, but should I be thinking of a further finsih (sealer?) on top; or is what I have done adequate.

I'm really pleased with the look of it as it is, but hoping someone can advise me just so I know,

Many thanks in advance

Edited November 23, 2010 by chevvy64

[chevvy64]

Wow 51 views, in my defence I have trawled the whole site looking for an answer and I dont seem to be able to find it. I have used antique stain (water based), and then applied aussie leather conditioner, I actually applied another light coat today (brings it to 3). The finish looks lovely, I'm just concerned about durability, and the stuff rubbing off on peoples clothes, or it allowing the dye to do that.

I'm sorry if it seems like such a nooby question, but I cant find the info I need to tell me if this is enough for a finish, or if some sealer should be involved somewhere along the way. I think I read just about every post going, with numerous different searches, and each one gave different information or opinions. I'm now totally confused

[rdb]

IMHO, Aussie is not a top finish sealer. Leather balm, satin sheen, tankote, bagkote, etc are sealers. Aussie conditioner is just that, a conditioner, with water repellancy.

Don't take offense at many views, and no answers. It happens to all of us. Different people, different viewpoints, different days, certain times of the day, etc make for comments. In general, everyone gets an answer . Look through the Topics, and you'll see very few unanswered. We all think we should get 40 replies for the great thing or question we just posted. I just ain't always so...lol

You are on the right track, as far as reading all you can on this forum. The answers for the most part are here. Don't be confused, just read carefully, learn who has the advice you trust most. Nevermind the search function, go directly to the Dye technique category, and start reading each one. There's usually a link in some topics that don't seem to be the one you should open...follow them all in the beginning, and soon you'll have an encyclopedia of info in your head.

There are many books on dyes, and techniques, we've all bought them, or gotten them free from places like Feibing's, or Tandy. You should test them out, Apply various ones, and get feedback from customers and friends.Write it down in a notebook. Then decide for YOURself which works for you. Everything you learn here from anyone, comes from their experiences. If you get to jump in front of the line a little bit, all the better.

Good testing, and don't worry, there's no stupid questions here, this really is the best forum on the net!

[chevvy64]

Hi rdb and thanks for response, I was a little impatient it seems so I apologise; I was just excited and looking forward to finishing.

Just to let you know, I did also go through the entire Dye catagory when I couldn't find an answer via search; I read so much my brain was ready to bust lol. Everyone has a method and a preferance, which I totally understand, but they are all so very different from each other, that you end up more confused than you were at the start.

I should mention I did a little leatherwork about 13 years and really enjoyed it, the subject happened to come up a few weeks ago and I was asked if I could make leather armour. I have no idea what to do as I only made belts and so on, but I agreed to have a go. I said I would make a few belts just to get back into it, and then try and make some patterns for armour if they would be my guinea pig. I was never an expert only a hobbyist but loved it, and as I have recently lost my job, I figured why not?

I had a lot of stuff left over like the old tandy antique stains, and the supersheen, which I used on the first belt, but didn't like the way it looks so shiny. Long story short, as it was for armour which would be used in our typical English weather (more rain) I rang Tandy for advise as pretty much everything I knew has changed. The guy advised me that from what I had described he recommended the Aussie Leather Conditioner as it would give a subtle sheen and it's waterproof (it also states waterproof on the tub description). I suddenly wondered if it would rub off on clothes or let dye bleed through, and tbh that's why I ended up on the forum, but the more I read the more I'm confused. I know someone said they had used a Skidmore's product which essentially sounds the same, but I just feel so unsure now. I would just hate to make something that wasn't good enough to stand the test of time or ruined someones stuff.

So any other input from yourself or others really is gratefully accepted

[Macrdhu]

Hi Chevvy64,

I'm looking for similar info having also read through the forum posts and finding myself confused.

This forum is so good and has helped me so much, in this instance I'm overwhelmed by the options, hence the confusion.

I have made a backpack/brief case for a friend who requested it be blue.

Following research I

1 deglased

2 dyed

3 rubbed off excess

4 coated with carnuba cream

5 rubbed off excess

6 oiled

There is still dye rubbing off.

Is it as simple as not having rubbed off all the excess?

Seems a lot of excess.

Read elsewhere on line that vineger will 'set' a dye, has anyone tried this?

Thanks for any help.

[terrymac]

What kind of dyes are you using? It almost sounds like the dye is not penetrating the leather. I use both Fiebling Professional Oil and Spirit dyes, and have not a problem with dye coming off. For finish I use Clearlac(Neatlac), not the spray version. but the wipe on. It is probably not the best for water proofing, You might check the section of the Forum that deals with motorcyle gear as those people are dealing with leather seats that are subject to all kinds of weather and use. Hope this may help a little.

Terry

[js5972]

If you still have that Super Sheen, try two coats of Super, then a final coat of Satin Sheen to bring down the gloss.

[Macrdhu]

I'm using Fiebling spirit dye.

I've ordered some resolene to experiment with that. Plan to clean off as much as I can then seal with resolene.

[busted]

I'm using Fiebling spirit dye.

I've ordered some resolene to experiment with that. Plan to clean off as much as I can then seal with resolene.

You have finally found the finish that you need to seal the dye into the leather and waterproof it too. Resolene. Do not be shy in the application it takes around 1\2 hour to dry.