Natural Leather Finish

[boompa]

Hi all. I need to draw on the wisdom of this wonderful forum.

I'm making wood frame chairs similar to this. I like the look ,color and feel of the veg tanned 9 oz. tooling leather I got from Oregon Leather. I'd leave it unfinished, but it's a dining chair and my tests show it stains and spots bad. I tried Sno-Seal, pure Neatsfoot and olive oil as a finish on a scrap and they all look and feel good. Sno- seal alone stains the least and it even resists soy sauce so I'm thinking it would be all I need as a finish.

I'd like to just saddle soap and reapply Sno-seal every year.

I made a briefcase 30 years ago and finished it with a clear leather coating of some kind. It looked glossy and plastic-like for 5 or 6 years. I swore I'd use a more natural finish on leather in the future.

Is there a natural finish that is stain proof? Does neat- lac or Fiebling' saddle lac stain ? If my Sno-seal finish starts to really look more stained than a nice aged patina could I put a stain proof coating over it?

I'm making wood frame chairs similar to this.

Edited January 31, 2011 by boompa

[TwinOaks]

You might try conditioning the leather, then applying Leather Balm w/ Atom wax. It isn't as waterproof as sno-seal, and you need to apply it with a cloth/rag quickly to avoid spotting, but it gives a very nice mellow finish. Just about any of the finishes that penetrate the leather run the risk of darkening the leather somewhat. My experiences w/ neat-lac are that it doesn't darken it much, but it's easy to get too thick of a coating unless you work it in as you go.

Re: the plastic feel.....You might try resolene through an airbrush, in several coats, and rubbing it in/down between the coats. It's one of the few things that will pretty well seal the leather on a permanent basis.

[LBsaddles]

I've been messing around trying to find something for reins that would put a waxy finish on but could be re-applied as it wears. What I came up with was to get bees wax and olive oil and put it in a crock pot and set it on low for a day or so stirring every once and awhile until it is good and mixed. Then as it cools stir it about every 5 to 10 min. so it doesn't seperate. I don't have any exact measurements on each yet but the first batch looks like bag balm, it works well and can be applied over and over but I want a little more wax in it next time. It doesn't change the color much if at all and is completely waterproof without any glossy finish.

[boompa]

Thanks for the ideas.