dtmmil Report post Posted August 12, 2011 Ok, I have my seat dyed, dryed and sitting waiting for me to finish, now I am seeing I may be up a creek! I used the eco-flo stuff from the tandy kit for the dye, its briar brown I believe. I have the seat pretty much the way I want it, its a little darker then I had originally planned, but I think it will work. Now how do I finish it? I have the super sheen from the kit I thought I was suppose to use, but now I am seeing I should oil it first? I have Fiebings mink oil liquid also, I thought I used this as a finish/sealer to waterproof it. It has mink oil, silicone, lanolin, and pure neatsfoot oil in it. I also have some saddle soap, and possibly more stuff to that effect. How do I finish from here, right now its veggie tanned leather with the eco flo briar brown on it, dried and ready for the next step, please help! It is my motorcycle seat, it will get wet. thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pellegrino Report post Posted August 12, 2011 no other colors than spirit or alcohol works on bike saddles....sorry for your work....read the section about saddles and bike gear.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dtmmil Report post Posted August 12, 2011 I was kinda thinking that, what can I do for now, I am assuming the color will wear off in time, probably not long either, but for now since its colored should I just mink oil it up real good and plan to redo it in the winter? thanks for the reply! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dtmmil Report post Posted August 12, 2011 Well this is what I ended up with, I put the mink oil on after letting it sit in the sun for a little bit, rubbed it in real good, and its back in the sun again for a little bit, when it dries some I plan to put more oil on it. Hope my butt doesn't turn brown from it the first time I ride to work with it now! haha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spinner Report post Posted August 12, 2011 Well this is what I ended up with, I put the mink oil on after letting it sit in the sun for a little bit, rubbed it in real good, and its back in the sun again for a little bit, when it dries some I plan to put more oil on it. Hope my butt doesn't turn brown from it the first time I ride to work with it now! haha Not a bad start! As for Eco-flow dyes, keep in mind they are water based so spirit and oil based dyes will go over them with no problem. (Doesn't work so well the other way around though). The Mink Oil doesn't seal the leather though, it will simply act as a conditioner and and help keep the elements from breaking down the leather as fast. You did have a good idea by putting it in the sun though as sunlight will 'tan' leather just like our skin. Keep in mind though it will also burn just like us too. Do the sun bit in small time increments like 15-30 minutes and oil in between. It's a great way to get a "natural" reddish-brown color going. As for the rub off, you can eliminate much of that by buffing the leather with an old t-shirt or diaper cloth. This will burnish the fibers of the leather and pull out any excess surface color. Then after it sits for a few days to let the oil set up, apply a coat of the super sheen and let dry overnight. Rub in another coat of the oil and apply a top dressing like Atom Balm or Fiebing Motorcycle Dressing and you should be good to go for a season or two - unless you're like me and change things as you go along. The above is just out there to help with the products you have now, on future attempts you'll want to pick up different supplies for the dye & finishing process. Hope this helps, Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dtmmil Report post Posted August 12, 2011 (edited) Cool thanks! that helps! I was just out there now, I put another coat of oil on it, dripped a drop of sweat on it and it took some color off, not cool!, good thing it was the bottom side! Ok, just reread your post spinner, you say spirit and oil based will go right over this, what do you mean by that, is there something you would suggest I put on it besides the stuff in your post already that will hold the color better? Edited August 12, 2011 by dtmmil Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spinner Report post Posted August 12, 2011 Ok, just reread your post spinner, you say spirit and oil based will go right over this, what do you mean by that, is there something you would suggest I put on it besides the stuff in your post already that will hold the color better? What I meant by that statement was that Eco-Flow being water based pigment will partially desolve/not inhibit a spirit or oil based dye from being applied on top of it. The stronger dye will simply add more color to the leather and blend with or cover the existing dye. Unfortunately, with the mink oil applied such is not the case anymore as the silicone and lanoline in mink oil may inhibit additional dye from penetrating (end up splotchy/streaks). For the oiling stage next time, try Pure Neatsfoot Oil. It's a more natural product and doesn't inhibit dye from penetrating the leather should you decide it needs more color. In fact, when doing true black pieces, I'll do a coat of neatsfoot between my last two applications of dye to get a deeper penetration. For now, at the stage you're at, your best bet is to simply finish the project and press on to the next one with more experience behind you. So to finish off what you have I would: Oil & Tan to desired color Buff with a soft cloth to remove residual color/oil seal apply weather resistant top coat dressing mount it up & put some miles on it. start designing the next one - include some tooling & lacing next time for more fun! Cheers, Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dtmmil Report post Posted August 12, 2011 Ok, thanks again for your reply, sorry for the inexperience here, but what would you suggest I use for your steps 3 and 4. I guess I am having a hard time understanding this stuff. I thought the mink oil did steps 3 and 4 so I guess I need some more help please. I have a tandy leather not to far, if they have the stuff, or if you can give me a brand and a actual product that would be great. And I wanted to do some tooling on this one, but figured I would just get this step done and do just like you said, plan for the next one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dtmmil Report post Posted August 13, 2011 Ok, I am looking at the tandy site, found the fiebings atom balm, but not finding the MC dressing. I do see tan-kote and resolene, would this stuff be what I want, they both say that they would be moisture resistant and could be used as a finish. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spinner Report post Posted August 13, 2011 (edited) Ok, I am looking at the tandy site, found the fiebings atom balm, but not finding the MC dressing. I do see tan-kote and resolene, would this stuff be what I want, they both say that they would be moisture resistant and could be used as a finish. No worries, since I'm feeling lazy, I'll link to a post I made yesterday abut my post-dye finishing process. This is just my method as everyone has their own tweaks and tricks: http://leatherworker...ndpost&p=208964 For starting out, you can get a cheap sprayer with the Tandy Preval unit and glass jar (both for about $10) to spray the resolene on. Later you'll want to check out a cheap airbrush like the single action ones at Harbor Freight. For products, my favorites are: Fiebing Leather Dye (NOT LeatherColors) or Fiebings Pro Oil Dye if you can get it. Resolene makes a great protective sealer. Pure Neatsfoot for the oil. For the conditioner and weather"proofing" (it's more like weather resistant, nothing is weather proof) I use Pecard's Motorcycle Leather Lotion and the Motorcycle Leather Weatherproof Dressing. The last two you can get in a kit from Pecard directly for $18 that will last you quite a while: http://www.pecard.co...Code=kits-small I recommend the small kit for folks trying them out since it comes with the lotion and both colors of dressing (natural and black). The large kit only comes with the natural but in a bigger tub. Side note: I mistyped originally when I said Fiebing Motorcycle Dressing, it's made by Pecard. Edited August 13, 2011 by Spinner Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dtmmil Report post Posted August 13, 2011 Ok, so I sat down and started buffing with a soft cloth lightly, and the color started coming off, so I took a damp sponge and wiped off all the dark color, now its pretty much one color, a little lighter then the area where I will actually be sitting, has some water spots, streaks a little, and generally looks like crap! I will see what it does when it dries now and go from there I guess. on another thought, I have some dr. martens wonder balsam, says its a special blend of natural waxes that restores, protects, and conditions most leather. Is this anything I want to use on it for a sealer? Thanks for the help, looks like I am kinda back to square one, except square one looks like crap! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spinner Report post Posted August 13, 2011 Ok, so I sat down and started buffing with a soft cloth lightly, and the color started coming off, so I took a damp sponge and wiped off all the dark color, now its pretty much one color, a little lighter then the area where I will actually be sitting, has some water spots, streaks a little, and generally looks like crap! I will see what it does when it dries now and go from there I guess. on another thought, I have some dr. martens wonder balsam, says its a special blend of natural waxes that restores, protects, and conditions most leather. Is this anything I want to use on it for a sealer? Thanks for the help, looks like I am kinda back to square one, except square one looks like crap! Happens to the best of us when trying something new. As for the Doc Martens, it's the same as the Atom Balm and Pecard's Dressing. It's a conditioner for after the project is done, won't seal the leather. Almost all the true sealers are going to an acrylic or lacquer based top coat finish. Think of it like woodworking...build, sand, oil/stain, vanish/lacquer, wax. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Poboy Report post Posted August 13, 2011 Hey Bro, saw yur post over on TCU and tried to stay back on comments but... Spinner has offered some great advice, now let me offer some first hand help for fixing yur lil' problem. First off, throw away all the Tandy stains, antiqueing, finish, etc. I suppose they might work for wall hangings, etc., but otherwise, they will not allow yur pieces to hold color on any "wear" type item, especially a bike seat. Sorry, had to get in my "anti-Eco Flow" rant. Ok now for your seat, as said above, Fieblings spirit or Pro oil dyes will cover the water based junk youv'e applied so far, fairly well, so here's what I'd do: First, I would "strip" the entire seat w/ rubbing alcohol, firmly rubbing in circles w/ an old towell or similar. This will help to pull out alot of the additives and some of the color and oils. do this at least twice and then let completely dry. Keep in mind, this won't remove all color, but will definitely lighten it up. Next, I would do a couple of applications of pure neatsfoot oil, again, stay away from the Tandy stuff. The neatsfoot will re-condition the leather and "lube up" the fibers to accept the proper stain.After allowing the oil to dry overnight, you can apply the Fieblings dye. Another thing I've found is that these dyes work best when thinned considerably w/ rubbing alcohol and applied "drybrush" style w/ a 2-3" paint brush like you'd use to trim when painting around the house. Sorry for the long winded response, but I spent a considerable amount of time "fixing" some of my early work, juast like you did on the seat, and the above is what I have found to work best to pull it off. I'm sure I'll get some flack for my methods, but they have worked for me in the past. Keep in mind that the seat may never have a good even finish, unless you go black, but should look and hold up, alot better than w/ the water based stuff. Good luck w/ it and keep us posted on yur end results... Po-Boy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dtmmil Report post Posted August 13, 2011 Ok, no problem on the tandy stuff, it seems to suck pretty bad! Right now its pretty much colorless, there isn't much of the color left at all after wiping it with a damp sponge, the darkness and tint of the color is about where I set out for it to end up actually, and since I need the seat monday, what should I do to finish it for now, chalk it up as a learning experience and start thinking of what kinda tooling I want on the next one? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dtmmil Report post Posted August 13, 2011 Ok, stopped at tandy, picked up some tan coat, going out to apply it now, going to be done with it after that and chalk it up as a learning thing. I will post a pic when its ready to go back on, and figure out what kind of tooling I want to do for a more permanent seat cover. thanks for all the input and help!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
