Members dtmmil Posted August 13, 2011 Author Members Report 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
Members Spinner Posted August 13, 2011 Members Report 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 Chris Three Mutts Customs Leather - http://www.threemuttscustoms.com
Members Poboy Posted August 13, 2011 Members Report 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 po-boybikeworks.com Hand Tooled Leather & Custom Chopper Parts for the common man... E-mail me
Members dtmmil Posted August 13, 2011 Author Members Report 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
Members dtmmil Posted August 13, 2011 Author Members Report 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
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