Tina Report post Posted December 7, 2011 (edited) As I have been asked to make some biker gear, I have to get the treatment right too. So all you biker gear makers, what are you using to make the leather items stand the heat, the cold and the water from mother nature on veg.tan leather? (and does that treatment allowes for using antiquing?) Looking forward to some good advice :-) Edited December 7, 2011 by Tina Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spinner Report post Posted December 7, 2011 As I have been asked to make some biker gear, I have to get the treatment right too. So all you biker gear makers, what are you using to make the leather items stand the heat, the cold and the water from mother nature on veg.tan leather? (and does that treatment allowes for using antiquing?) Looking forward to some good advice :-) Hey Tina, The process I use on my bibs after tooling is apply a light coat of neatsfoot oil, let rest. Apply 2 coats of Pro Oil Dye, wait for an hour or so and then apply a second heavier coat of neatsfoot oil, let rest overnight. Apply 2-3 coats of resolene or super sheen (spray). The super sheen spray is used on pieces where I have done acrylic painting. I haven't had good luck with resolene over acrylics but the super sheen spray works nicely. Now that I can get Aerosol Neat-Lac in California again, I plan to switch to that for most everything. Let dry 10 min between coats, overnight after the final coat. Next day, I apply Pecards Motorcycle Leather Conditioner and a good coat of Pecard's Motorcycle Leather Dressing (Natural). Buff to a nice sheen with a clean cloth & wrap it up. I also include a sample size of the Pecard's Motorcycle Leather Dressing in the box for the client so they can be sure to use the same product to clean it as I do when making it. The Pecard motorcycle line is pretty weather-resistant (not going to say water proof) and they're a great company to work with. I've been told a few of my steps are backwards and such but with a ton of these bibs on the road, no complaints and some pretty harsh tests like gasoline being accidentally poured down the bib and another being subjected to a white-out conditions blizzard I think I'm going to stick with it. Cheers, Chris Cheers, Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tina Report post Posted December 7, 2011 Hi Spinner and Thanks a load for the help...Now I only need to find the Pecard brand over here, I have the rest :-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spinner Report post Posted December 7, 2011 (edited) Hi Spinner and Thanks a load for the help...Now I only need to find the Pecard brand over here, I have the rest :-) Hey Tina, If it helps, they sell their products direct from their website as well. If not, let me know and I can hook you up with a few of the .75oz sample sized ones I send to clients. A little goes a long way with this stuff. Chris Here's the link to the motorcycle products in their store: http://pecard.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=Pecard&Category_Code=motorcycle Edited December 7, 2011 by Spinner Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tina Report post Posted December 8, 2011 Hey Tina, If it helps, they sell their products direct from their website as well. If not, let me know and I can hook you up with a few of the .75oz sample sized ones I send to clients. A little goes a long way with this stuff. Chris Here's the link to the motorcycle products in their store: http://pecard.com/mm...Code=motorcycle Thanks Spinner:-) I'm going to try and find it on this side of the pond first...The custom is just toooo exact here and I want to avoid more fees than necessary. I have one more question...What do you do to the flesh side of the piece, in this case I am doing a tank bib. I mean that bit has to soak up load os water if it's raining, at the same time I don't want to treat it with something that destroys the paint on th tank...Any ideas? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spinner Report post Posted December 8, 2011 (edited) Thanks Spinner:-) I'm going to try and find it on this side of the pond first...The custom is just toooo exact here and I want to avoid more fees than necessary. I have one more question...What do you do to the flesh side of the piece, in this case I am doing a tank bib. I mean that bit has to soak up load os water if it's raining, at the same time I don't want to treat it with something that destroys the paint on th tank...Any ideas? Not a problem Tina. On the dressing, if you can't find it, let me know. I believe customs is a bit cheaper on "gifts". As for the flesh side, I use an airbrush to dye all of the edges and openings about an inch in. I don't dye the entire underside just to safeguard against bleed should it really get soaked with fuel or something that could pull any color out. I then spray a coat of sealer on the flesh side to keep it from being able to soak up too much water. I use an airbrush for this step as I have found that using an aerosol can spray finish on the flesh side can cause the color to soak in further towards the grain side making the flesh side look greyed out. Odd thing, not sure why it does that. Anyway, once the underside is edge dyed and sealed, I use 3M 90 spray adhesive to attach a soft felt to the back. Cut the felt oversized and make sure the glue gets right up to the edge of the lacing/edge of the piece. Smooth out the felt backing and let the glue dry for an hour or so. I then sew a quick stitch on my little sewing machine along any openings that will be covered like the dash opening. The stitching will keep the felt attached later on down the road if the glue fails due to moisture/heat. Once all glued and stitched, I trim the felt using very sharp shears held at an angle to undercut the sides. This allows me to get the felt under the laced edges but it doesn't show when mounted. The paint is 100% protected from the abrasive leather and the felt acts as a buffer to moisture. The felt breathes easier than leather and therefore will dry faster and having the 1/16" of material between the tank and leather keeps the backside of the leather from getting as wet. Should the bib get really wet, it is recommended that the owner remove it and allow it to dry. Should they have concerns about mold/mildew due to constant moisture or if they get something smelly on it like gasoline, a spritz of 50/50 solution of vinegar & water will keep the nasties at bay. Just take the bib off, spray the backside felt, not the leather!, and let dry. The vinegar smell disappears in a day or so and vinegar is a natural killer of mold and mildew. Hope this helps! Chris Here are some pics of a fender bib I just finished so you can see how the front and back look with the felt & all sewn in. Edited December 8, 2011 by Spinner Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bard Skye Report post Posted December 8, 2011 Spinner As always, Skye Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tina Report post Posted December 8, 2011 I second Bard Skye... You rock Spinner and Great Thanks for all your advice, this will for sure help Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spinner Report post Posted December 9, 2011 Always glad to help, let me know if you need anything else. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
