Finishing Process Questions

[stelhrse]

Good Morning Folks,

I am somwhat frustrated with how the leather finishing process works. I have read a book or two on leather finishing but they all seem to assume that you know the basics. What I mean by the basics is as follows. I have carved a rose pattern in a piece of leather and am done tooling it. I painted the carved rose on the leather with eco-flow paints but now what? If I dye the area around the rose, do I seal the dyed part before putting some kind of sealer on the whole thing? Do I use a sealer or do I use an antique dye over the entire piece of leather and get the same results? Will using some products make the paint pull up from the rose carved in the leather? I guess what I'm asking is when do you use the various products and to do what at what time? When do I use a resist? Before I paint or after?

When do you use Neat-Lac or is there better products to use as I read here that it is subject to cracking over time? When would these be applied and where? These all probably sound like things that should be obvious probably and I realize these are alot of questions but if anyone could provide some help, it would be so very much appreciated. I just want to do the right steps at the right time with the right products. I am looking to primarily do belts once I can figure out how all this works and get my carving and tooling to where it should be. Thanks again to all that may be willing to provide some help with all this.

[pete]

please "search" finishing/finish/etc.....- you will find a ton of information.

Don't think that if I am the only one responding means that your question is stupid or uninteresting. It's that a LOT of standard questions are here already.

keep it p and show us your rose!!!!!!

pete

[stelhrse]

please "search" finishing/finish/etc.....- you will find a ton of information.

Don't think that if I am the only one responding means that your question is stupid or uninteresting. It's that a LOT of standard questions are here already.

keep it p and show us your rose!!!!!!

pete

Thanks for the tip Pete. That worked so I have lots of reading to do haha. Thanks again very much.

[terrymac]

Neatlac, now known as Clearlac or Wyosheen, is an old standby that has stood the test of time. I wish I had a dollar for every saddle that was finished with Neatlac and then used for years. When I speaking of Neatlac I am referring to the liquid, not the spray. The only time it cracks is when someone goops it on. If applied with a piece of wool and worked into the leather, it is as good, or better, than any product on the market. Having said all that, it has been my experience that Eco Flo and Neatlac are not compatible. I use Neatlac as a resist, and when I applied the EcoFlo, I ended up with ugliest bunch of colors you can imagine. It works great for the Fiebing antiques and dyes. Hope this helps as far as your resist question goes. I am not an Ecoflo fan as I am sure you can tell, but there seem to be a number of people have good luck with them. If you want to see excellent examples of using Neatlac and the Fiebing products, look at Hidepounders work.

Terry