Protecting A Stencilled Image

[identiti66]

Hi all.. first post (and sorry it's a question already, but it's quite pressing)..

I need to put a logo onto a leather bicycle seat.

It's an upholstery leather, good quality, white. The logo will be in purple and on either side of the 'nose' of the saddle so will be exposed to sweat and rubbing

I have a stencil so that's sorted.

My initial thoughts were to use a decent permanent marker for the job so I have one of those. But now I'm not so sure. Are there better alternatives?

My last (I think) 'issue' is how to protect it once it's dry. I found a bottle of Autoglym Leather Cream in my stash of car cleaning gear but that made the image smudge (on my test piece).

Having googled my little socks off there were hundreds of articles on how to get ink OUT of leather but not so many on how to keep it IN..

Any product suggestions really need to be available in the UK (since that's where I'm at).

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance...

[TwinOaks]

First off, you probably shouldn't use INK. Use DYE instead. Ink has a tendency to wick through the leather fibers much the way a tattoo fades. I noticed it on my old baseball mitt the other night. The glove is pushing 20 years old and where I'd written my name in it (with indelible ink, as it was known at the time) is faded to the point that all the letters are no longer visible. There's no damage to the surface, the ink just "migrated" into the surrounding leather.

Dye is typically very tiny solid particle suspended in a solvent, and once the dye penetrates the pores of the leather, it's there to stay.

Once you have the image where you want it, you'll need to seal the leather's surface. There are a variety of options, but due to your location I'll recommend acrylic wax. For leather, it's sold as "Resolene", but I and others have found that acrylic floor wax is practically the same product, but perhaps a bit more diluted. Here in the U.S., it's commonly sold as "Mop-n-glo", or "Future"...along with some others. Check your local supermarket's cleaning aisle for what's available to you. The best method for application, especially on something that could smear, is aerosol misting. Do several light coats, and let it dry between applications.

[identiti66]

Thanks TwinOaks.. Dye it is then.

For spraying, would one of those plant misting sprayers handle Resolene do you think? The type that pump up to pressurise them..

[TwinOaks]

It should handle it just fine, but test the spray pattern and consistency. Resolene actually says to apply with a damp sponge, etc. but spraying is so much more even in coverage.

[identiti66]

It should handle it just fine, but test the spray pattern and consistency. Resolene actually says to apply with a damp sponge, etc. but spraying is so much more even in coverage.

Thanks again... I have enough spare to test on. So with a little luck I'll get it right before making a hash of the final product..