red3 Report post Posted October 6, 2012 How do you guys keep natural leather clean while molding, tooling, burnshing etc? It seems that no matter what I try, I get sweat stains or stains from saddle soap or wax on my belts and holsters wich forces me to dye everything black to cover up te blemishes. How do you make a natural or Russett holster without any stains on it.....should I stain and seal the leather first and if so how am I going to case the leather before molding it.....everything I know about leatherwork I have learned from this forum and I wish to thank everyone for thier help.... Thank You Don Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mlapaglia Report post Posted October 6, 2012 (edited) You can clean it with oxalic acid. The other thing is do your best to not get it dirty. I know its obvious but wear long sleeves or gloves so you dont get the leather dirty. Edited October 6, 2012 by mlapaglia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chief31794 Report post Posted October 6, 2012 I'm a little axxx retentive, but I have a ritual, I case my leather, then just before I take it out of the bag to carve, I wash my hands thouroughly and do so a couple of times during the carving if it's large. I Trim my fingernails (keep a trimmer in the shop), I don't wear any thing other than a simple wedding band, and I am very careful. When I finish and the piece is dry, I wash it with Oxalic Acid (I buy it at Lowes under the brand name, "Barkeepers Friend"), then I dye, oil, finish, etc. Keeps the stains to a minimum. Chief Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Northmount Report post Posted October 6, 2012 Keep your bench area clean. Especially oils, dyes ... If your bench area is used for other work where you can also pick up contamination from sawing, filing, working on other stuff, clean the area well before you bring leather back to it. Vacuum up filings, dust, dirt, etc. And as mentioned above, keep your hands clean, use latex gloves, etc. to reduce chances of contamination. Also realize that some marks or what appears to be stains show up after the leather has been cased. If your water has high hardness and minerals, consider using demineralized or distilled water. CTG Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doc Reaper Report post Posted October 12, 2012 I use powder free latex gloves, doesn't stop the dye from reaching my fingers though! Get a gallon of distilled water from the grocery store! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chief31794 Report post Posted October 12, 2012 Doc, I started using Nylex gloves, I get them from Walmart. They last longer than latex, have no powder, and the dye doesn't get through. They feel better to me than latex. The ones I get are blue and I can use one pair for 6 or 8 different dye jobs and then I don't discard them because they tore and the old dye doesn't bleed off, I just change them so that I absolutely don't have any dye transfer although I never have (except if I use deglazer, that'll dissolve the dye and make it run). Chief Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
