Question

[the gafer]

Can anyone tell me what the fiebings product is what you put on the leather to watter proof it?

I am using veg tan to make a lot of what I do but all so use bridle shoulder and I would like to give a little extra watter proofing its mainlyon the edge after burnishing I all waysed used wax but since found out off a sadler its no good at all same as shoe pollish so what would I need guys

[Bob Blea]

Hello,

If you want to stick with Fiebings products, many people here use Acrylic Resolene as a top coat. I use a spray on product made to seal chalk artwork, but it's still an acrylic and it will block UV so sunlight won't be as prone to discoloring your product. However, there are a lot of other options. Try browsing through the dyes and finishes forum and you will get lots of ideas that are more in line with the kind of products you make. What you are going to put the finish on is important to what kind of finish you need. What you need for a carved notebook like I make will be different than what a set of motorcycle saddle bags will need.

Hope this helps,

Bob

[Chief31794]

Fiebings Aussie was recommended to me, I tried it and it does a good job of water repellent. I don't think there is an absolute water proof, if leather gets wet enough it will affect the leather, Aussie is a beeswax based product. I put it on with T-shirt material and then heat it with a hair dryer I keep in the shop, you will see the finish liquify and then it "soaks" in to the leather, I then wipe off the excess and buff. It produces a nice mellow shene.

Like the product Bob recommended above, there are several good finishes, this is just another one and it is a Fiebings product as you indicated you would like to use.

Chief

[the gafer]

Cheers guys

[Jwalker]

while i agree Fiebings makes some fine products...i also dig neutral shoe polish

[rosiart]

Fiebings makes a product called Snow Proof that is supposed to be good for outdoor applications. I haven't tried it myself but Tandy has it on sale this month, so I am thinking of picking some up.

[NVLeatherWorx]

Snow Proof is a good product but as Chief said, there is no true full waterproofing product out there. If leather gets wet, it gets wet. You just let it dry out naturally (don't force it), recondition it with an oil or wax based conditioner and it goes back into use. It is always a good idea to condition leather on a routine basis anyway (depending on use and exposure to elements) which also helps to maintain the water resistance characteristics.

However, shoe polish is nothing more than a minor conditioning product that is primarily intended to retain color versus protection, that is why mink oil was so popular within the military. Mink oil was used to provide conditioning and moisture protection to the boot leather and then, once fully set, the soldier could use the shoe polish to get that high-gloss spit shine (I also used the neutral color as my final application that gave my jump boots the highest shine you could find). Without the mink oil though, the leather would soak up moisture like no tomorrow.

I have used the Fiebing's line for the past 40 years and have also tried the other products on the market but still stand by the Fiebing quality (haven't yet found anything capable of taking their place). Tandy stores used to carry the entire line but now only carry a small fraction, I just get mine from the Fiebing's site.