How To I Properly Apply Finish To My Leather Projects?

[billymac814]

I never heard of anyone air brushing leather balm with atom wax. I think it should be rubbed into the leather and then polished once dry.

I never like tan Kote as a finish personally. I also don't think it can be thinned. I would try either Bag Kote, it can be thinned with water or resolene, I get better results with either of these when mixed with water.

[Andalusiangirl]

Just remember that Tan-Kote is a finish and Olive Oil (or any oil) is a conditioner. The oil won't protect your dye at all, it will only feed the leather.

Did you try thinning the Tan-Kote? Most finish products will require thinning in order to apply them evenly, which will also reduce the amount of sheen on them.

Sorry for hijacking thread but to clarify-

the 'finishing' products available are tan-kote, resolene, harness dressing, atom wax, neatsfoor oil? and all prevent dye from running?

[Cyberthrasher]

I would say the finishing products available are any of the "Sheen" products (super sheen, wyosheen), Resolene, Clearlac/neatlac/saddlelac (all lacquer based), Tan-Kote, Bag-Kote, and some others from Bee Natural - but I don't want to quote specifics on that one since I'm not entirely sure of their intended uses for the different products. I'm sure I'm missing a few, but that's a good list.

I don't know about harness dressing or atom wax for sure, but I KNOW that neatsfoot oil is a conditioner, hence the reason I added "or any oil" to the quoted post. In fact, the Lexol bottle of neatsfoot says "leather conditioner" on it. Oil feeds the leather with the nutrients it needs by soaking into it. Anything that soaks into the leather is not a finish and will not protect the dye. I believe atom wax is more of a top coat that could be considered a "temporary" finish because any wax solution will eventually wear off and need to be re-applied. I imagine the same is true for harness dressing. I use Montana Pitch Blend for a leather dressing. When I first started I thought it would work as a "finish", but soon realized that it doesn't really protect the dye long-term. It does give a waxy coating while conditioning the leather, but it will eventually wear off, leaving the dye exposed to be rubbed off or degraded by the elements.

I've never used Tan-Kote myself, so I'll defer to someone like Billy who's used it before. I thought I had read somewhere that it could be thinned just like Resolene, but I may have been thinking of Bag-Kote. The "Kote" in them makes me mix them up all the time

Edited February 5, 2013 by Cyberthrasher

[billymac814]

As per a previous discussion here we seemed to conclude that Tan Kote is resin based and bag Kote is water based and on the bottle is says not to mix anything with Tan Kote, I don't know what would happen if it was mixed with water, I thought I did mix it at one point but I may not have. I only tried it a few times as a finish and never liked it, I just use it to thin antique.

I would agree with everything in the previous post. I know some use Atom wax as a finish but its more of a polish/conditioner. Is says on the bottle that it cleans,softens, polishes and restores smooth leather.

I myself used to use it as well as the MPB and Aussie Leather conditioner as more of a finish and had the same results, it just doesn't last. You may get away with it for certain items but it'll require repeated applications and if its an antiqued item it won't do much to waterproof the antique.

Angelus has a line of acrylic finishes like resolene but they have varying degrees of sheen, 605 is a satin finish if you don't want a super glossy look. I find with the resolene mixed with water its not as shiny unless I get into multiple coats but it does have some shine to it.

I oil most of my items prior to putting the finish on, I use pure neatsfoot. I know some people have good luck with the Olive oil but I personally will save that for my salad. I'm not saying it doesn't work and I don't want to get into any debates here I just feel better using the neatsfoot oil.

Some use Mop and Glow too as a finish, I never tried it though so I don't know how it works.

I also never tried any of the "Lacs", I don't think anything I make really calls for that but maybe someday ill try some.

I'm assuming the harness dressing is similar to the MPB or other wax based water proofer/conditioner but I'm not sure exactly what it is.

[Cyberthrasher]

I know some people have good luck with the Olive oil but I personally will save that for my salad. I'm not saying it doesn't work and I don't want to get into any debates here I just feel better using the neatsfoot oil.

I used it before I could afford to place an order at one time, so it is good in a pinch. But, I don't think I'd ever use it on a high-dollar item. The small stuff that's for friends or family would most likely be it - something where I can come back later and do it right. Actually, one of my friends has a wallet from my "conditioner as a finish" days, so whenever he comes over to my house I re-apply for him and say "one of these days we need to put some real finish on this so the dye quits fading".

[billymac814]

I think I used it once to lube my sewing machine shuttle in a pinch.

Have you ever tried putting a finish on an item after its already been loaded down with the wax type stuff? I wonder if it would take it well. I'd probably try to clean it up as best as possible first.

[Cyberthrasher]

by the time he comes over, the wallet is usually pretty dry, so I don't think I would have too much of a problem applying a real finish at that point. He's another IT guy like me, so he spends a LOT of time sitting on it, wearing everything down

[nicholas482109]

Thanks for all the info guys. I think i have enough information to get in the right direction and experiment with some things to see how it works.

[JollyJ]

I believe Billy said it all well. I'll just add that I would go with Neatsfoot - or possibly mink but I've never used it - rather than olive. Some conditions may cause the olive oil to become rancid and I don't think anyone would want that.

[TomG]

I do the following:

Case

Stamp

Dry

Resist if needed

Dye

Dry

Leather Balm with Atom Wax - apply and buff it dry andglossy.

Antiquing if needed

Dry

Finish

Dry

Mink oil paste to the flesh side.

I get good results with this.

As for finishes - I've used Super Sheen, Resolene ande Saddle Lac

Super Sheen (100%) and Resolene (50/50) give me about the same results. I apply them LIGHTLY with a piece of trimmed wool. If you apply them too heavily, a couple of things happen. You pull the antiquing out of the recesses and smear it onto the leather. Plus, you can get cracking and crazing when you bend the leather. If I have more than 3 or 4 items to do at a time, I might use the airbrush to apply them.... just have to justify the cleanup time. These will all clog an airbrush if not thoroughly purged.

If the item is going outdoors - dog collar, leash etc, I use the Saddle Lac spray. 1 or 2 LIGHT coats is sufficient.

Mink Oil Paste will turn a stiff price of leather into a limp piece of spaghetti <g>.... But if you use too much, it's just like too much of any other oil and will darken the leather. I use the Kiwi that you can get at grocery stores, hardware or camping stores. I've tried the Feibings but it is too soft and is too easy to put on too much.

The reaso I put the mink oil on last - after the finish -is that I've had a couple of times that if I oil paste the back first, and them spray on the saddle lac, when everything dries, the saddle lac flakes off.

Try a bunch of combos. and go light. You can always add stuff. You can't easily take away too much...

One last thing... One of the coloring leather books from Tandy has a cross referecne chart showing which products can be used with which and the effects.

Good luck

Tom