How To I Properly Apply Finish To My Leather Projects?

[Dwight]

There is one alternative not mentioned yet: take pure bees wax and the better grade of neatsfoot oil, . . . weigh them so you have equal parts 1 to 1, . . . put them in a jar.

Put the jar in a crock pot with water in it, . . . turn it on high, . . . leave it until you have mixture where all the beeswax has melted. Pour into muffin papers in a muffin pan to make little cakes of the stuff.

First, . . . just grab the edge and rub it on, . . . front/back/edges, . . . all over. Go over it with a heat gun, . . . watch the wax melt and move away with the heat.

Polish with a soft cloth.

Add a second coat, . . . heat, . . . polish. Sometimes a third coat. I often just smear my fingers in it, . . . and rub it on, . . . or you can use a piece of cloth, . . . like using old fashioned Kiwi shoe polish.

1: it is relatively inexpensive, . . . 2: it is easily made, . . . 3: it is easy to use, . . . 4: it makes a really good looking satin type finish, . . . 5: it is water repellant, . . . 6: it is easily "repaired" if it gets scratched up some.

It does darken the leather a bit, . . . but not as much as atom wax or resolene.

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited March 13, 2013 by Dwight

[1watersnake]

I like Fieging's antique finish , Its about the cheapest and easiest to use

 

Just now, 1watersnake said:

I like Fieging's antique finish , Its about the cheapest and easiest to use

 

 

[wlg190861]

On ‎2‎/‎5‎/‎2013 at 0:45 PM, humperdingle said:

Well, I was experimenting with Fiebings spirit dye today on a scrap bit of leather...

I tried the mid brown dye, let it dry and then coated half with Fiebings 'tan kote' and the other half just with olive oil (somebody had suggested that on another thread)

The tan-kote gave the same, slightly patchy sheen/gloss finish I'd used on a couple of previous projects, and I wasn't particularly happy with those. Managed to get a finish back on them, but only after some work with a wet sponge to even it out.

The olive oil... Wow! I really love the matt finish it leaves. It does soak in to the leather readily, but 3 or 4 light coats, and it looks nice. So I made a rifle bolt holder and used the same procedure... I think it came out alright. Not sure about how things will pan out long term, but if it gets worn, another coat or two of the oil will freshen it up.

Seems to be colourfast, too, at least with a dry wipe.

Olive oil will go rancid, will do more harm than good in the long run.

[JRP430]

I primarily use leather balm/atom wax right after giving my antique overnight to settle.. This method removes the antique that may be dominating the color underneath but leaves the detailing alone.  Buff, then if I want shiny I add super sheen or resolene (diluted). I would never use only leather balm on a piece exposed to the elements.

As an aside, of all the finishes I've used, I like the Super Sheen. Hope this helps, but as mentioned above, try a lot of suggestions on scrap to get to the place you like.

[ryano]

On 2/5/2013 at 3:09 PM, SmokeCigars said:

Test the atom wax with a stained piece of scrap first. If you apply it with a cloth, sponge, brush, or anything you rub the surface with, it will remove some finish.

I've heard atom wax works really good with an airbrush applied in thin coats, but I don't have an airbrush

I apply dye and leather balm with atom wax with separate pieces of shearling, defuzz it first, I use the clothes dryer to do the defuzzing, Be sure to wash the piece of the shearing with the atom wax to reuse it. You can get the atom wax in several colors and I use black for MC bags and it leaves a nice satin finish.l let the dye dry first, wipe off the residue then apply the atom wax finish.

As far as acrylic finished go, I really like Weaver's Tuff Coat, it comes in clear or black.I wet a sponge to apply WT, I squeeze the water out leaving sponge still wet, but not dripping wet, put the sponbe over the bottle and do a quick flip to get the finish on the sponge. 

In my opinion, I truly believe Angelus makes the best dyes and finishes, you can get the finish in any color, they have finish like atom wax and several types of acrylic finishes. Their dye is super penetrating and can even dye an edge slicked with gum tragacanth. They also have great leather paint.They also have an acrylic antique finish.

[GatoGordo]

On 2/6/2017 at 3:44 AM, wlg190861 said:

Olive oil will go rancid, will do more harm than good in the long run.

I have used olive oil for a few years now and not one item has gone rancid.

[Rahere]

I'm going to answer this as a rifleman rather than a leatherworker. As far as I'm concerned, rifle slings come in two kinds, firstly so you can cop out, carrying it from a shoulder, rather than with the proper care and attention it's owed as your lifesaving best buddy, and secondly as a very rigid extension to your skeleton improving your aim 100%.

I know it gets heavy after five miles, it's you who's weak, going an extra mile each time means by the time you're doing 25 miles with it you're up to the job. It's that kind of sling which is softened with oil.

The other kind, which falls perfectly to wrap my left forearm in a triangle from muzzle-forearm-butt, isn't going to flex or stretch, which means oil isn't really welcome.

In this image, you can see the blue sling passing under his hand, over his elbow, behind his upper arm to the butt. I'd think more along the lines of water-stiffened.