Antiquing & Resist Issues

[Destrier]

I'm sure someone has already started a thread about this somewhere, but I did a little poking around and couldn't really find what I was looking for so I thought I'd start a new thread.

I've very recently started working with leather and so I apologize for any stupid questions.

What I ended up with was this:

Which is still ok-looking, but not what I had in mind. I had applied Super Shene over all the raised areas (rabbit, fox, filigree) but obviously that didn't do a whole lot. The staff at Tandy had told me that Super Shene would work as a resist - is that what the problem is?

I read in a different thread to apply antiquing only over the areas that you DON'T want resisted - but first off I'm not sure I could rub it in effectively without risking getting it over the other areas, plus then how do you get the darker lines on the carving you've done? I found examples of what I'm trying to describe but I can't seem to add the image here, sorry if that's a little unclear.

[Tzalabak]

I've recently been doing stuff with resisting and antiquing. If you are using the Tandy antique, I have found that resolene tends to works as a pretty decent resist. Ironically, it works better (for me, at least) than Block Out. I haven't tried it with Super Shene.

When I antique, I cover everything with my resist (again, in this case, resolene) and work the antique over and into everything. Then just wipe it back off, making sure to not press so hard with your cloth or whatever that you pull it back out of your lines. Nice deep, crisp lines makes it easier. Thinner leather or shallow cuts/impressions makes it a bit more likely that you will pull the antique back out of the lines.

Also, try using a few coats of the resist, and make absolutely sure you let it dry long enough. If you don't, the antique just ends up mixing with whatever resist you are using and dying the leather.

Hope this helps a bit.

Edit: I'm sure the "only resist the certain parts" thing is a good way to do it, it's just not what I have personally done yet.

Edited February 22, 2013 by Tzalabak

[Destrier]

I had wanted the rabbit and fox to be lighter than the background - I suppose I could achieve the same effect with dyeing the background first... though I attempted that with a different cuff I made and I ended up with a nasty smeary mess. I'm not sure if it's just the Eco-Flo dye (it seems most folks around here don't really think much of it) or if I didn't wait long enough to make sure the dye was completely dry... I had left it for about 4 hours and it felt completely dry, but since then I've read that it's good to leave it overnight or longer.

This is a picture of that first attempt - it was supposed to be a black background with brown/reddish accents - that's kind of what it ended up as, but the lines weren't as crisp and the whole thing was darker than intended:

It's entirely possible I didn't wait long enough for the Super Shene to dry. I'd like to pick up some resolene to try though.

Edited February 22, 2013 by Destrier

[Tzalabak]

I've never really had much in the way of happy results with any of the Tandy dyes other than the pro waterstains.

The drying time is a pretty reasonable excuse for some of the problems. For dyes, in most cases, you usually want at least overnight. Sometimes at least 24 hours. You might also want to try buffing the original color after it dries, to pull up some of the excess pigment before trying to add more color or antique.

For the resist itself, I find that, if I park the item in front of a fan after I apply my resist, a few hours is sufficient time for drying. Could probably get away with less. Not really sure how long I'd let it dry without a fan. Maybe still just a couple of hours. *shrug*

[Destrier]

Good to know, thanks. I'll try to curb my impatience and actually give things a chance to dry!

[Northmount]

I had applied Super Shene over all the raised areas (rabbit, fox, filigree) but obviously that didn't do a whole lot. The staff at Tandy had told me that Super Shene would work as a resist - is that what the problem is?

I read in a different thread to apply antiquing only over the areas that you DON'T want resisted - but first off I'm not sure I could rub it in effectively without risking getting it over the other areas, plus then how do you get the darker lines on the carving you've done? I found examples of what I'm trying to describe but I can't seem to add the image here, sorry if that's a little unclear.

What was the antique you used? Gel Antique?

Helps to know what you are using to be able to answer the question.

Tom

[Destrier]

What was the antique you used? Gel Antique?

Helps to know what you are using to be able to answer the question.

Tom

Sorry, yes it is the gel antique.

[Northmount]

Sorry, yes it is the gel antique.

I thought so. It looked like one of mine!

The gel antique doesn't behave the same as other antiques. The first project I used it on did not turn out as it should have. It did the same as yours, except I used Saddle Tan and it turned out very red. The instructions on the bottle are much less than adequate. There is a video by George Hurst that shows how to use it.

The link to the video should be in the instructions! It would certainly help anyone new to this product.

In George's demonstration, he is doing a relatively small project. By the time you get the antique worked into all the cuts and depressions, you don't have much time to wipe off the excess. Have paper towels and a wet sponge ready before you start. Start with your leather slightly moistened too. I don't recall if that is in the video.

For your existing project, you may be able to improve it somewhat if you haven't applied any finish to it yet. If you scrub it with mop 'n glow, you can remove much of the overall colour. Since the gel antique is water based, the mop 'n glow will lift a lot of the surface dye.

For other types of antiques, there is a video on use of various Tandy resist type products at

Good luck with fixing your project, and with future projects.

Tom

Edited February 22, 2013 by northmount

[cjdevito]

I honestly find that SuperShene makes a crappy resist when used with Tandy's gel antiques. Anything less than three coats of it just lets too much dye through, and even with three coats the resisted areas still pick up a bit of the dye color.

Block Out is better with the gel antique, but again, I wouldn't trust it with anything less than three coats.

On the other hand, I recently gave BeeNatural's RTC Sheridan Resist a try with the gel antique and it did a superior job to anything else I've tried. Two coats seems plenty, three almost completely stops all penetration into the uncut/tooled resisted areas. The carved betta in my avatar was done on undyed leather with three coats of the RTC followed by dark brown gel antique. Here, let me attach the full size shot so you can see it better.

A lot of people here have low opinions of the tandy gel antique (compared to the paste made by Fiebings) but I've found it just takes experimentation to get the hang of. And using the right resist, and enough of it.

Edited February 22, 2013 by cjdevito

[Cameroo]

I honestly find that SuperShene makes a crappy resist when used with Tandy's gel antiques. Anything less than three coats of it just lets too much dye through, and even with three coats the resisted areas still pick up a bit of the dye color.

Block Out is better with the gel antique, but again, I wouldn't trust it with anything less than three coats.

I would second that. Satin sheen is even worse than super sheen, and block out isn't much better. As far as I'm concerned, if I'm doing a larger piece where I only want certain parts antiqued and other parts lighter, the last thing I want is to have apply multiple coats. Seems like a waste of time.

I recently bought some resolene to use as a finish, but have yet to try it as a resist. I'm guessing it will work better than the Tandy products (certainly can't be worse!) I don't really have a problem with the Tandy eco flo antiques, but their resists and finishes suck!