Best Finish For Dog Collars

[jessebeckham]

I have been doing some dog collars lately and would like your opinions for the best finish/protectant. I'm using tandy pro water stains and or tandy antique gel for dying... Have done super sheen and fiebings leathe sheen aerosol.

The collars I've made are for inside dogs but am about to make a couple for hunting dogs an my dads aussi

Thanks ahead of time!

[Dwight]

I have a friend whose two Boston Bull terriers would go out in the yard with their commercially made nylon collars on, . . . the ones that carry the little plastic shock boxes. These had both a buckle and a keeper under which the tongue end was kept.

Usually it took them all of a few minutes to have both of them off, . . . and be running the range free of the shock boxes, . . . and seeming to enjoy it. One would bite at the loop on the other ones until they magically pulled the right way, . . and the collar & shock box hit the ground.

I made him two leather collars, . . . stained with pro oil stain, . . . finished with Resolene (50/50 mix) and last time I saw them all, . . . they had not taken those collars off.

Those are my only experience, . . . but they worked well.

May God bless,

Dwight

[lightingale]

I make my collars from veg tan, and I apply a small amount of mink oil to the leather and let it sit overnight before finishing. It supposedly helps with waterproofing.

I tried using resolene finish once... full strength, and it cracked and flaked off the collar the next day. I've used an acrylic sealant since then (Zeli Pro Satin Finish).

So far the collars have been standing up fine to the elements, with the inevitable darkening from the sun and fading of colours if it gets wet often. It would help to strongly encourage your customer to condition the leather regularly to maintain a water-repelling coat of oil/wax.

Even better would be to use an oil-tanned leather instead of veg-tan if the collar will be getting wet often.

[Spence]

I also use veg-tanned leather. I use EV olive oil first, dye, EV olive oil again and top it off with Montana Pitch Blend leather dressing (all natural.) Everything is as all-natural as I can get it and as long as the customer keeps up with the dressing, the collar should last. It helps that I'm a distributor for MPB too. lol

[jessebeckham]

Thanks for the tips all!

[DoubleC]

I had neatsfoot recommended to me because of chewing. For puppy leashes. But I've made collars and used resolene. 50/50 mix. Cheryl

[Spence]

Cheryl: Interesting about the neetsfoot oil on puppy leashes. Have you noticed it working as recommended?

[Cyberthrasher]

Neatsfooot is a conditioner - NOT a finish. A finish coat should protect the leather, not just simply soak in an replenish the oils. If you want a "finish" that also revitalizes the leather, go with something like "Montana Pitch Blend" or "Leather Honey" (though I haven't tested that one yet), or any other conditioner that also leaves a wax top coat. But, these will need to be reapplied regularly in order to offer continuous protection.

[Spence]

I agree about the "finisher." I've used Sno-coat and MPB. I liked the MPB enough to start selling it. As with any leather item, if it's not taken care of properly, it's going to be in the woodpile sooner than later. I've seen 100 y/o leather that was well taken care of that looked real good. I've also seen 10 y/o leather that needed to soak in oil for days and still never fully recovered. I've got collars on my dogs that have been through hell and back for up to 15 years and they still look pretty good.

[Cyberthrasher]

I liked the MPB enough to start selling it....

It's what I recommend to all of my customers. I actually plan on getting a sample case from them so I can throw some in with every order.