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.

[jessebeckham]

Great advice everyone. I'm going to look into the MPB. Do you simply use it in place of super sheen?

Also, when you apply neatsfoot, then a dye, does that not affect the application of the dye... I'm thinking Eco-pro water stains... Oil and water you know.

Thanks!

Gel antiques too...

[Cyberthrasher]

First off, I would NEVER use a water based dye on a product meant to be used outdoors. That said, the oil goes inside the leather - where there's already natural oils present.

Second, MPB is a "Temporary" finish. Technically it can be applied by itself as a standalone finish, but it won't offer that much protection. It will help the water bead off, but that's about it. If you must use Super Sheen (I'd recommend not in my personal experience), apply it first and then put the "Temporary finish" of choice on afterward. MPB and other similar conditioners are maintenance products that should be used at the very end of construction - before packaging it up to deliver, and then every now and then by the customer for continuous maintenance. One thing you will find with MPB, and possibly other similar conditioners that I haven't tried, is that you will want to leave it over night when it's applied over a sealing finish (like sheens/lacs/resolene) so that the oils have time to penetrate the sealant.

[TomG]

I use 50/50 Resolene on most of my dog collars. I also use a thick mink oil paste applied lightly to the back side the night before applying the Resolene. I think it's the Kiwi brand. Some of the oils and thin pastes are too easily applied too heavily and can darken the finish.

I have also used Saddle-Lac at a final top coat instead of the Res. It seems to hold up well also... BUT I found that if I applied it first and then applied the mink oil paste to the back, the Saddle-Lac flacked off easily the next morning. Probably something to do with not letting one or the other fully cure.

I will say this about the mink oil paste. I apply a light coat, then wrap a rag around the collar and pull it in a curving motion through my hand. It softens that strap up like a noodle most times!

Anyone else have experience with oil and Saddle-Lac?

[Harag]

Hi

I'm about to make my first couple of dog collars this weekend and have the following

Neatfoot oil

Resolene (50/50)

Carnauba Cream

Mink Oil

the leather is veg tan, and will be died with OIL dye and then have some acrylic paint on it.

From a couple of tests I've found that before I put the acrylic paint on the oil I need to apply resolene so...

Dye

Add Carn Cream

Add resolene

Paint Accrylic

Add Resolene

My In my test I painted on the dye then added the cream, but this pulled off the paint (even after it's dried for several days)

So I was wondering if anyone has any suggestion on when to add the Neatsfoot oil and the Mink Oil

Many thanks

[Cyberthrasher]

Why are we using Carnauba cream before finish and paint? All that's going to do is prevent your acrylic products from properly adhering to the leather.

Remember, this is a FINAL FINISH product meant for maintenance - THE ONLY CONDITIONER TO USE BEFORE SEALING IS NEATSFOOT OIL. Any other conditioning product should be used LAST before sending it out the door.

tool

oil (neatsfoot - not mink or any other conditioner)

dye

resolene

conditioner

[Harag]

Why are we using Carnauba cream before finish and paint? All that's going to do is prevent your acrylic products from properly adhering to the leather.

Remember, this is a FINAL FINISH product meant for maintenance - THE ONLY CONDITIONER TO USE BEFORE SEALING IS NEATSFOOT OIL. Any other conditioning product should be used LAST before sending it out the door.

tool

oil (neatsfoot - not mink or any other conditioner)

dye

resolene

conditioner

Thanks for pointing out the Carnauba cream & acrylic paints, not exactly sure what the cream does, but from videos I've seen the person uses the cream then resolene to finish, but you seem to be saying to put the cream over the resolene. Do I also put the mink oil on over the cream?

[Cyberthrasher]

Do I also put the mink oil on over the cream?

You don't need to use mink oil if you're already conditioning your piece with the cream. They are BOTH conditioners. Over-conditioning can/will cause premature rot by breaking down the fibers.

Resolene = water/UV resistant acrylic SEALER - MUST be able to adhere to the leather, not a wax coating on top of the leather

Wax and oil based conditioners = May be labeled as a "finish" - they are just a temporary "polish" to be used at the end of your assembly. They offer water resistance as well as oils to condition the leather

Now, think about the process you've laid out previously:

Oil (with neatsfoot)

Seal with water/uv resistant acrylic

paint with acrylic

seal with water/uv resistant acrylic

condition with water resistant wax based oil conditioner (carnauba cream - not sure if it actually has oil in it)

oil with mink oil

Now, count how many times you're oiling here, as well as adding water resistance.

preferred method:

lightly oil with neatsfoot oil (lightly condition fibers)

dye

seal with acrylic resolene (protect dye and add water/UV resistance)

condition with wax based conditioner (ONCE - to add a wax coating for further water resistance and polish things up for the end customer)

send out door

[Harag]

You don't need to use mink oil if you're already conditioning your piece with the cream. They are BOTH conditioners. Over-conditioning can/will cause premature rot by breaking down the fibers.

Resolene = water/UV resistant acrylic SEALER - MUST be able to adhere to the leather, not a wax coating on top of the leather

Wax and oil based conditioners = May be labeled as a "finish" - they are just a temporary "polish" to be used at the end of your assembly. They offer water resistance as well as oils to condition the leather

Now, think about the process you've laid out previously:

Oil (with neatsfoot)

Seal with water/uv resistant acrylic

paint with acrylic

seal with water/uv resistant acrylic

condition with water resistant wax based oil conditioner (carnauba cream - not sure if it actually has oil in it)

oil with mink oil

Now, count how many times you're oiling here, as well as adding water resistance.

preferred method:

lightly oil with neatsfoot oil (lightly condition fibers)

dye

seal with acrylic resolene (protect dye and add water/UV resistance)

condition with wax based conditioner (ONCE - to add a wax coating for further water resistance and polish things up for the end customer)

send out door

Thanks Cyber, you have really cleared things up, I was wondering why so many conditioners etc.

Slight amend to the list:

lightly oil with neatsfoot oil (lightly condition fibers)

dye

seal with acrylic resolene (protect dye and add water/UV resistance)

>> Paint Arcylic on top of dye. e.g. dog name in white.

>> seal the above paint with acrylic resolene (protect dye and add water/UV resistance)

condition with wax based conditioner (ONCE - to add a wax coating for further water resistance and polish things up for the end customer)

send out door

Now the next question. I have both Mink oil & Canauba Cream, I've read that mink oil will be better for water "proofing" (better water resist than resolene), so I'm guessing for outdoor items like dog collars / knife sheaths etc, then use mink oil, for indoor items use the canauba cream. Is this logic about right?

[Cyberthrasher]

I've never used pure Mink oil. I do use Montana Pitch Blend which contains it though. That's what I put on every item that leaves my shop.

Experiment with your order of applying acrylic paint. You may find that putting Resolene on top of it will reactivate and cause a mess.

I didn't use acrylic paints for a long time, partly because of that. I was recently taught to use varnish on top of the acrylic paint and before the resolene to separate the two. So far I've had awesome results with it.

[Harag]

Oh, great, thanks for the tip about the varnish, not hear of that one before. I'll have a play around with the acrylics and resolene and see what happens. I don't think we can get the Montana Pitch Blend here in the UK hence the reason why I got the Mink Oil. I take it by your post you simply don't use the Canauba cream at all.

You should have a web site with all the tips & tricks, Your very helpful and have a lot of knowledge, thanks for sharing.

[Cyberthrasher]

Most of it's buried in these pages somewhere. I'm self-taught with nobody around to look over my shoulder.

I know we have lots of UK members here, so perhaps one of them will be able to point you toward a good product that can be found over there.

[shivers3000]

Cyberthrasher thanks for the information! As I comb through this site, you always seem to pop up with some good info

[wlg190861]

If you oil before you dye don't that make it hard too get a true color when dyeing ? Do you soak in oil or just apply small amount oil ?

[MoJo1811]

Great thread!!