New Holster, My First Black One.

[gottaknow]

I just finished this flatback pancake holster for a Bersa .380. It was my first attempt at using vinegaroon. All in all I'm pretty happy with it, the person I made if for was very happy.

Regards, Eric

[Samalan]

Looks good Eric what is the finish over the roon & how was it applied.

[gottaknow]

Looks good Eric what is the finish over the roon & how was it applied.

Thanks! I pondered the finish process for a long time. As for dipping the holster, I used a 9" pan and submersed for 20 seconds. I let that sit for less than 5 miniutes. I then did a baking soda soak for 20 seconds, followed by a cold water rinse in tap water for about 30 seconds. I had started my batch of "roon" about a month ago. It got black pretty fast. There's one small spot on the inside where my glue didn't accept the color, but it doesn't show. Next one I'll be more careful.

As for the finish, I let it dry for an hour and then burnished the edges with no additional materials. I usually use saddlesoap and canvas. I touched a few things up with a modeling spoon then let it completely dry for 48 hours. I applied 6 or 7 coats of carnauba creme wax (Fiebing's) and buffed with a piece of fleece. On the last application, I mixed in some Neetsfoot oil with the wax. That really gave it the rich black color. For my first one in black, I was really pleased. I think I know have a pretty good procedure for future work. I also sewed the holster before I dipped it in the "roon"

Regards, Eric

[Jeff L]

Very interesting process. Looks nice. Thanks for sharing.

[Samalan]

Thanks for the info not sure about the NFO last but it looks good.

[gottaknow]

Thanks for the info not sure about the NFO last but it looks good.

My thought was that I didn't want to soften the leather too much for retention reasons, but just a dab really glossed it up.

Regards, Eric

[chiefjason]

On my grooned holsters I add a light coat of neatsfoot oil after grooning. The groon wants to suck all the oil out. Then my final finish is beeswax and neatsfoot oil- 2 coats applied. Each coat is heated with a heat gun to open up the leather to accept the oil-wax. The holster stays plenty stiff as long as it's molded correctly and I heat dry after molding to stiffen it too. At some point the grooned leather needs some oil put back in it. The oil also helps deepen the black.

[gottaknow]

Thanks for that info Chief. I do heat my molded holsters. I was still afraid to oil it afterwards for fear of softening it too much until I figured it would give me the shine I wanted. I'm learning as I go and I really appreciate the input. I'm going to implement some of your techniques

Regards, Eric

[chiefjason]

Eric,

The reason I went to the oil and beeswax is because I could not get an acrylic finish to take consistently on the grooned leather. It would crack when flexed. Something you might want to keep an eye out for if you use any. One thing that did help was to give the leather plenty of time to dry between steps. Sometimes that did not help though. But with oil and/or wax finishes that's not an issue.

Jason