Resolene Making Leather Hard

[stef73433]

I dyed my roughout saddle fenders with a fiebings oil dye, mocasin brown. I am having alot of run off, so I think i should seal it. I tried some resolene on scraps, that makes leather all hard and nasty feeling.

Am I missing a step after the resolene to make it soft again, or wrong product?

Any advice would be great. I just dont know what to do to lock that dye in. Pretty new to me still.

[dirtclod]

I'm not sure what's happening with the resolene because in 30 years of using it i never have had it make the leather hard has a icky feeling when it drys. I put mine on with a sponge. Never have used oil dye so i can't help there.

[Cyberthrasher]

You're putting it on too thick. ALWAYS apply Resolene 50/50 with water and apply in multiple LIGHT coats. Otherwise it will cure up like a plastic coating. It's something they should really put on the bottle!!!

[stef73433]

I put it on straight from bottle with a dauber.that must be the issues

[Cyberthrasher]

I put it on straight from bottle with a dauber.that must be the issues

I'd guarantee it. My preferred method is to use a lightly dampened sponge and use very light to NO pressure when applying it. Just make sure you don't leave any bubbles behind. There will always be a little bit of a foam trail, but try to get as much of that cleared up as possible too. USUALLY those little teeny tiny foam bubbles will settle down. It's the real bubbles you have to worry about because they will harden in bubble form. Run some test pieces to get yourself acquainted with it. The other method that I use when I'm worried about lifting dye and spreading it around to other colors is to use an airbrush for my first coat. That's not an option for everybody though. The key thing is light pressure, and make sure you've buffed your dye well ahead of time so there's not as much pigment to lift up. I also keep a pre-mixed bottle of 50/50 sitting there and I poor off a little bit into another little jar to load my sponge. That way I'm not mixing pigments I happen to pick up into the entire batch.

Edited July 31, 2013 by Cyberthrasher