Nice *tan* Saddle Color

[wyomingcowboy]

I am looking for a little bit darker, saddle finish type color for some chap tops. I have been following Keith Valley's instructions for the sheridan brown antique (oil, wyosheen, antique, wyosheen) and have had great results. I really like the colors it produced especially for tops on the chocolate brown chap body. However, I have a customer that wants it a bit darker.

I have some Tandy eco antique in medium brown but when I wyosheen first, the antique gel won't penetrate at all....AT ALL! When I use the antique gel first, before any resist it makes the vegtan WAAAY too dark. Anybody got any tips on how to use this stuff that will actually antique, not just stain the whole thing?

I'm sorry for the repeat questions here - I'm sure they have been covered before.

I also am wondering about neatsfoot oil and color. I hear people say that they ONLY use the oil to color leather but honestly, I haven't found it to color much....it either soaks in completely and leather stays the same color, or it darkens way too much. It is pure.

As a little side note - I am finding lots of flaws in this Tandy Veg Tan. I bought a double back on a real good sale about 9 months ago and am just getting around to using it. It is 8/9 oz but varies in thickness pretty drastically, the back needs trimmed on every piece I cut, the colors change from area to area, it absolutely will not case, (either too dry or too wet and will not color up with tooling). I just used up the last of my first side of HO that I got from Sheridan Leather and I will never again buy anything but HO. Don't mean to flame any Tandy fans but I am really dissatisfied with this veg tan. I have almost exclusively bought all of my chap leather from them and am very satisfied with the quality and the smoking deals you can find.....but I am finished with their veg tan.

Edited August 5, 2013 by wyomingcowboy

[Cyberthrasher]

Lots of stuff to address here.

First off, antique is traditionally used to lightly color the overall leather and really get into the tooling to highlight it and darken things there. It's basically designed for what you were discovering in the instructions you mentioned. Now, what you're trying to do with "darkening" the leather should be accomplished with dye and not antique. Antique/stain/highlight is not a dye. Antique will always have those results on leather without a resist underneath, which is meant to keep the leather from getting colored by the antique.

Get yourself some fiebings dye and get a good solid color. Now, for an oil color, you can either over-oil to get a rich color (be sure to dab off the oil from your rag and apply in several light coats), or do a couple light coats and put it in the sun to color.

Don't worry about not using Tandy - they are crap when it comes to leather and many of their supplies. They're the Walmart of leather. They've done a lot of good for the craft as a whole, but lately they're doing a lot more disservice then anything else.

[lightingale]

My favourite tan coloured dye is actually from Tandy. Try the Professional Waterstain in Tan. It's a nice, rich, dark gold colour that I reach for often.

[cem]

Neatsfoot oiling for that tan look works best on the more russet coloured leather like HO and the leather from Greenhalgh tannery in Australia. On the imported light coloured stuff it goes more a muddy light brown. The pic for my avatar is HO and has only had Neatsfoot oil applied after been suntanned for a little while in sun.

[wyomingcowboy]

Neatsfoot oiling for that tan look works best on the more russet coloured leather like HO and the leather from Greenhalgh tannery in Australia. On the imported light coloured stuff it goes more a muddy light brown. The pic for my avatar is HO and has only had Neatsfoot oil applied after been suntanned for a little while in sun.

You oiled after suntanning? So you put your dry leather out on the sun for awhile?

Is that how it's typically done? On this Tandy stuff I oiled it twice and then put in the sun and it did darken up to kind of an almost reddish color. I have since wyo-sheened it and put on HEAVY sheridan brown antique. I'm going to follow up with tan kote and wyosheen.

[cem]

You oiled after suntanning? So you put your dry leather out on the sun for awhile?

Is that how it's typically done? On this Tandy stuff I oiled it twice and then put in the sun and it did darken up to kind of an almost reddish color. I have since wyo-sheened it and put on HEAVY sheridan brown antique. I'm going to follow up with tan kote and wyosheen.

Yes, Yes and how I was shown to do it, this piece was done in the middle of summer in the midday sun for about 20 mins,the sun in Western Australia is very harsh in summer so it doesn't need to be out there that long. Oiling afterwards replenishes the oils in the leather.