melrohner Report post Posted June 9, 2014 Hi everyone! I'm completely new here and pretty new to leatherworking as well. I am trying to make notebook covers (like the midori travelers notebook) as Christmas gifts for alot of people. Being completely new to all this, I bought quite a bit of oil tanned leather, which is beautiful and soft. However, after making my first cover, I now see that it also will rub color off onto the notebooks inside, as well as leave oily stains. Is there some way I can seal this leather, to make it less oily and also colorfast? I've tried looking at leather sealants, but there are so many that I don't know what to use. Also, I would like to keep the nice, soft feel of the leather as much as possible, and I'm afraid that sealants will make it hard and shiny. Any suggestions on how to salvage this leather for notebook covers? Thanks! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Blea Report post Posted June 10, 2014 Hello and welcome to the forum! Normally I would say use something like Resolene or a lacquer based sealant (Neat Lac, Wyosheen or Clear Lac) to seal this, but I'm pretty sure that Resolene would not adhere to that oily surface. It's water based. The lacquers might work since they are based on a petroleum based solvent, but I don't have any experience with trying this. Maybe someone else here has tried this and can provide better help. Bob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
melrohner Report post Posted June 14, 2014 Thanks for your response. Since I haven't gotten alot of info so far, let me ask some follow-up questions. I've been researching products, but without having used them I don't know if they're exactly what I need. What do you guys think the possibilities would be for these to work - mink oil, neatfoot oil, Tan-kote, or Super Sheen? Any ideas on which would be likely, and which wouldn't work? Thanks! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chief31794 Report post Posted June 14, 2014 Thanks for your response. Since I haven't gotten alot of info so far, let me ask some follow-up questions. I've been researching products, but without having used them I don't know if they're exactly what I need. What do you guys think the possibilities would be for these to work - mink oil, neatfoot oil, Tan-kote, or Super Sheen? Any ideas on which would be likely, and which wouldn't work? Thanks! Most of these products are used for Vegetable Tanned Leather and most of the leather workers out here use Veg Tan or Chrome Tan, I'm not sure what you could use for Oil Tanned Leather. You could try some of them and see. Tan-Kote and Super Sheen are water based products and I don't think they would be very effective. I would try Clear Lac, it's available from Springfield Leather, it is a Lacquer Based sealant and may be a better solution for you. Chief Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ken Cook Report post Posted June 14, 2014 Neatsfoot Oil is "oil". Using it will only put more oil into the leather. I just watched a youtube video on finishing a holster with neatsfoot oil. The guy coated the outside with the oil then sealed it with Super Sheen. I would call Springfield Leather. They will know what you need and likely have it on the shelf. Ken Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
