Stains

[BuckarooBob]

Tooled up a piece of veg tanned leather for a purse the other day and when it dried it appears stained. I've used oxcylic acid (I think) in the past to clean leather, but I am planning on antiquing this piece. Will the oxcylic acid interact with the antiquing?

[barehandcustoms]

My Suggestion

Put it on a strap piece and then apply stain. See what the result is.....don't find out the hard way on the piece you are working on.

[Bob Blea]

Oxalic Acid shouldn't affect the antiquing, but I'm not sure it will remove that stain either. It would be worth a try. Another useful agent for removing stains is lemon juice. It's particularly effective at removing any blackening on leather caused by contact with steel. I don't think that's what caused your stain here, but it might be worth trying too.

[BuckarooBob]

I'm not sure what caused it, not metal. I'm thinking it was due to the tanning process. I'm going to get some Oxcylic acid and give that a try.

[craftsman827]

Looks to me like "water stain" ?

When you cased "wet" the leather before tooling, how did you apply the water ?

Looks like you used too much water.

You may have to dye it before antiquing it.

Like bare hands said, try a scrap piece of leather first.

I don't think the acid is going to work.

That is used for cleaning the leather, what you have isn't dirt, looks like water stain.

Edited August 15, 2014 by craftsman827

[Mack869]

I agree with Barehands and Bob, that looks exactly like a water stain to me. You could try casing the piece first and letting it dry in cool air (would also suggest using distilled water) thoroughly to see if contrast is reduced (wetness needs to be consistent on whole piece, otherwise you might only end up moving the issue to a different location). If that doen't help to your satisfaction, I think your fallback should be dyeing. I have never had good luck with chemical treatments (e.g. oxalic acid etc.). My $0.02, best of luck !