thekid77 Report post Posted October 15, 2014 Hi all, Recently I had dyed a piece of leather. After it was thoroughly dry, I buffed the excess pigment off, and went about my usual routine applying 50/50 resolene:water. For some reason, there is a circular area on the leather about an inch-and-a-half diameter that absolutely will not take the resolene. All of the other parts of the leather shine, but this area won't take the finish at all, even if i slather resolene onto it. It looks like I masked it off and all the other areas got finished except the circular area. For the life of me, I've finished lots of projects and never had this happen... Please help!!! Thank you in advance for sharing Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dwight Report post Posted October 15, 2014 I'll get in here, . . . just so I get the answer too, . . . never had that happen. Heck, . . . the cottonpickin' stuff sticks to everything in my shop, . . . Have you got a picture you can share??? May God bless, Dwight Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thekid77 Report post Posted October 15, 2014 (edited) I'll get in here, . . . just so I get the answer too, . . . never had that happen. Heck, . . . the cottonpickin' stuff sticks to everything in my shop, . . . Have you got a picture you can share??? May God bless, Dwight You will see the area that has the resolene has a sheen....the dull area u could dump resolene on it and when it dries...no sheen at all it doesn't even look like it got touched Edited October 15, 2014 by thekid77 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Blea Report post Posted October 15, 2014 Did you notice anything unusual when you applied the dye? Did the dye seem to soak in any differently? It doesn't look like it from the end result but I thought I would ask. I'm thinking some other substance is already on the leather and acting like a finish but I don't know why it would allow the dye to penetrate but not the Resolene. What kind of dye was it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thekid77 Report post Posted October 15, 2014 Did you notice anything unusual when you applied the dye? Did the dye seem to soak in any differently? It doesn't look like it from the end result but I thought I would ask. I'm thinking some other substance is already on the leather and acting like a finish but I don't know why it would allow the dye to penetrate but not the Resolene. What kind of dye was it? Hi Bob, The leather took the dye just like normal...I was thinking it's something to do with the hide as well....I don't know what could be preventing the resolene from adhereing to that area of the leather, but whatever it is, it's invisible. You can literally coat the area with resolene, and it just evaporates into thin air I am at a loss because although I am fairly new to leatherwork (2 years under my belt), I have dyed and finished well over 40 sq ft of leather using the same process and have never had this problem... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteelcityK9Cop Report post Posted October 16, 2014 I wonder if there is a wax of some sort that soaked into the leather there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Blea Report post Posted October 16, 2014 I wonder if deglazing that area with something like denatured alcohol would remove the whatever it is. I use that sometimes to strip laquers (Neat Lac/Clear Lac/Wyosheen) off leather. Maybe you could try a small area and see if it helps at all. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grizz1 Report post Posted October 16, 2014 the picture looks like chrome tanned leather and not veg tanned ??? what type leather is it ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thekid77 Report post Posted October 16, 2014 (edited) I wonder if there is a wax of some sort that soaked into the leather there. Good question...I'd like to know myself....if it is wax or something else...it's invisible to the naked eye. I wonder if deglazing that area with something like denatured alcohol would remove the whatever it is. I use that sometimes to strip laquers (Neat Lac/Clear Lac/Wyosheen) off leather. Maybe you could try a small area and see if it helps at all. Interesting idea Bob, I just don't have a penny to spare to experiment right now so i just tossed the piece in the scrap pile...it's a mystery... the picture looks like chrome tanned leather and not veg tanned ??? what type leather is it ? It is vegetable tanned Grizz...in fact, vegtan is the only leather that I ever buy. Edited October 16, 2014 by thekid77 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grizz1 Report post Posted October 16, 2014 maybe something got on it before you purchased it, then just cleaned up so it wouldn't be noticed ???? anything possible I guess. but you did the right thing. toss it and start over ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billybopp Report post Posted October 17, 2014 Grizz may well be right. I recently ran into a problem with a piece of leather when dying it. The dye was reasonably nice and even for most of the surface, except for an area that looked for all the world as though somebody had wiped something off of the leather with a rag. Which is probably exactly what happened at the store before I bought the stuff. Bill Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chiefjason Report post Posted October 17, 2014 Interesting idea Bob, I just don't have a penny to spare to experiment right now so i just tossed the piece in the scrap pile...it's a mystery... If you have any rubbing alcohol give it a try. Nothing to loose. I use denatured alcohol to clean stuff off, a bit stronger. Stronger still would be acetone, i.e. fingernail polish remover. I have a love hate relationship with acrylic finishes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thekid77 Report post Posted October 17, 2014 maybe something got on it before you purchased it, then just cleaned up so it wouldn't be noticed ???? anything possible I guess. but you did the right thing. toss it and start over ! maybe, I have no idea...I hope I never get a similar piece of leather again :/ Grizz may well be right. I recently ran into a problem with a piece of leather when dying it. The dye was reasonably nice and even for most of the surface, except for an area that looked for all the world as though somebody had wiped something off of the leather with a rag. Which is probably exactly what happened at the store before I bought the stuff. Bill Yeah if this is the case, whatever was on there did not leave any visible trace... If you have any rubbing alcohol give it a try. Nothing to loose. I use denatured alcohol to clean stuff off, a bit stronger. Stronger still would be acetone, i.e. fingernail polish remover. I have a love hate relationship with acrylic finishes. I alcoholed the daylights out of it, let it dry, and still the same problem. It will absolutely not take the resolene. I wonder if there might be fat depositis in certain hides that prevent resolene from bonding??? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WyomingSlick Report post Posted October 18, 2014 I appreciate that you are trying to determine what went wrong here. The answers above about simply chucking the piece are worthless. Like the old Roman said, Those who do not learn from their mistakes, are bound to repeat them." Learning from your mistakes and shortcomings, and striving to improve, are not only important in becoming a better leather craftsman, it is an attitude that will serve you well in all aspects of life. You say that the "spot" did not take the resolene. Are you judging that strictly by the final appearance? Resolene is supposed to be a more or less waterproof finish. Did you test to see if the area was waterproof afterward? Or scrape the surface to see if there actually was resolene on it? If there actually was no resolene deposited; then it seems likely that there was something already on the leather that prevented the resolene from adhering to the leather. From the looks of it, the area is on the edge, so it should extend into the piece that you cut your part from. Have you taken a good look at that piece? Anything on it? Does part of it look differant from the rest? If you determine that there actually is a resolene coating on the "lack luster" area, then you are looking at either an application problem, or, a problem inherant in the leather itself. Leather, being a natural byproduct from an animal, is not a totally uniform and consistant material. Which is exactly why leather is selected and graded for quality. It is possible that there was a blemish there due to the animal suffering an abrasion or burn there which resulted in an area differing in pore structure and/or surface texture. Such a fault may result in an area that does not look the same with finish due to differances in refraction and reflection, much the same way that a rough board will not exhibit the same final appearance as a finely sanded/scraped board, when both are varnished the same, You may even want to repeat your dyeing and finishing steps on the leather scrap that was adjacent to the bad area, and see what you can learn from that. . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
