Elle Report post Posted February 5, 2015 Hi all! I am currently working on a purse with a tooled floral design on the front. I wanted to use the Antique Mahogany color with the design a lighter color (the resist area). Everything turned out just okay. I find the Antique very hard to use on the natural veg tan leather - it comes out a little streaky. And I think I should have wiped the excess off quicker from the resist areas to make it a bit lighter. However, my issue is that on my resist parts, there was one big spot that didn't resist. And I'm not gonna lie - I'm pissed about it because it throws the whole thing off. it's a mega eye sore and I don't think I have any other choice but to scrap that whole piece and start a new one. (*insert sad face here) I'm 100% positive I covered all areas with my Super Sheen. I was very careful and attentive. I put it on fairly thick and let it dry for over 24 hours. The rest of the resist parts came out not bad. So here am I wondering......... WHY? My only thought is that it possibly wasn't clean enough prior to putting on my Super Sheen so maybe it didn't absorb/adhere properly to the leather?? Any ideas? (I imagine there is no way to lift this spot of color? (I read some stuff about leather bleaching but no one actually said anything worked to lift color - especially in just a portion of the piece). I appreciate any thoughts on this! I'm still new so trying to work through it all! Elle Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Troy Burch Report post Posted February 5, 2015 Super sheen isn't a very good resister, use a lacquer based product like Clear Lac. the antique is meant to highlight the cuts and low lying areas, the tooling burnish takes care of the rest. I use the Feibling gel, work it in good then wipe off excess, no drying time. After the antique drys buff it with something soft before the final finish to get rid of what little streaks you might have. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howie696 Report post Posted February 5, 2015 always use two coats Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Blea Report post Posted February 5, 2015 No matter what you use for a resist it can be tricky and lead to disappointments like what happened to you. I've had many surprises like that and it's always been because there was some small spot where I didn't get good coverage. My insurance policy is that I take a slightly damp sponge and wipe it over the project after the resist is dry. If the leather under the resisted area darkens at all I know my antique will get through too, so I apply another coat. Once this happens there isn't much you can do to correct it. I have decided to go 'in another direction' on a couple of projects and stripped the resist off using denatured alcohol, then reapplied the antique to that area to get a darker effect and basically make the tooling all the same color. Otherwise, probably your only other options is redoing the project like you said (unfortunately.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elle Report post Posted February 5, 2015 No matter what you use for a resist it can be tricky and lead to disappointments like what happened to you. I've had many surprises like that and it's always been because there was some small spot where I didn't get good coverage. My insurance policy is that I take a slightly damp sponge and wipe it over the project after the resist is dry. If the leather under the resisted area darkens at all I know my antique will get through too, so I apply another coat. Once this happens there isn't much you can do to correct it. I have decided to go 'in another direction' on a couple of projects and stripped the resist off using denatured alcohol, then reapplied the antique to that area to get a darker effect and basically make the tooling all the same color. Otherwise, probably your only other options is redoing the project like you said (unfortunately.) Thanks Bob Blea, I love the idea of the wet sponge afterwards to check the spots that may not have accepted the resist. Can you tell me about how long you wait to do that? Do you test after it has dried for the 24 hours, then let it dry another 24 before Antiquing? This was a pretty large area - bigger than a quarter in a really weird shape. It was in a leaf where the product would have pooled so I"m very sure I didn't miss it, but the damp sponge will tell me for sure next time! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Blea Report post Posted February 5, 2015 I had trouble with Super Shene too so I use Wyosheen now, which is a lacquer product that is pretty much identical to Neat Lac or Clear Lac. I let it dry a minimum of overnight ( 8 hours) but usually it's for a full 24 hours. When I test it with the sponge it normally resists water, so it doesn't need to dry very long after the test if it passes. If I have to recoat with Wyosheen it gets another overnight drying time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elle Report post Posted February 5, 2015 I had trouble with Super Shene too so I use Wyosheen now, which is a lacquer product that is pretty much identical to Neat Lac or Clear Lac. I let it dry a minimum of overnight ( 8 hours) but usually it's for a full 24 hours. When I test it with the sponge it normally resists water, so it doesn't need to dry very long after the test if it passes. If I have to recoat with Wyosheen it gets another overnight drying time. I'll give those a try thank you! What do you think about my streaking antiquing on the rest of the leather that does not have resist? Can you do more than one coat of Antique gel? (I couldn't find anything on the internet about two coats). If I were to get some on a spot I had just colored and then wiped it away, it actually removes that color that was there. So I'm nervous to try-thinking it won't work. Like only one shot. Tricky stuff! I'll do a test piece first but wanted to see your thoughts?! Elle Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomG Report post Posted February 6, 2015 This is not about your problem, but... Your "Interests" and Interested In.." sections in your profile are bleeding into your message. You might want to remove those "/" between the words, and use commas and spaces instead "Tooling/Dye/Stain/..." to Tooling, Dye, Stain... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elle Report post Posted February 6, 2015 Tom, thanks for the tip. I noticed yesterday but didn't look into it! I think I fixed it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomG Report post Posted February 6, 2015 Much better <g> Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Blea Report post Posted February 6, 2015 What do you think about my streaking antiquing on the rest of the leather that does not have resist? Can you do more than one coat of Antique gel? (I couldn't find anything on the internet about two coats). If I were to get some on a spot I had just colored and then wiped it away, it actually removes that color that was there. So I'm nervous to try-thinking it won't work. Like only one shot. Tricky stuff! I'll do a test piece first but wanted to see your thoughts?! Elle It is definitely tricky stuff. I'm not sure what you are using but I use Tandy Eco-Flo antique and it can be very difficult to get a completely even coat on non-resisted leather. You could try applying a second coat but I've found it can take off some of what you have put down and the more you work it the harder it gets to be even. I have at times used a damp paper towel to wipe across the antique after applying it, but it doesn't look as 'antiqued' when I do that and it's not generally the look I'm trying for (if that makes any sense) so I don't do it often. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
