KBCustom Report post Posted February 12, 2015 Hi Everyone, I am having a bit of a problem with finishing a particular piece. After i had all of my tooling finished i applied a couple coats of Fiebings Leather Balm and let it set for 24 hours. I chose to use Eco-Flo Saddle Tan Gel Antique for this photo album. It seems to me that it's a bit too "yellow". I have thinned it out as much as it would take off with water and polishing it with a rag. Also i am having a hard time figuring out what to do with my background. I wanted to keep everything as light as possible, but not sure that's much of an option anymore. If anyone could provide some tips or opinions on what i could do to improve the overall appearance of this piece, i would be in debt to you!! Too many hours of tooling to be unsatisfied with it. Thanks for taking the time to read. KB Custom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Blea Report post Posted February 12, 2015 I've never tried using Leather Balm as a resist for antiqing before. I'm surprised how well it did work. I don't think there is much you could do to lighten the overall yellowing the piece has (though I personally like the color) but you might be able to help the background areas. I would try stripping the leather balm from the background areas with denatured alcohol. The darkening in the background areas MIGHT come off with the balm / wax coating but I doubt it. IF you can clean the balm off (and it will take a lot of work) you could then dye or color the background more to your liking, and then reapply the balm. Reapplying the balm might mess up the antique on your tooled work, so be careful. I've done that on occasion when my resist didn't resist well and I got dark spots from antiquing. It's a lot of work and it doesn't always improve things. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Busterradar Report post Posted February 12, 2015 I think it looks nice the way it is. Trying to take off the Leather Balm could end up with throwing your album in the garbage. I would keep it as is and mark it as a lesson learned. JMO Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KBCustom Report post Posted February 12, 2015 What are your recommendations for background coloring on this particular piece. Right now as it stands, the album has an orange/red tint to the background, around the name on the spine. I put a darker brown to see what it would look like that way as well. Any recommendations? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Blea Report post Posted February 12, 2015 When I have dyed the background on a piece I usually go with a dark brown Fiebings spirit based for a lot of contrast. Since you were looking for a lighter look overall, maybe look at what Fiebings or Tandy makes in a lighter brown? If the antique has reached the leather though you can only cover it with a darker dye. You can modify the shade of orange/red with a light wash or overwhelm it with a darker color, but with dyes the colors always add to each other. Another thought (if you can get the Leather Balm off well enough) is that Acrylic colors would actually be able to cover the orange/red tint and hide it. With acrylic you could mix a base color that matches the leather color and completely block out the coloring in the background. Then you could paint over with other colors and make it whatever you want. The problem is that over time the leather will naturally darken with exposure to light, but the acrylic covered areas would not. You could end up with something very different than what you intended with just a little exposure to sunlight. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeS Report post Posted February 12, 2015 (edited) I like it the way it is as well. That is some really fine, crisp workmanship! I use LEATHER BALM as a finish on most of my work and favor it. You might contact Fiebings and ask if their Leather Deglazer will remove the BALM. Edited February 12, 2015 by MikeS Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KBCustom Report post Posted February 12, 2015 I think im going to have to be happy with the overall look at this point and not try to remove the base layers of balm i applied. going forward, i just need to figure out what looks the best for the background and my thoughts are leaning towards the darker color like in the picture. Does that look good ( around the name area), if so, ill just need to darken the rest of the background areas to match. If it doesn't look great, i am looking for other options. It doesn't have to be "light" in color, i only wanted the surface color to be lighter, which it is fairly light i suppose. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Blea Report post Posted February 12, 2015 I like the way it looks except for the darker areas in the background around the letters and a bit of the floral carving. I think the coloring of the tooling and untooled areas looks good. I would probably just selectively add antique to the background areas to try to get them more uniform and darker. If you can do that I think you'll have an excellent piece. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KBCustom Report post Posted February 12, 2015 I will give it a try tonight and report back what it looks like when i have darkened the rest of the background areas. thanks for the input, i greatly appreciate it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KBCustom Report post Posted February 12, 2015 One more thought. If I were to put in in the sun for a period of time, could that help the overall orange accent issues or make it worse? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NVLeatherWorx Report post Posted February 13, 2015 First of all, nice work; very clean and defined. Now to the question at hand: Leather Balm is not intended to be used as a resist and should never be applied before you apply any coloring; it is a final finish and nothing more. The Eco-Flo Gel Antique Saddle Tan always comes out pretty yellowish/orangeish as it is and once you apply a top finish it lightens up even more so keep that in mind for any future applications. I found when I did use the Gel Antiques (awhile back, I use Fiebing's products only) that if you lightly dampen the leather before applying the gel antique you can get a bit darker and richer coloring to it that remains pretty much in place even after it has dried. As far as removing the leather balm I think you would be best to stick with your last decision and live with the results. Afterall, it looks good as it is and has its own character that way. For the future though just remember that leather balm is a top finish and doesn't work as a resist. If you are going to be using Eco-Flo products then you can get a good resist from applying Super Sheen (multiple applications are necessary to get a good resist) or you can go with Clear-Lac (manufactured by LCI and available through Springfield Leather and Sheridan). Regardless of what product you use, always make sure that you apply it as directed because that is how it was tested when trying to determine what the end results would be. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KBCustom Report post Posted February 13, 2015 Thank you! I am going to finish out the back ground and show Y'all what I ended up with. Guess this makes anyone learning experience :-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lonesome dove Report post Posted February 13, 2015 I agree, it looks great as is. Very nicely tooled. Very classy! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
texback Report post Posted February 13, 2015 I'm with the others....I think it looks pretty darn good the way it is. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
primo Report post Posted February 13, 2015 I really like the way your piece looks! Very nice tooling and I think the color is great. Sometimes what you want, and what you get, can be a nice surprise" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LNLeather Report post Posted February 13, 2015 I agree with Primo.... I really like the way your piece looks! I think the color is great! Some of the background is a bit too dark, but I'd be 99% happy with that piece. Very nice pattern & tooling. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KBCustom Report post Posted February 13, 2015 Thank you everyone for the kind words, i really appreciate it! This is what i ended up with after finishing out the background areas throughout the entire piece. Now on to finalizing it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Blea Report post Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) Hey that turned out great! I really like the contrast you have now and the evenness of the background. Edited February 13, 2015 by Bob Blea Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KBCustom Report post Posted February 13, 2015 Thank you! I am happy with it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NVLeatherWorx Report post Posted February 13, 2015 KB that looks really cool! The contrast is perfect and really makes the tight tooling stand out even more than before. That piece there is worth much more than you are getting for it. Nice work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KBCustom Report post Posted February 13, 2015 Thank you! It's a gift for my best friend and his wife on their wedding day. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
terrypen Report post Posted February 13, 2015 I was going to agree with everyone else but say that looks amazing! I understand if it's not exactly what you were wanting to happen but most people won't even realize your "mistake!" As Bob Ross would say "happy little accident!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
