LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Report post Posted May 12, 2015 Hi everyone, thank you for taking the time to read this. Would appreciate any advise. I work at a custom motorcycle shop and I am on the path to custom seat building. To get my feet wet, a customer has dropped off what I believe to be an older police solo seat that has seen better days. He wants to keep as much of the original seat as possible. A metal object rested on it for many years and rusted onto the leather. Any advise for restoring the leather and is it possible to restore the original conchos as well? I know there are new seats out there this exact style but the customer is very partial to this particular seat and I would love to just bring a little life back into it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ConradPark Report post Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) My advice is to either take the seat to a furniture restorer or at least get in touch with such a store, they obviously specialize in this matter and often have special treatments to make old furniture leathers get a new life. They will probably advise you to use some kind of de-glazer to clean it up, sandpaper it even to smooth out bumps , using some kind of latex filler to smooth out any holes and cracks, use a re-conditioner to make the leather oily and soft again, airbrush in a new color (all these restorers can usually mix colors to exact shades an sell it in small 2 Oz amounts) and seal it with a lacquer. I actually think the leather looks in pretty good condition, scraped and miss colored, yes, but no major cracks and the stitching seems fine. From time to time I have taken up with re-holster old pub stools and the few times the owner wanted to 'bring it back' rather than to have a new cover I took them to my local furniture restorer. No shame in that. If the Conchos are removable I think that cleaning them by electrolysis is the easiest method. I don't know how it works in Texas, but here in London most larger car shops can do that and some also do chroming or re-plating. Otherwise, I'm afraid that the only other option might be fine steel wool and elbow grease with metal polish! Good Luck! Edited May 12, 2015 by ConradPark Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Report post Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) Great advice, thank you. Edited May 12, 2015 by LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thor Report post Posted May 12, 2015 The above advice sounds pretty good. If you don't receive the information you need I suggest look into Morello colors and for the conchos, which is the easy part you can get a brass cleaner, just don't get it onto the leather. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Report post Posted May 16, 2015 Hi everyone. I have finished the conchos. The customer did not want them to look brand new so I shined them up as best I could. The seat is going on a 1958 panhead and his focus is more on function than form, so no replating this time. The spear heads shined up well but still have fine scratches and I only had moderate success with the rectangles (keep in mind they are roughly 50 years old). Not much of their nickel plating was left but I removed the tarnish with a small amount of Brasso and buffed them out with cigarette ash. I tried a red and also a white rouge on a buffing wheel to get the fine scratches out but it did no better then my dry cloth and some ash which I found to be safer because you can burn through too many layers very easily with the wheel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Art Report post Posted May 16, 2015 Get the dirt and rust off with a good soap, murphy's oil soap or the like. Let dry and then rub in Pecard's and let soak in for a day or two in a dry area, use a second coat if necessary and only if necessary. Let dry again for a couple of days. Buff up and see what you get. I've had Pecard's paste and/or Montana Pitchblend paste bring back zombie hides. Art Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Report post Posted May 16, 2015 Get the dirt and rust off with a good soap, murphy's oil soap or the like. Let dry and then rub in Pecard's and let soak in for a day or two in a dry area, use a second coat if necessary and only if necessary. Let dry again for a couple of days. Buff up and see what you get. I've had Pecard's paste and/or Montana Pitchblend paste bring back zombie hides. Art Thank you Art. Should a deglazer be used before the soap? Also once Ive cleaned it up Id like to fill in some spots, dye and seal it. I am not sure at what point to condition it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Art Report post Posted May 16, 2015 Thank you Art. Should a deglazer be used before the soap? Also once Ive cleaned it up Id like to fill in some spots, dye and seal it. I am not sure at what point to condition it. Ok, the first thing is to get the dirt and rust off, good scrubbing works, after it is good and clean, a deglazer may be used, a little judicious rubbing and plenty of deglazer can help some of this. After complete drying in low humidity, but keep out of the sun, you can use one coat of saddle oil, or Montana Pitchblend oil (MP without the Beeswax). It has to dry after this for a couple of days till the oil goes all the way into the leather. Pecard's also works here, one coat only and let it dry and absorb for two days in DRY place. The oiling will help it take the dye more evenly. Now do whatever repairs you think necessary, make sure you don't' do anything that won't take dye. I would completely re-dye by immersion in a 50/50 Dye/Denatured Ethyl Alcohol (wal-mart by the gallon) mix with Fiebings Royal Blue Oil Dye. After that, let the saddle dry. When dry (day or so) Dye it again using the mix of Fiebing's Black Oil Dye and Denatured Ethyl Alcohol. Fiebing's Dyes are pretty good, the more you put on, the darker they get. The alcohol helps the leather take-up the dye better but also dilutes the dye, which can be quite strong. When immersion dyeing, you can pull it out at any time, and if it isn't dark enough, you can put it back in. I generally rub the surface with a sponge wrapped in an old t-shirt to circulate fresh dye to the leather. Wear Gloves, the thicker ones from Harbor Freight are good. Each time after dyeing, when the leather is dry, go after it with a clean rag and a shoe brush (like used for buffing shoes) and get ALL of the residual dye off, it can be a problem later and it wouldn't even hurt to do it twice. Then buff it again. After all that alcohol (in the dye, not that glass of Wild Turkey you've been sippin' on) another coat of Pecard's is in order, and after it dries for a day, buff it up. This won't fix where the grain might have been ripped or scuffed, but it will all be sort of the same color and should look much better than it did originally. This is what I do, and is my own method, your results may vary. Art Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Report post Posted May 16, 2015 Youre on to me! Thank you. I'll post pics soon. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Report post Posted May 22, 2015 (edited) Sorry for the wait. My products finally came in. I started with a soft cleaner but quickly realized that it wasn't going to cut it. I moved on to the super cleaner and with five hours of elbow grease got the seat to the point you see below. Since the rust was very stubborn I used a razor blade to lift it off the seat once it had softened from the cleaner. The magnified images show the rust right before I scraped it off. Edited May 22, 2015 by LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Art Report post Posted May 22, 2015 That paid off!! Great work. Art Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ConradPark Report post Posted May 22, 2015 Looks awesome, can't wait to see pics of the final restored seat! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Report post Posted May 24, 2015 (edited) After letting the seat dry for 24hrs I realized it was tacky, so I used water then moved on to denatured alcohol to get as much soap out as possible. I didn't know how else to solve that problem. I should have asked. After letting it dry over night I started the filling process. Quite nervous about this stage. I'll let it dry over night again. Tomorrow I'll sand it and refill as needed. I am concerned about the dent that I filled in will not survive the wear and tear of someone sitting on it. The surface there was not ripped and I am concerned the filler wont have anything to grab on to. Any ideas on the grit of sandpaper to use? I was thinking 2000. Edited May 24, 2015 by LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BondoBobCustomSaddles Report post Posted May 24, 2015 Lucky, you are well on your way. I not only ride flesh and blood horses, but; iron horses too. I can tell you , you are getting into an area that you can make a good amount of money at, once your name gets out there. Perhaps it would help if you picked up another old seat in not so good condition, and completely recovered it to show your ability. The owner of that seat, might even be interested in buying it. At the very least hanging on the wall in a custom shop, will get you some attention, and that's is how it gets started. Just a thought. Bob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Art Report post Posted May 24, 2015 After letting the seat dry for 24hrs I realized it was tacky, so I used water then moved on to denatured alcohol to get as much soap out as possible. I didn't know how else to solve that problem. I should have asked. After letting it dry over night I started the filling process. Quite nervous about this stage. I'll let it dry over night again. Tomorrow I'll sand it and refill as needed. I am concerned about the dent that I filled in will not survive the wear and tear of someone sitting on it. The surface there was not ripped and I am concerned the filler wont have anything to grab on to. Any ideas on the grit of sandpaper to use? I was thinking 2000. What are you using to fill in the leather? I've never done that before, on a seat I will just recover it. How is the filler going to take the dye? Remember, dye it is Not paint. Not really a problem, if it doesn't work, just make a new cover (using the old seat cover as a pattern if necessary). With restoration, it is often a dilemma as to how far to go. Sometimes just getting the fuzzies off and a re-dye is enough, sometimes replacing panels is necessary. I have recovered a trashed seat, leaving the old cover in place for sentimental purposes. The major factor is getting the customer's expectations straight. Art Lucky, you are well on your way. I not only ride flesh and blood horses, but; iron horses too. I can tell you , you are getting into an area that you can make a good amount of money at, once your name gets out there. Perhaps it would help if you picked up another old seat in not so good condition, and completely recovered it to show your ability. The owner of that seat, might even be interested in buying it. At the very least hanging on the wall in a custom shop, will get you some attention, and that's is how it gets started. Just a thought. Bob Boy Howdy! Art Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Report post Posted May 24, 2015 I am using a professional grade leather filler that can either be used under or mixed into the dye. I bought the dye from the same company so they "should" be compatible. I made sure to research the type of leather I was working with so I could buy the appropriate products. I am flying by the seat of my pants though so I have no idea what the final product will look like or if it will hold up. I asked for customer approval before I started anything. The company said to use a 600 grit sand paper, so I lightly sanded it down today and put another layer on to build up an even surface. I'll start the color process on Tuesday; suppose to slowly build up the dye as well. I'll keep everyone posted. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Report post Posted May 28, 2015 (edited) Ok, color is done. I had to apply more coats than I'd like to admit and also removed the filler in the large indentations. They weren't taking the color as well. I'll seal when it's ready and post pics. These pics are at different stages of the dyeing process, but the full shot is the "final" color. Final in quotes because I am not sure how much it will darken once sealed. I am not completely satisfied but this is all going to take some practice. Edited May 28, 2015 by LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Art Report post Posted May 28, 2015 Very nice work. It is what it was supposed to be with some of the "character" left in, which in restoration is very important. You've really done well. Art Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Report post Posted May 28, 2015 Thank you for your help. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Report post Posted May 31, 2015 final results Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Art Report post Posted May 31, 2015 Lucky, You did marvelous work. If you are using the MacNamara-Dilar stuff from Canada (Leathertouchupdye I think), you have to dab it on over the filler to get a heavy enough coat, once you get it to cover, then you can rub it on. The restoration stuff is really a paint sort of thing, not like true leather dye. You can't mix the two disciplines. For the restoration filler/paint, I like the stuff from Superior better, but the one time I used the MacNamara on a car seat, it worked for me. If you get a natural or sun colored 6oz tooled seat to fix, it a whole different ball of wax, the restoration products don't work as well. You might want to make a "shower cap" for the seat if it is going to be outside a lot. Vinyl with elastic around the bottom is all you need. Art Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Report post Posted May 31, 2015 Some of my products came from Leather World Technologies. Their prices were easier for me to handle compared to leathertoucchupdye. Plus they have a large selection of products that I could mix and match. Everything worked the way it was suppose to so I'm a satisfied customer. For sealing I used the pitch blend balm this time and I'll try Pecard's on the next, so I can get a feel for all the products. Thank you again for your help...and my customer thanks you too! (I'll send you the 30% commission soon.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ConradPark Report post Posted May 31, 2015 Truly a marvelous first time job! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyRabbitsFootLeather Report post Posted May 31, 2015 Thank you! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
