Best way to add water resistance to oil tanned?

[strathmoredesigns]

Hi all,

I'm working on my first bag and I have a nice piece of oil tanned leather. I tested a scrap piece for water resistance and it looks like the water is being absorbed by the leather, so I'd like to add something to reduce that if possible. I have a number of products that might work on hand, including: Fiebing's Saddle Lac, Aussie Conditioner, and Resolene, and Eco-Flo Super Shene and Carnauba Creme. Does anybody have any suggestions about which might be best for oil tanned?

Thanks!

[OLDNSLOW]

How large is the bag going to be?  Depending on the final finish you could try mink oil, bees wax, or a combo of beez and carnauba 50/50 mix and rub in real well that will give the leather some water resistance.

[strathmoredesigns]

5 minutes ago, OLDNSLOW said:

How large is the bag going to be?  Depending on the final finish you could try mink oil, bees wax, or a combo of beez and carnauba 50/50 mix and rub in real well that will give the leather some water resistance.

It's about 11" x 16", it's a tote bag based on one of Ian Atkinson's build alongs: https://www.etsy.com/listing/264115189/build-along-leather-pattern-6-turned?ref=shop_home_active_22

[OLDNSLOW]

Use the search button to find what others have used to make their items more water resistance.

[strathmoredesigns]

Just now, OLDNSLOW said:

Use the search button to find what others have used to make their items more water resistance.

Yeah, I've tried that, but I didn't find anything specific to oil tanned and I don't know if that would behave differently than veg or chrome tanned.

[OLDNSLOW]

Ya the stuff for veg is going to be much different than what might be used for chrome.  I have a mixture of the 2 waxes equal parts mixed in with some neats foot oil that I will rub in till it is absorbed real well, I got that from others here that have tried the same thing.

[strathmoredesigns]

So I decided to run a test of what I had. I was pleasantly surprised. After about 5 minutes, the Saddle Lac, Resolene, and Aussie all still had beads of water sitting on their surface. The Tokonole, Super Shene, and Carnauba Creme didn't offer much water resistance and absorbed right away. I checked back about 3 hours later and all of the water had either evaporated or soaked in, but the Resolene seemed to leave the least amount of marking, with the Aussie coming in second. It also left a nice gloss on the surface of the leather and it was still soft and pliable. I've included a picture from the 5 minute mark. The strip at the bottom is the original leather.