Help! Gook residue buildup can’t get off! Almost done!

[GirlFromScandinavia]

So, I’m just buffing off my work with  some wool after applying some not so high quality wax and I’ve got this buildup on top of my work and it’s just getting worse the more I rub it!! I’ve used some ‘milk glue’ on the piece and after I also applied some angelus dye! Now I think some of the  rubber glue solved it self on top of the leather and it’s just making a mess! I’m afraid to do anything at the momen so I dont destroy the whole work!! Any good suggestions?

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[bikermutt07]

Have you tried warming it up with a blow dryer and then buffing? Sometimes a little heat can help.

[GirlFromScandinavia]

26 minutes ago, bikermutt07 said:

Have you tried warming it up with a blow dryer and then buffing? Sometimes a little heat can help.

Hmmm, Thanks, gotta go try that one out right now..

Noop, I blow dryed it, the gunk just swivels around and the film is not sticky but makes like a mat graysh level on to the surface. 

next suggestion...? Ive got that vodka bottle and an asetone Bottle on the shelf, should I TaKe a risk?

[Danne]

9 minutes ago, GirlFromScandinavia said:

Hmmm, Thanks, gotta go try that one out right now..

Noop, I blow dryed it, the gunk just swivels around and the film is not sticky but makes like a mat graysh level on to the surface. 

next suggestion...? Ive got that vodka bottle and an asetone Bottle on the shelf, should I TaKe a risk?

I can't really help you with a solution. But DON'T use acetone. Acetone are going to remove not only the glue, but the dye. Take some acetone and rub it on a piece of pre dyed/paint finished or the leather of your choice and you will se that you remove the paint. If there is any solutions for this problem involving acetone then it would have to be diluted, but i don't you can use acetone in any way to solve this. (If i'm wrong someone gonna tell here.)

 

[GirlFromScandinavia]

21 minutes ago, Danne said:

I can't really help you with a solution. But DON'T use acetone. Acetone are going to remove not only the glue, but the dye. Take some acetone and rub it on a piece of pre dyed/paint finished or the leather of your choice and you will se that you remove the paint. If there is any solutions for this problem involving acetone then it would have to be diluted, but i don't you can use acetone in any way to solve this. (If i'm wrong someone gonna tell here.)

 

Point taken! Tack!

[Mattsbagger]

What is "milk glue"?

[GirlFromScandinavia]

1 hour ago, Mattsbagger said:

What is "milk glue"?

Well We call it milk glue. Its a white rubbersement type natural glue that I use for resist technique when I dont want dye to go on to certain areas OR i want to leave parts of the leather undyed. It smells like ammonium but I don’t know what the English name for it is. Did I explain this ok?

[mikesc]

Milk glue= latex ( natural rubber) glue..brand name that the Brits at least will know is Copydex..or "Blue Peter mystery glue"..

Windsor and Newton or Daler Rowney sell it as a "resist" in art supply shops..

Often used to draw on water colour paper etc as a "resist" or mask..because it can be used for very fine details, you can use it in an "open nib pen"..the kind that many years ago ( when I was young ) we used at school and which had a porcelain "ink well" built onto the school desk top..The ink used was low grade "Indian ink"..the pens were scratchy..

If you have ever done any calligraphy, that is the same sort of pen, but when used for drawing has a "sketching nib".

If you have access to any household ammonia ( be careful with it, it can blind you )..dilute it at 1 to 5 ratio..that is add one volume of ammonia to 5 volumes of water ( do this in a well ventilated area, with the air being pulled away from you with a fan or similar )..only mix up a small amount..Put some onto a soft absorbent cloth* ( cotton , lint free, old tee-shirt scrap ) and rub gently over the area where the latex appears to be just under the surface as a "bloom", rotate the cloth so as to present a clean ( but impregnated with your ammonia solution ) part of the cloth, you may get it out that way..

Make a test on a scrap piece of the same leather that already has your dye on, that will tell you if the dye reacts with ammonia even when weak..Another way which may work, without ammonia, try rubbing the affected area with a scotch pad ( the kind you use for dishes ), don't rub hard as they are abrasive, but you may be able to "catch the latex" with it..it will probably take off some dye and whatever finish you put on, you'll need to disguise that later with maybe more embossing / tooling or paint..emboss or tool dry ( yes I know that is not normally how you'd do it ) because a similar "bloom" can happen if there is a small amount of humidity in the leather when you put on any waxing or top coat..

You can usually get rid of the latter kind of "bloom" by doing as BikerMutt suggested above..warm the surface and use a soft cloth with a polishing action at the same time ..

That kind of "bloom" can also happen when you work on a cold substrate..you can get it when varnishing / polishing wood..or in the clear coat when spraying vehicles if your air line doesn't have a dryer trap or humidity trap built in..or if the air in the spray booth is very cold..

Acetone would take every thing off..as Danne said..don't go there..

* If you have a clean microfibre cloth..that is more gentle than a scotch pad..try using it first..go slow, don't press hard.

Some people use this stuff with very fine sable or artificial sable type brushes to mask out detail, it will gum them up and kill them eventually no matter how well they are cleaned out..IIRC in the USA custom painters can get it ( or something very similar ) in bulk quite cheaply as "spray mask"..


True "milk glue" would be casein based, and is not the same thing at all.

Edited December 14, 2017 by mikesc

[GirlFromScandinavia]

Hey mikesc! Thank you for the elaborate explanation, there was a lot of good information in it. It seems that one has to be some sort of a chemist  when working with leather! New things arise every now and then! I’ve worked a lot with the resist before but have never had this buildup happen.

Maybe the reason was that I was so hasty and didn’t let the glue, nor the leather dry enough between the different steps. Tomorrow I’ll try the micro fibre cloth since ammonia is still and again one of those chemicals that is not on sale in stores here. The land of restrictions!

 I think it had something to do with moisture since I was repainting a guitar strap that was already sewn with 3 layers of leather, I used quite a large amount of dye and wet the leather. the moisture must have seeped through after I rubbed in the finish coat and reacted with everything.

Tomorrows an other chance to fix what needs fixing, thanks again and a good night to you all!