Clean antiquing/highlighting

[Gabriel Rasa]

So I've never been satisfied with the amount of control I have when I'm putting highlight/gel antique on a project -- it settles into the crevices in a very patchy way, makes my cutlines look uneven in their depth, and it always seems to stain the raised surfaces much more than I'd like, even when it's been sealed with resolene before highlighting. I've attached a picture showing what I mean, how it just looks kind of muddy after it gets the highlight.

I've only ever used Eco-Flo products for highlighting, but I'm considering ordering the Fiebings antique paste -- I'm thinking that maybe the paste wouldn't stain as quickly? (And also that Fiebings beats the pants off Eco Flo in every other product they make, why not this one too.)

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had suggestions -- how you prep your leather before highlighting, how you apply the highlight, what product to use, etc -- that might give me better results.

Edited April 23, 2018 by Gabriel Rasa

[JLSleather]

18 minutes ago, Gabriel Rasa said:

ust looks kind of muddy

exactly why i never use it.  Looks like what's left behind after the rain puddles dry up.  I've seen some that weren't as bad as others, but I've never seen one I actually liked.  In fact, I've seen some very good tooling basically RUINED by the use of ant-streak

[Bob Blea]

Hi Gabriel,

I use Eco Flo antiques and I've had some success with them, but not without a few mistakes and projects that needed to be salvaged along the way.  With some work they can be good ways to antique a project.  I never had any luck using Resolene or Super Sheen or Satin Sheen as resists though.  The antique always seemed to penetrate them.  I've settled on Wyo Sheen (now sold by Barry King) as my resist of choice which is a lacquer based product (like Neat Lac.)  Still I have to put at least two coats on and I test the piece with a damp sponge before applying antique. If the leather darkens at all then the antique will penetrate the resist and it needs another coat.  Finally if I do see streaks or unevenness on the leather I found that baby wipes work really well to remove those streaks.  Not sure what is used as a soap in them but it turns out to be really effective on streaks even when it's penetrated the resist.  I have saved a couple of projects using these and now always have a package handy whenever I antique.

Looking at your example, I see a bit of blotching in the untooled areas that is probably the antique getting through the resist.  In your bevelling the antique is highlighting marks your beveller is leaving.  It looks like you might be tilting your beveller more to one side because in places it always looks like the left side of your beveller is leaving more of a checkered impression than the right.  The antique is designed to be captured in the checkering of the beveller so its going to show off those imperfections. Practicing smoother beveling will help with that.  Running the baby wipe over your Celtic knots might make them look more even by removing the discoloration.  I frequently do that on mine just to take off some of the antique and give them a lighter color than the rest of the project.

Finally, one other tip.  Tan Kote By Feibings can also clean up antique mistakes.  I have seen it used on both Feibings antique paste and Eco Flo products where it removed streaks from the project and make them look much more even, much like the baby wipes.  I haven't tried it myself but I watched it being applied and it seemed to help on a project long after the antique had dried.

This notebook is one I made with all the techniques I mentioned above.  The darkened area at the upper right is because of my lighting, not darkening from the antique.  Overall this one came out very even.

[Boriqua]

A few things to suggest .. first .. your cuts and beveling can use some work. The beveling doesnt look like its being chased so its uneven. Antique will highlight all the good stuff .. but also some of the stuff we may not have been thrilled with.

I like to use the Fiebings Acrylic antique and I use it all the time and have for years. I like the paste as well but the learning process is a bit more involved to get really good results in my experience.

Now the antique is going to impart some color to your smooth leather because it has grain. The tighter the grain the less color will be imparted so sometimes its about the niceness of the leather used.

Having said that the amount of sealer you apply before staining is really key to controlling the result you are looking for. If I want the smooth sections to remain really clean I put more sealer up front. Sometimes however I am looking for a heavy "streaky" kind of stain job for a particular project or I have a color I want to deaden and know how much sealer to put in order to have the color impacted more by the stain.

I wanted this one to be fairly clean but I start with oxblood as my base color and it can be to bright so I adjust my application of resolene so I get clean but still allow the stain to darken the oxblood

 

The one below i wanted it to feel like it was old .. like an old book might look after a lot of handling so  .... less seal and less removal.

 

Here is my procedure and there was A LOT of trial and error that went into it.

I spray sealer, 50/50 resolene to water on my item again with a thought to what I want the final product to look like. If there are areas I want to really resist more than others I may go in with a paint brush and apply a second or third coat just on those areas.

I wait overnight before I stain it. In my learning process I found if the sealer wasn't fully cured I would get weird ugly things happening.

When I am ready I have three small sponges and a paper towel ready. You can take one sponge and cut it into three pieces.

I lightly dampen my three sponges. Run them under water and then squeeze them out until no water comes out.

I apply the stain either with a dampened sponge or a large soft paint brush. I have been using the brush  more and more for control.

I apply the stain over the whole area and wait until it starts to set up. Usually about 5 minutes.

Now being sure to keep my sponge square an flat to the surface I start removing the stain. I use one half then the other then flip so each little piece of sponge gives me 4 passes. By keeping it good and flat you can remove the stain from the flat areas while still leaving it nice and rich in the indentations.

As the final step I take the paper tool and fold it into a square and buff like I mean it. It removes the last remnants of stain on the surface.

Done.

The next day I hit it with a light seal and call it a day.

[immiketoo]

Best combo for antique I've found is Bee Natural RTC and fiebings paste antique.  RTC has virtually zero bleed through with antique paste and like Bob said above, Tan Kote will clean up some of the smears whilst leaving the antique where it belongs.

That being said, I almost never use it anymore because it usually detracts from the final result as opposed to adding to it.  Some tooling can benefit from antique, but I've used it once or twice in three years.

[Bob Blea]

@Boriquabrought up a good point that I forgot to mention.  I let my resist coats dry at least overnight before applying a second coat or trying to antique.  I found that rushing this step just leads to problems for me, but I have heard of others that apply a lacquer resist, let it dry briefly and then antique with good results.  I prefer not to take the chance.

Also, Boriqua mentioned letting the Feibings pastes and 'waiting for it to set up'.  My experience with the Eco Flo products is to apply and then wipe off as soon as possible.  If you leave it in my dry climate it will dry quickly and not want to come off, but also the longer it sets the more it penetrates and colors your leather.

[TheCyberwolfe]

+1 to Fiebing's over Eco-Flo, and everything @Bob Blea and @Boriqua said.

One of the most-important ingredients in leatherwork is time, and I've always gotten my best results by walking away for a day after anything wet. Tool it, then let it dry overnight. Oil it, walk away. Dye it the day after. Apply resists the next day. Antique, wait 5 minutes, wipe away excess and buff with that paper towel, then walk away again. Apply first coat of sealer the next day.

It's hell because I'm a computer guy and want results now, but it's the only way it comes out right for me.

[terrymac]

Use wool pads to remove excess antique paste. It is the only way I have found to get the paste out cuts and tooling marks. My resist is Clearlac, same thing Bob is using. 

Terry

[Gabriel Rasa]

On 4/24/2018 at 2:24 PM, Boriqua said:

The beveling doesnt look like its being chased so its uneven.

'Chased'?

This tooling is actually several years old, it was just the only pic I had on hand of a highlighted/un-highlighted contrast (and trust me, no one is more aware of its imperfections than me) -- but I think I'm unfamiliar with the technique you're suggesting? (Or don't know it by that name.)

On 4/26/2018 at 6:03 AM, TheCyberwolfe said:

One of the most-important ingredients in leatherwork is time, and I've always gotten my best results by walking away for a day after anything wet.

;D This is the lesson I've been trying to beat into my ADD protege. DO NOT. TRY TO. RUSH THIS.

[Gabriel Rasa]

On 4/25/2018 at 11:26 AM, Bob Blea said:

My experience with the Eco Flo products is to apply and then wipe off as soon as possible.

I doooo~~ We're talking less than a minute between glop it on and wipe it off, and it still leaves more residue than I like. D:

[Gabriel Rasa]

On 4/24/2018 at 12:50 PM, Bob Blea said:

I've settled on Wyo Sheen (now sold by Barry King) as my resist of choice which is a lacquer based product (like Neat Lac.)

Still I have to put at least two coats on and I test the piece with a damp sponge before applying antique. If the leather darkens at all then the antique will penetrate the resist and it needs another coat.  Finally if I do see streaks or unevenness on the leather I found that baby wipes work really well to remove those streaks.

!! Thank you kindly, I think this is exactly the information I was looking for. And testing it with a sponge beforehand is something I feel like I should have thought of myself. XD

[Boriqua]

15 hours ago, Gabriel Rasa said:

'Chased'?

This tooling is actually several years old, it was just the only pic I had on hand of a highlighted/un-highlighted contrast (and trust me, no one is more aware of its imperfections than me) -- but I think I'm unfamiliar with the technique you're suggesting? (Or don't know it by that name.)

;D This is the lesson I've been trying to beat into my ADD protege. DO NOT. TRY TO. RUSH THIS.

Chased, Walked .. one and the same... I can see where the bevel tool looks like an individual stamp so the method you are using isnt being walked.

I dont know .. maybe there is another term. It is one of the hardest things I ever learned in carving and  ...... I still suck! There are many threads on how to use the bevel tool and I think its covered in one the the Stohlman books. I find the most satisfying method is to get a machine like rhythm So that when you are beveling it is tap move tap move tap move as you go along. I get my best work when what someone would hear if they were next to me is  Tap, tap, tap tap in a somewhat rapid and even cadence. Think a slowed down sewing machine

In the early days when I would hit the beveler then move it and then hit it again deliberately I would get the same kind of individual bevel marks I see in the piece you posted. If I had to guess I would say because they overlap isnt right and its hard to hit with a very consistent force when you hit it ..... move it .... set up the tool ... and hit it again .. so you get more varied bevel marks.

Hope that made some sense but if not look up beveler here and there is lots of advice.

 

[Gabriel Rasa]

16 minutes ago, Boriqua said:

Chased, Walked .. one and the same... I can see where the bevel tool looks like an individual stamp so the method you are using isnt being walked.

I dont know .. maybe there is another term. It is one of the hardest things I ever learned in carving and  ...... I still suck! There are many threads on how to use the bevel tool and I think its covered in one the the Stohlman books. I find the most satisfying method is to get a machine like rhythm So that when you are beveling it is tap move tap move tap move as you go along. I get my best work when what someone would hear if they were next to me is  Tap, tap, tap tap in a somewhat rapid and even cadence. Think a slowed down sewing machine

In the early days when I would hit the beveler then move it and then hit it again deliberately I would get the same kind of individual bevel marks I see in the piece you posted. If I had to guess I would say because they overlap isnt right and its hard to hit with a very consistent force when you hit it ..... move it .... set up the tool ... and hit it again .. so you get more varied bevel marks.

Hope that made some sense but if not look up beveler here and there is lots of advice.

 

Ohh, yeah okay, I know that as "walking" the tool. (You said chasing, and my brain went to chasing and repousse.) That's not a problem anymore, but the patchy antiquing still is.

[Bob Blea]

On ‎4‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 7:50 PM, Gabriel Rasa said:

!! Thank you kindly, I think this is exactly the information I was looking for. And testing it with a sponge beforehand is something I feel like I should have thought of myself. XD

Ha!  Don't feel bad.  I had many years of antique job 'surprises' before I saw someone else post the idea about using the sponge.  It didn't ever occur to me either.

Much improved on the beveling in the latest piece.  That looks pretty cool.

[Gabriel Rasa]

On 4/24/2018 at 12:50 PM, Bob Blea said:

I've settled on Wyo Sheen (now sold by Barry King) as my resist of choice which is a lacquer based product (like Neat Lac.)

Hmm, apparently Tandy stopped carrying Neat Lac, and ideally I'd like to pick something up local so I can start using it right away. (I've got Wyosheen on the way, but I'm impatient. :D) Can you recommend any substitute that would make do in the mean time?

[garypl]

I use a couple of coats of Resolene as a resist and it works well.

Gary

[Bob Blea]

On ‎5‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 1:21 PM, Gabriel Rasa said:

Hmm, apparently Tandy stopped carrying Neat Lac, and ideally I'd like to pick something up local so I can start using it right away. (I've got Wyosheen on the way, but I'm impatient. :D) Can you recommend any substitute that would make do in the mean time?

WyoSheen is a lacquer and I've been told that 'Brushing lacquer' from your local hardware or woodworking store will work the same way.  I've never tried it myself but the people I've heard this from are pretty good leatherworkers so I trust them.  But try it on some scrap first.

Bob