Wallet Finish

[olwaylon]

If you dye the exterior side of a wallet, what is the best way to seal it...keep it from bleeding, etc.?

[Stetson912]

Buff it real good, then either resolene of tan kote work well. I'm sure there are lots of other finishes you can use too. 

[charon]

If you like to preserve the natural look and feel of your wallet I recommend Carnauba Creme. Not as water resistant as Resolene but you seldom use your wallet in heavy rain...

[olwaylon]

Thank you Charon, I guess I'm thinking more on the line of sweating, or falling in the water, washing machine, etc. Resolene would be a good sealer then? 

Edited August 13, 2018 by olwaylon

[charon]

I guess thats a matter of philosophy. Many people want the sweat to get into the leather to produce a natural patina on the leather. Eventually every finish will fail with time but Resolene is an acrylic coat that covers the wallet thus making it more water repellent than waxes or oils. You can even go higher by using laquers and stuff like that. But no finish (I know of) will make your wallet survive a run in the washing machine. Soaking it in water for 2 hours while heating it up to 40-60C and spinning it will likely cause damage to any leather item regardless of the finish. Also, your leather will get soaked with water when you drop it into a pool or a bucket of water regardless of the finish. I wouldn't make the decision, which finish to use based on these scenarios. Rather you would want to consider whether you want to support developing a patina and make it smooth with a natural touch (wax finish) or whether you want to make it more wear resistant and shiny (acrylic finish, laquer, tan kote, bag kote, Resolene,...). The latter also provides more UV resistance and thus preservation of the original color from what I experienced. In the end you should get multiple finishes (they are sold in small bottles as well) and test it on a piece of scrap leather. I use wax finish on all my edc items (wallets, keyfobs, ...) and laquer/acrylic finish on my bags/belts/heavy duty items that are likely exposed to a lot of wear or weather.

Hope that helps, cheers!

[olwaylon]

Thank you for your time Charon. What type of wax finish do you use?

[Stetson912]

11 hours ago, charon said:

I guess thats a matter of philosophy. Many people want the sweat to get into the leather to produce a natural patina on the leather. Eventually every finish will fail with time but Resolene is an acrylic coat that covers the wallet thus making it more water repellent than waxes or oils. You can even go higher by using laquers and stuff like that. But no finish (I know of) will make your wallet survive a run in the washing machine. Soaking it in water for 2 hours while heating it up to 40-60C and spinning it will likely cause damage to any leather item regardless of the finish. Also, your leather will get soaked with water when you drop it into a pool or a bucket of water regardless of the finish. I wouldn't make the decision, which finish to use based on these scenarios. Rather you would want to consider whether you want to support developing a patina and make it smooth with a natural touch (wax finish) or whether you want to make it more wear resistant and shiny (acrylic finish, laquer, tan kote, bag kote, Resolene,...). The latter also provides more UV resistance and thus preservation of the original color from what I experienced. In the end you should get multiple finishes (they are sold in small bottles as well) and test it on a piece of scrap leather. I use wax finish on all my edc items (wallets, keyfobs, ...) and laquer/acrylic finish on my bags/belts/heavy duty items that are likely exposed to a lot of wear or weather.

Hope that helps, cheers!

Fantastic description!

[ScoobyNewbie]

Pretty clear! Thank you Charon. 

[charon]

On 13.8.2018 at 8:27 PM, olwaylon said:

Thank you for your time Charon. What type of wax finish do you use?

I use Fiebings Carnauba Creme and Fiebings Aussie as wax finishes.