Bronc Noseband For Rope Halter

[PBLeather]

 

Just finished tooling one of my first fully tooled nosebands. How do I seal this so I can antique without changing the blue color? Any suggestions on how to finish this? 

[TSes]

This is the traditional way.

1-Apply 1or 2 coats of a resist. I prefer sheeps wool for this. Always wipe it on, never spray. Many types from many companies,Tandy, Feibings, RTC etc. (I use Tandy Neat Lac, but that's just me) Let dry a few hours.

2-Apply antique using sheeps wool and QUICKLY remove excess right away. I use folded paper towels. You can do this step in sections to make it easier if you have a large project. Let dry a few hours.

3-Apply top protective coat. Be careful and quick when wiping it on because antique might lift or smear. What you used for a resist could be used, but there are other options. I use a spray finish made for shoes which makes it quick and easy.

Hope this helps. These are the basics, and I'm sure others will explain their style and favorite products. This will very slightly darken natural  color, and actually make it look better, but the blue won't change.

 

[YinTx]

What @TSes said, also consider neatsfoot oil before anything.  And take a piece of the same leather, tool out a bit of it, paint it with the same paint, and Experiment!  Very important, unless you want unwanted surprises on your noseband piece...

Seems there is an infinite combination of products, processes, time  etc that will give different results until you are happy.

YinTx

[TSes]

What YinTx said. A light coat of oil will slightly darken the natural color, but should not bother the blue. Experiment with a scrap piece to make sure. It will also restore the natural oil lost during the stamping process due to water evaporation.

[battlemunky]

Don Gonzalez has a great YT video on how he preps and seals his projects both dyed and painted. I believe he uses TanKote IIRC but I'd have to rewatch it and see. I think he does a light coat of olive oil (but you could use whatever oil you had on hand), dries, then TanKote, dries, then antique, dries, then TanKote again to remove some of the "muddy" look that comes with antiquing and also seals it.

His stuff always looks killer. I have yet to get mine to look as good as his and I follow the same recipe. He's a master, IMO, though. I'm a plebe crawling along until I learn to toddle.