An actual Leather Conditioner recipe

[Yukonrookie]

On 9/15/2022 at 4:23 AM, ScottWolf said:

I only see water being used in liquid and or lotion types of conditioner, such as Lexol as an example. 80% is water, 5-10% is neatsfoot oil and the rest is emulsifiers,preservatives and or stabilizers. If you want a semi solid balm, there is no need to add water, as then you'd need to add an emulsifier to keep the water and your oils from separating.

Apologies for replying to an older thread. I’m trying out options for a casing solution that I can add to water. I read that a lot of people add some Lexol conditioner to their casing solution, but from what I read Lexol changed their recipe some. Would your recipe dissolve and mix with water? If I added an emulsifier like polysorbate 20, for example?
 

At first my main goal was to make a diy version of bee natural pro carve  since it supposedly contains anti fungal ingredients. I’m in a fairly humid region at the moment. While browsing online about this I read that some folks add a bit of a leather conditioner to their casing solution. Since oil alone won’t mix with water I figured it would have to contain some type of emulsifier. So an option would be to make my own lexol with water, NFO, emulsifier and then add something like Listerin, tea tree oil or lemon juice, to have some anti fungal properties. That said, if I added an emulsifier, would you happen to know if one of your recipes could an option, as well? 
 

I apologize if my question is a bit of a “no brainer”. I’m still just figuring this stuff out lol. Thank ya kindly!

[ScottWolf]

3 hours ago, Yukonrookie said:

Apologies for replying to an older thread. I’m trying out options for a casing solution that I can add to water. I read that a lot of people add some Lexol conditioner to their casing solution, but from what I read Lexol changed their recipe some. Would your recipe dissolve and mix with water? If I added an emulsifier like polysorbate 20, for example?
 

At first my main goal was to make a diy version of bee natural pro carve  since it supposedly contains anti fungal ingredients. I’m in a fairly humid region at the moment. While browsing online about this I read that some folks add a bit of a leather conditioner to their casing solution. Since oil alone won’t mix with water I figured it would have to contain some type of emulsifier. So an option would be to make my own lexol with water, NFO, emulsifier and then add something like Listerin, tea tree oil or lemon juice, to have some anti fungal properties. That said, if I added an emulsifier, would you happen to know if one of your recipes could an option, as well? 
 

I apologize if my question is a bit of a “no brainer”. I’m still just figuring this stuff out lol. Thank ya kindly!

It could work as long as your ratios stay in balance. If you have more oils than the emulsifier can handle, it may not be able to suspend the oils and you could experience separation of your product. You would have to tinker with what those ratios are to find the balance point.

[Yukonrookie]

Perfect. Thank you kindly  @ScottWolf. Polysorbate 20 should work well enough as an emulsifier, I’d think.

[TALLNDN]

Thanks a heap.

I notice in the recipe you include "(or similar non greasy scented oil)"  Going to have to try the almond oil along in an experiment (fooling around) I've got going. Couple of days ago I ran out of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVO). Just for the heck of it, I smeared some cooking-grade peanut oil onto a scrap of 6oz veg tanned leather. In making stir fry, I've often observed the very low viscosity of peanut oil, so the speed with which it INSTANTLY penetrated clear through the scrap shouldn't have surprised me. But it did. It was as though the 6oz veg tan wasn't much more than a filter.  So - tried Canola Oil to virtually no effect.  Got more EVO. Relaxed the veg tan some  not great but some. But the peanut oil caused the 6oz veg tan to become relaxed that same sample to just plain FLOPPY.

I also use Walnut oil for shellac finishing fine wood pieces - going to try that also and document results in a week or so.

What I really want to know is: has anyone else on this site tried alternate seed oils, and if so - to what effect in finishing, especially with Tan Kote.

anyone?

[ScottWolf]

23 hours ago, TALLNDN said:

Thanks a heap.

I notice in the recipe you include "(or similar non greasy scented oil)"  Going to have to try the almond oil along in an experiment (fooling around) I've got going. Couple of days ago I ran out of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVO). Just for the heck of it, I smeared some cooking-grade peanut oil onto a scrap of 6oz veg tanned leather. In making stir fry, I've often observed the very low viscosity of peanut oil, so the speed with which it INSTANTLY penetrated clear through the scrap shouldn't have surprised me. But it did. It was as though the 6oz veg tan wasn't much more than a filter.  So - tried Canola Oil to virtually no effect.  Got more EVO. Relaxed the veg tan some  not great but some. But the peanut oil caused the 6oz veg tan to become relaxed that same sample to just plain FLOPPY.

I also use Walnut oil for shellac finishing fine wood pieces - going to try that also and document results in a week or so.

What I really want to know is: has anyone else on this site tried alternate seed oils, and if so - to what effect in finishing, especially with Tan Kote.

anyone?

I've tried the other oils you mentioned in the leather conditioner. I didn't find that peanut nor walnut oil produced a notable difference in the end product nor in how it performed on the leather. Both performed well but noting to write home about. Canola oil on the other hand seemed to have no real benefit other than making the finished product lighter in color and softer.Performance wise, it goes on somewhat shiny but quickly fades and the leather doesnt look as healthy/conditioned as it does with other conditioning products.

[TALLNDN]

Thanx.  Being a Western Oklahoma Geek, I'll always try to reduce things to the simplest level (science?) . There's a LOT of viscosity data available online, all of which show seed oils roughly the same at room temperature. Canola is thickest, EVO is "mid range". Then there's a gap after which Almond, Peanut and Walnut are very close to Pecan Oil - the least.  Roughly the same relationships hold regarding "substance internal molecular friction" (again - roughly - lubricity). As it heads toward becoming cold, Canola again leads the pack, becoming "sticky" rather rapidly.

My thought is: All of this backs your formula as elegant. Leather is a relatively dense collection of fibers rubbing together  when moved.  I think that as whatever seed oil is used reduces viscosity and internal friction of lubricants (cocoa butter, lanolin) as they "penetrate" (get into and between fibers) resulting in it beng more supple, and therefore - "conditioned".

Then as the seed oils degrade or evaporate, additional "conditioning" is needed.

Furthermore, almost all of the MSDS sheets I can find of the common "conditioners" show significant (almost shocking) amounts of petroleum products in their formulae. Petroleum products (mineral oil, paraffin,  petroleum distillate etc.) will chase moisture and natural oils from whatever they encounter. That will wick lubricants OUT of the leather, making it eventually crack, rot or degrade in some fashion. 

[TALLNDN]

For general consumption https://www.nkunaturals.com/blogs/nkus-skincare-blog compares Shea butter and Cocoa butter.  Although the discussion there has no focus on leather, Cocoa butter attributes seem best for working leather (cowpoke stuff and backpacks) while Shea butter might tip the scale for more delicate items.  It's a "U=PIKem", but informative and interesting.

[ShaynaMaedela]

Hi this is a great thread, I've made this recipe swapping the almond oil for EVOO and it works great - i mainly made the switch because a partner is allergic to nuts so I wanted to be able to have a body lotion version that was safe for him. I'm getting to the point where I'm caring for more types of leather and am interested in avoiding the olive oil for to work with lighter leathers or dyed leathers with a minimal impact of the color of the leather. Any recommendations for a nut free recipe for that doesn't darken?

 

Im thinking I could maybe just do the original recipe with the tallow?

[dikman]

Tallow is a proven safe product to use on leather but it might make the original recipe a bit stiffer/thicker. Other than that I don't see why it wouldn't work?

[Deeeeeee]

Hello

this is amazing. I actually use this on my face & couch.