New natural veg tan belt to perfect patina

[Mandarage]

Hello guys,

 

I'm a newcomer in the leather universe. My first acquisition is a natural veg tan belt.

My concern is to start well with it, so I had few questions to target a nice patina over time.

 

In the first place, do I need to use any kind of treatment before/during use ? 

Is it possible to accelerate aging process without reducing patina potential ?

Have you any general warnings or advices ? 

 

Thanks by advance

[iamunique127]

Hi Mandarage

I'm sorry you haven't had any replies. I'm making a belt for a friend and he insists he wants it left natural so it wears and ages naturally but I'm afraid it will just get dirty and look ugly. My inclination is to oil it then put on a finish but I'd like to hear some input from someone more experienced, too.

 

Let's hope we get some replies.

[chrisash]

I give them a good dose of Effax balm when i finish them which gives it a virtually clear surface (just a very slight darkening of the veg tan) that helps condition the leather and also protect it

[maxdaddy]

First of all, welcome to the universe. There are some bonafide experts here, but I am not one of them.

Here's just a few things that I've learned about leaving veg tan un-dyed and letting it develop it's own color in a project. First of all, if you don't seal it, it will stain and some stains will be permanent. A dirty smudge mark the size of a fingertip next to the buckle is not going to be something that you'll enjoy looking at for the next few years, so before you go to far with it put a sealant on it. 

Adding just to the leather will preserve the inside of the leather (not scientifically accurate but this is how *I* think of it) but it won't help with the surface in the way that we need. So, whatever you use will also need to have something else to treat the surface. THat's typically a wax cocktail of some sort. You can make your own, and there's plenty of recipes on this forum for it, but for now I'd suggest that you just buy some Aussie conditioner or something like that to get yourself gong with this project. Make sure that whatever you buy contains some oil as well as carnauba or beeswax, the oil will condition the inside and the wax will sit on top and give the surface some protection. Most of them will darken the leather a little, but you'll have to accept that since it should be uniform across the entire belt. 

Hopefully you have a bit of scrap leather that you can test it on first to see the result and gauge how much to apply and how much to rub.

Have fun with your new addiction... err.. I mean hobby.

[battlemunky]

I think if you seal it you aren't going to get the patina you want, especially quickly. Leather has been used for millennia, long before there were treatments and sealers. You could oil it and call it a day just letting the patina do what its going to do.

If you want to fake a bit of patina, rub some wax, doesn't really matter the type, on some felt and rub the edges down, darkening the leather without using any dye or anything. You can also lay down a stencil and do that over the stencil to "patina" a shape or initials, etc. onto the leather. 

[Bert03241]

I like to give Veg tan an oil treatment then set out in the sun for a day or 2 maybe 3 pending on how sunny it is. I try diferent types of oil, I like coconut the best I oil it let it soak in then oil it again then out in the sun, till it gets a color I like then a couple coat of sheen or resoleane . Even after all that it will still pitina nicely over time.