chrome tann / crust chrome finish

[Lexy]

Hello : ) im from Georgia Tbilisi so sorry about my English <3
 Im new here and also in leatherwork,  3 month for now  learning and working with chrometann leather.. and im doing well BUT!
i need help now ... i cant find with what to finish chrome tan leather... some ppl said to use saphire creme or iexi .. Can some1 explain about top coats / finishers for chromed leather please?  
 

[Rahere]

The idea is it shouldn't need much finishing. As a result, there's not that much you can do with it either. OK, I'm being a bit harsh, but you get my outlook. It's more chemical than leather, so you're left with simple choices: how to finish edges, and maintain the surfaces. Polishes in effect, depends what you have locally.

[Retswerb]

Welcome to the forum @Lexy! As Rahere said already, most chrome-tanned leathers don’t need much in the way of top coat. What sorts of projects are you working on? Maybe post a pic or two of the leather you have available to you there and folks here can give some more advice.

[Lexy]

im working on bags.. (learning). here in  georgia as they said we have only chromed leather.. i dont know if it has english word but as they call it is "Crust leather"

[Lexy]

photos..

[Lexy]

On 3/2/2021 at 1:44 AM, Rahere said:

The idea is it shouldn't need much finishing. As a result, there's not that much you can do with it either. OK, I'm being a bit harsh, but you get my outlook. It's more chemical than leather, so you're left with simple choices: how to finish edges, and maintain the surfaces. Polishes in effect, depends what you have locally.

its okay   we don't have any other leather here.. i cant buy veg tann for now.. its too expensive for me. till I'm learning I'm okay with it. so i think polishes is the answer.. can you recommend me please any? some ppl told me to use Saphir creme, but there are too many saphir cremes.. which one to buy

[Rahere]

You'll have to experiment, looking at various furniture and floor waxes and sprays. Start with what works in your household.

https://www.go4worldbusiness.com/suppliers/georgia/tbilisi/leather-products.html

[Lexy]

2 hours ago, Rahere said:

You'll have to experiment, looking at various furniture and floor waxes and sprays. Start with what works in your household.

https://www.go4worldbusiness.com/suppliers/georgia/tbilisi/leather-products.html

Georgia tbilisi doesnt have any good leather care products... 
what about saphir and uniters? i want to try 

Edited March 3, 2021 by Lexy

[Rahere]

4 hours ago, Lexy said:

Georgia tbilisi doesnt have any good leather care products... 
what about saphir and uniters? i want to try 

Possibly excessive. You'd be suprised at what goes into wax for wooden floors, and the sprays used for general furniture. But you have to start somewhere.

One thing that puzzles me, though, is that that leather doesn't look like chrome. I did a search for what you have, as you saw from the link, the products on the Avenue Moscow shop may well be, but that looks more like pull-up, a rather expensive veg tan, or latigo, a hybrid tan. What happens when you dampen the surface? Does it go darker for a while?

[Matt S]

 

9 hours ago, Rahere said:

One thing that puzzles me, though, is that that leather doesn't look like chrome. I did a search for what you have, as you saw from the link, the products on the Avenue Moscow shop may well be, but that looks more like pull-up, a rather expensive veg tan, or latigo, a hybrid tan. What happens when you dampen the surface? Does it go darker for a while?

That blue-grey core on the cut edge looks like chrome-tan to me. Veg tannages tend to be a pinky beige in the core, unless they're struck through.

@Lexy That's a good looking bag! May I ask how you finished the edges?

Chrome tanned leathers (and a lot of veg tanned ones) are essentially pre-finished from the tannery. A little quality leather dressing applied periodically will keep it in good condition. If you can't find any commercial ones, try melting together beef or lamb tallow, beeswax and neetsfoot (calve's foot) oil in a 3:1:1: ratio. If you can't get neetsfoot oil most cooking/vegetable oils like sunflower or olive will work. Avoid anything petroleum based.

This is a traditional mixture for hard-working leather gear, but it does smell. You can add a little bit of scented oil to improve the smell. A lot of people recommend beeswax and oil in a 1:1 ratio but I find that far too oily.