Darkening/aging leather
- Thread starter Sulla
- Start date
Gigatron
Sr Member
My favorite method (depending on size of the material) is a light sanding to roughen up the surface, a few coats of brown and black shoe polish and a top coat of Pecard's leather dressing. Then you can use a very fine grit sandpaer (like wet/dry) to add highlights and distressed areas.
Haven't had any issues with ruboff in over 2 years, and that's on a bag strap I use everyday.
-Fred
Haven't had any issues with ruboff in over 2 years, and that's on a bag strap I use everyday.
-Fred
Mechinyun
Sr Member
http://www.pecard.com/index.html?target=fr...html&lang=en-us
Use pecards conditioner. Its the best out there hands down. Depending on how light/dark the leather is, the conditioner will darken it very quickly and protect it at the same time.
Use pecards conditioner. Its the best out there hands down. Depending on how light/dark the leather is, the conditioner will darken it very quickly and protect it at the same time.
rocketeer25
Sr Member
Todd has a pretty good tutorial on weathering canvas bags... 
http://www.toddscostumes.com/./indy/how_to...an_army_bag.htm
http://www.toddscostumes.com/./indy/how_to...an_army_bag.htm
Thanks everyone. I think I'm going to head to Ladwerelyn's leather here in central Indianapolis and see what they have. Last time I was there there they had two huge tables groaning under the weight of leather tratment stuff.
You've been a huge help. And that canvas bag tutorial was great. I dunno if I wanna burry my bag in the wet clay we call soil here, but not bad, not bad.
You've been a huge help. And that canvas bag tutorial was great. I dunno if I wanna burry my bag in the wet clay we call soil here, but not bad, not bad.
Lukes Roommate
Well-Known Member
For a suede-ish type leather, I HIGHLY recommend Atom Wax.
Rubbing it in creates that sweat-stained look that comes with abuse, age and well, sweat.
Rubbing it in creates that sweat-stained look that comes with abuse, age and well, sweat.
Mechinyun
Sr Member
Mink oil is actually horrible for leather. Now if its a cheap item and you want something quick from walmart or whatever to do it, sure. But if its an item you want to keep and preserve for however long dont use mink oil, it will rot out the leather over time.
Pecards as I recommend above is known to not harm leather at all. The smithsonian institute uses pecards to restore historical leather items (we are talking hundreds of years old) and keep them in good shape for future generations.
-Cliff
That's utterly bizarre to me, as centuries ago they only had things like Mink Oil and Neetsfoot. I'm fairly certain there weren't medieval barkers hawking "Ye Olde-timey Pecard's Leather Dressing--Also good for boils and the gout."
If you buy shoes from The Bostonian, they only sale Mink Oil. Guess they want folks to ruin their shoes...
If you buy shoes from The Bostonian, they only sale Mink Oil. Guess they want folks to ruin their shoes...
Mechinyun
Sr Member
Yes they do, if they didnt wear out they couldnt sell your another pair.
A simple google search about mink oil will bring up plenty of sites with studies and results about these "leather dressings". Trust me they are all bad news. Sure people have used this stuff for years, but people also ate poision to cure sicknes for ages too. Times change, technology and research advances.
http://www.watchpolishing.com/leatherguide.htm
Quote of the important part:
Ample studies have proven that leather dressings and saddle soaps, rather than preserving aged leather artifacts, actually hasten their deterioration. Oils in dressings are intended to provide internal lubrication for leather that is still in use; the oil allows the bundles of fibrils to slip over each other as leather is flexed, keeping it supple. Historic leather artifacts in a collection no longer need to be flexible, since they are no longer functional objects. Research has shown that many oils and fats used in leather dressings (neatsfoot oil, mink oil, lanolin) oxidize and harden over time, causing the leather to become even stiffer and brittle; oils also will darken with time, thus darkening the leather. Saddle soap originally was developed as an emulsified dressing for leather. Its ability to clean a surface is dubious, as the "soap" in it is employed to emulsify the oil/water mixture, leaving little reserve cleaning power. Saddle soap is also alkaline and leaves residues that cause degradation of the leather.
So yeah, mink oil is bad. B)
Most leather items I own are props and I have done extensive research into the subject, specificly keeping leather in its best possible condition. This was due to my first David Morgan Whip which I purchased in 1989, I used mink oil on it for years and I could see the leather had deteriorated alot in just 5 years. Lesson learned.
edit for url link.
Def Pecard's
Mate, the last post in this thread was over five years ago. :confused I think Sulla figured out Pecards quite a while ago...
