Saturday, March 8, 2014

Leather Finishing Continued Again


I apologize for not updating this blog for a few days. I evidently was caught by the “dreaded mahoca” or a touch of the flu. Anyway, here I am again and ready to continue with another post on finishing leather. I had hoped to have some photos of products that I currently have on hand but I thought that it might be a good idea to get permission from the companies before I proceeded to do that.

I mentioned that it would be a good idea to have at least two sizes of brushes for applying dye to your leather project. The last time that I bought any brushes was a few years ago and I still use the same ones for almost everything that I do, unless I misplace them. I have a tendency to take something that I am using and go to get something else and leave it where I found the other item.

Below is a photo featuring three different sizes of brushes that I have used for both acrylic and the penetrating type of dyes. I am not a professional on brushes, I just choose what I think will work the best for me. I have found that brushes with coarse bristles might work with the acrylic dyes but not so well with the penetrating type of dyes. I bought these brushes at a craft store in an artist’s package. There were at least a dozen brushes included in the package and a lot of which I will not use but it was less expensive than purchasing three separate brushes. I guess that I can take up painting to user the others.

various brush sizes
Fine, medium, and large tipped brushes
The other method I mentioned in the last post was the use of an airbrush to dye your projects. I have not mastered the techniques for using an airbrush and I do not particularly want to take the time to do that either. I use only the penetrating type of dyes with my airbrush. Acrylic dyes will clog up the works and make your airbrush unusable until it is cleaned very well.

The photo below shows an inexpensive airbrush that I purchased from an area overstock store. I believe that it was around $10.00 at the time I purchased it. I already had a compressor that I could use to provide the air pressure required to run it. I am not going to tell you about all the hoops I jumped through to get it hooked up to the compressor. It was painful to say the least.

inexpensive airbrush
Basic airbrush with no bottle attached
If you would like to use an airbrush to dye your leather and you are adventuresome I would suggest that you experiment on something other than your leather project. Tag board, construction paper, or cardboard might be a good surface to practice on before starting on your project. Using an airbrush is just like anything, it takes practice to do it well and develop your techniques.

It is always necessary to clean your brushes and your airbrush after using them. One of the least expensive methods to clean either of them is to use rubbing alcohol if you are using the penetrating dye. I have found that by putting a little rubbing alcohol in a small container that I can dip my brush in to swirl around a little will be enough to do the job. With the brush, I like to test the cleanliness by soaking up the excess alcohol with a paper towel. If there seems to be too much staining on the paper towel, I swirl the brush around and test it again. Acrylic dye cleanup can be done with soap and water.

When I use the airbrush to stain leather I use a cardboard box with the top open to keep the spray confined to a small area. To clean the airbrush I make sure that I have no more dye in the system by first emptying the small bottle that attaches to the bottom of it. I like to put a small amount of rubbing alcohol in the bottle, replace the cap on the bottle, and shake it vigorously to remove any dye left behind. I have another bottle that I dump this portion of alcohol in so that it will not present an environmental issue. After cleaning the bottle, I refill with clean rubbing alcohol, attach it to the airbrush, and operate the airbrush, spraying the inside of the box until I see no more staining. This method seems to work well for me.

A product that has worked well for me on many of my projects is antique finish. I have use a particular brand, Fiebing Antique Finish, which I have used for most of the years that I have done leatherwork. It is a paste that comes in a variety of colors and can be applied with relative ease. That being said, you do need to take some precautions to make sure that you do not get it on your hands, clothing, or your work surface. I recommend wearing latex or nitrile gloves for applying it to any leather.

The best method for applying the antique finish to leather is up to the individual. I have read many descriptions for applying it to leather, from using a paint stick wrapped with cloth to get an even coat to the method I use, which is to get a dab of antique finish on a small scrap piece of sheepskin and proceed to rub it into the leather with circular motions. This method can present challenges by allowing the paste and the solvents to separate and create a darker stain on a portion of your project. By the way, it is necessary to make sure that the antique finish is either well stirred or shaken to get everything well mixed.

The thing that I like about antique finish is that it will give your project a finished look without many headaches. After you have finished stamping the leather, it should be allowed to dry overnight before attempting to apply the antique finish. The reason is that when the leather is still damp it will sometimes absorb more of the stain. The antique finish needs to be applied before putting any pieces of a project together. Also, make sure that you have plenty of rags around that you will be necessary to wipe the excess antique finish from your project.

The first time that I used antique finish, I was more than a little afraid to begin the process. I did not use sheepskin to apply it to the belts that I made. I used a paintbrush about the size of the large one shown in the photo earlier in this post. I almost made a career out of a single belt each time I made one. It took a while to get my nerve up to use the sheepskin to apply the antique finish.

I will discuss more on techniques for using dyes and antique finishes in later posts. There are a lot of ways that these products can be used alone or in combination with others. The photo below is of a photo album that I made for my parents around twenty years ago. I used antique finish to accent the impressions of the stamps. Notice how the background is dark colored. This is because the antique finish will flow into the background areas if you are careful to work it in properly. This is one instance when I like to use a finish on the antiqued leather because I have learned that it will water spot. I will talk more in detail about leather finishes in later posts as well.

Have fun!
hand-tooled leather photo album
Hand-tooled and antiqued leather photo album


No comments:

Post a Comment