first time using antique finish, what am i doing wrong?!

V

vilePossum

Joined
Jan 14, 2015
Messages
1,312
well... topic title kinda says it all :)
using the fiebings antique finish paste i am getting ...spotty results at best. very uneven colour distribution (which i can't even reproduce, meaning, i have no clue how i got the saturated area compared to the non saturated...), no residue left in the recesses of the tooling etc.
i am currently using a sponge to apply and am guessing that i might be applying too much pressure to rub it in. the youtube videos once again made it look easier than it actually is ;)

here some pictures:







the second project i am working on, a phone case, is even worse... i have really deep tan on one part and the another part will not take the colour... should i thin down the paste so that it flows a bit better?
 
So the idea behind antique is to have a light(er) base coat with darker impressions, right?

Can you describe your current process?

After much poking around on the big leather working forum I settled on my current method. It's probably very different than others do.

My steps-

1. Dye the stamped piece with the light base coat. Light brown, as you've done, looks great to me and provides for a nice contrast. You can even skip the base and leave the leather natural.

2. After the base has dried apply a resist to the whole thing. I use a "sheen" acrylic. Antique dyeing is the only time I use an acrylic.

3. After it's dyed apply the antique gel liberally making certain to fill all of the stamped impressions.

4. Quickly buff off the excess gel. This is tricky because you need to get the gel off asap, but you must be careful to not pull the gel out of the impressions. Try buffing lightly in one direction. Another method is to buff off the excess in a circular motion.

5. Allow time to dry.

6. After the whole mess has dried apply another coat of sheen.

This method has given me my best results thus far.

Your dye job actually looks great to me! Excellent work my friend. Only thing I'd point out is to be lighter handed when scoring your stamping guide line. I use a stylus/modeling tool and I used to have a visible line when the work was complete. I find it's not so much a problem with a basket weave, but the tri-weave has the area in the center that will allow the guide line to be seen. Using a ruler or straight edge, just let the weight of the tool to make your line. You can also try doing your line before casing.

I hope some of the above is helpful, but you're definitely on the right track as it stands. [emoji106]
 
Thanks omega, once again you provide helpful insight.
I'm kinda embarrassed, but I think the reason why I am having such trouble is that I apply the antique directly to the undyed leather without resist. Lol
I must have been to focused on how they apply it in the video and missed that part. I feel kind-of stupid right now. Okay you live and learn.
Thanks for the tip with the ruler, I noticed the line on the tri weave afterwards.
 
Don't feel bad, I did the exact same, didn't feel like it was good enough and sought out a better way, same as you. I think many folks use the antique on its own anyway.

There's more than one way to dye a cat. :)
 

This is antique on bare leather.
I'm going to try the omega method one of these days.
VP, relax, enjoy :) Each one gets better than the last one :D
 
that looks really great ebbtide!
btw i found a nice little tip looking at pictures for a japanese blocking finish. they apply the antique finish with a toothbrush in these pictures. just tried it, and it seems to work well.very interesting. i guess any non absorbent material small enough to get into the small areas would work. it pushes the particles into the details, yet doesn't reabsorb them. after letting it dry for a short time you can then proceed as usual and wipe it down.
 
Another method to try :)

I think it was a Tandy video where I saw it used without a base color.
 
actually the tandy one was one of the first i watched. but maybe my difficulties also come from the fact that i am using the paste like fiebings stuff and not the more liquid/gel like eco flow or fiebings.
anyways, most of the colouring on the current project is done, after i am done i will post pics.
 
VP, I've been shown to use scraps of fabric to apply antique, a smal scrap that you only hold with our thumb ant two fingers stops you from pressing too much and getting too much of the gel/paste into the stamped depressions.
However the name 'antique' would indicate that the user attempts to visually age the leather.
Also if you are planning to use antique as a blocker/resist, I don't think it will work very well with the oil dyes, you'll need to stick to the water based ones.

I also believe (might be wrong here) that given that the stamped parts of leather will get darker than untouched surface also means that antique will color the depressions more than the healthy/non-crushed leather.
 
thanks for the tip, i will try that. i am pretty sure by now that i applied way too much pressure :D
anyways, my latest is not yet done, so i will reserve judgement and pictures for later ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top