Leather finish ????

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JLTibbetts

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I'm building a stool with a leather seat to use in the shop. The leather will be natural color and veg tanned.
What should I use as a finish to keep it flexible, keep from getting dirty as much as possible, not rub off on clothes, or need frequent re-application?
From looking around the interweb a product called Resolene looks like it might fit the bill.
Any suggestions?

Thanks!
 
Here are two to compare/consider, that never let me down.

Plus an Old School solution, tried and true!!
I like it for the ingredients list. Very successful for 100+ years, in sweaty conditions. And important that it not stain clothing.

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20220308_133516.webp
 
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  • #4
Thanks guys!
Cliff if I go the first route do I need to clean new, un-died material first?
Would the mink oil be enough?
 
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  • #5
Frank saddle treatments was my first thought but I went down a rabbit hole reading stuff about it.
I really couldn't find anyone that talked about dealing with fresh material as opposed to restoring an existing saddle.
I have faith and trust in the WB crew !!
 
JLTibbetts said:
Thanks guys!
Cliff if I go the first route do I need to clean new, un-died material first?
Would the mink oil be enough?
Click to expand...
Hi, Yes: one of these is plenty and no need for two. Lexol is neatsfoot oil plus other things, so the two will be similar. These oil treatments can darken natural color leather considerably. You see that on work boots, where it really changes them to nut brown. You might want to test a small area, and just a light coat. Cliff
 
Used lexol for years on horse saddles and used it for last 20 years on my cars. Have no transfer to clothing at all. It soaks in nicely to the leather.
 
I have a buddy who works with leather. I can ask him how to do it....
 
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  • #10
Thanks for the input guys.
I did a little leather work stuff in high school but that was more than a few decades ago.
No doubt products and techniques have changed since then.
 
All I ever used in past was neatsfoot oil, or Snow Proof, or mink oil (usually the cheap wallyworld kind). But was not really worried about rub-off. Know I used some car leather stuff when detailing my cars when I has leather covers that seemed to do well with no rub-off. My daughter has a weakness for leather handbags - not the real expensive ones - thankfully. She asked me to find something for keeping them up to par. Apparently the hipsters that like the 'spensive bags with the haughty names recommend something called Cadillac Select Leather Lotion. Sure them hipsters wouldn't want their handbag finish to rub off on their holey jeans! But came highly recommended! Think my uncle who did a lot of leather work used Tandy's Neat Lac
 
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ripjack13 said:
I have a buddy who works with leather. I can ask him how to do it....
Click to expand...
Here's what my buddy says....
................................
For me, I’ve long used saddle soap to clean, and pure neatsfoot for treating and conditioning. But, the other stuff is good too. A lot of people use lexol and I have that too. It’s just not my preference. Something about it. Like it leaves a glossier finish or it feels slick… I don’t know I can explain it exactly. It’s just in the feel of it.
Having said all that, any leather I store and don’t use regularly, can start to mildew. It always cleans up easily and is easily restored. I don’t know if the other things mentioned would prevent that or not.
 
When I was younger, I use to repair leather bridles & saddles. Clean the leather with saddle soap & condition the leather with neatsfoot oil. Use to keep a coat of neatsfoot oil on all my boots.
 
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  • #15
Well, I made a decision on the leather finish, mostly based on my frugal nature.
Using some dye I had on hand and free Resolene from a neighbor this is what I came up with.

stool1.jpg
 
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  • #16
The dye was honey amber color and is more amber than the photo shows.
Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I'm always impressed with the scope of knowledge in this group.
 
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