Help! Boer War Leatherworking Advice Needed

[Paul Henry]

The shiny white layer could be the result of several processes, but the most likely one is some form of plastic/lacquer compound painted onto the leather when it was still in the full skin rather than individual pieces.There are various compounds around to clean leather before dyeing it, but I'm not sure that they are really designed to strip a complete finish.
Sanding it of course is an option, but in doing so you will most likely sand through all the stitching which will have to be re done.
If the shiny surface is the result of post manufacture colour, you will be much luckier.
have a look at fiebings where there are lots of tips on how to treat/dye and look after leather as well!
Good luck

[BobsYourUncle]

without seeing the specific piece in person, I can only issue the following warning.


Be greatly careful with "sanding" the surface. You're more than likely to sand off the outer stitching as well as the offensive finish.

If I was FORCED to make a recommendation, I'd do the main areas with a detail sander, and the areas w/stitching by hand, first with a wire brush and then with a sanding block, possibly masking off the stitches with tape for later "detail sanding" in a more careful fashion.

Best 'o luck. I don't envy you your project.

ith:

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mike, but I'm shooting in the dark really.

BTW, BobsYourUncle: Definitely DON'T use steel wool. The metal fibres get into the surface and will rust over time, leaving stains on the leather.

If it were me, I'd probably use a 220 grit sandpaper, but make sure to test it on a small area of leather that is out of view. Again, be really careful around the stitches. I'd mask them off during the main job and do those areas with a very small sanding block afterward.

The shiny white layer could be the result of several processes, but the most likely one is some form of plastic/lacquer compound painted onto the leather when it was still in the full skin rather than individual pieces.There are various compounds around to clean leather before dyeing it, but I'm not sure that they are really designed to strip a complete finish.
Sanding it of course is an option, but in doing so you will most likely sand through all the stitching which will have to be re done.
If the shiny surface is the result of post manufacture colour, you will be much luckier.
have a look at fiebings where there are lots of tips on how to treat/dye and look after leather as well!
Good luck

THANK YOU ALL! Great stuff, this is exactly the kind of input for which I was hoping. Yes, Artificer [Scott], I do feel forced into at least trying to sand the gear, having spent the money.

I will set myself up with a detail sander, a sanding block, some 220 grit paper, and then make some tests in areas out of view. I will report the results as soon as I can, with photos and possible future queries. PaulHenry, thanks for the link, I will look into that.

Thank you all again! Regards, BYU

[budd4766]

Any metal with any iron content will give your leather little black "measles" that you'll have a tough time getting rid of. Sometimes, if you're dying it black or an antique color, you can get away with it, but not often. The iron reacts with the tannins in the leather.

[T-Bone]

I've been thinking about this some more this afternoon.
If the leather is chrome tanned, you will not get to the buff color. It will be a light gray color. It will, however, be roughed up and ready to apply the Blanco. I would try sanding the back of the harness or somewhere inconspicous to see the results.

[artificer]

I've been thinking about this some more this afternoon.
If the leather is chrome tanned, you will not get to the buff color. It will be a light gray color. It will, however, be roughed up and ready to apply the Blanco. I would try sanding the back of the harness or somewhere inconspicous to see the results.

That's not entirely true. Assuming the leather was aniline dyed (most are, as it stabilizes the hide) and then surface dyed (which it obviously was) you cannot tell what the underlying colour actually is. You cannot assume that the colour is "struck through".

The inner colour could vary from white to off-white, all the way down to buff.

[Nighthawk]

That's not entirely true. Assuming the leather was aniline dyed (most are, as it stabilizes the hide) and then surface dyed (which it obviously was) you cannot tell what the underlying colour actually is. You cannot assume that the colour is "struck through".

The inner colour could vary from white to off-white, all the way down to buff.

Scott, you are a never ending source of information!

[artificer]

Scott, you are a never ending source of information!

If only my wife agreed with you LOL!

ith:

[Joe Gondek]

Look on the bright side , if doesn't turn out you will still have a full scale pattern to make a set out of the corect leather.

[BobsYourUncle]

I've been thinking about this some more this afternoon.
If the leather is chrome tanned, you will not get to the buff color. It will be a light gray color. It will, however, be roughed up and ready to apply the Blanco. I would try sanding the back of the harness or somewhere inconspicous to see the results.

I have this idea in the back of my mind, that the object may well become to simply rough up the surface rather than remove it altogether, and then just rought it up enough to accept Blanco. Such a solution would be acceptable, so long as it results in something other than the "patent leather" type finish it now has.

[T-Bone]

I stand corrected and educated. My thought process was based on my own experience with chrome tanned leather. I do not like using it that much, so the experience is somewhat humble.

T