question about sealers and weather

[knucklehead]

I am in the process of making saddlebags for my motorcycle.
my question is what type of sealer should i use to protect the saddlebags from the elements?

i usually use neat lac for my gun leather, which is not going down the road at 50 plus mph.


thanks in advance for everyone's input.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

The stuff Delmonico recommended for boots may be a good product.

This is all I use, and what I recomend to anyone who asks me about boot dressing at work.

http://www.obenaufs.com/lp.php?osCsid=ba52c915a0217db560e4019d9c9118f4

Developed for the smoke jumpers, Gore-Tex approved, surf their site and check out their information, works good around barn yards, loved by rural firefighters who do a lot of grass fire.  We have found out it it good for chapped hands and lips also.  Ain't tried it yet on boolits, but most likely would even make a decent black powder type lube.   

BTW, no one has ever came back and said we sold them a lousy product.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

 Howdy Knucklehead

          I don't know if your dying your leather or not, but it dosn't make any difference, this is what I use on my leather that's going to be outside in the weather, after dying or not dying I load the leather up with neatsfoot oil, and then let it dry for about three days or untill dry, then I finish the leather off with a product called Skidmores, just rub it in let it dry then buff it up to a nice luster, THIS STUFF IS GREAT  I use it on all of my cowboy gear, it gives you a rich natural finish and feel, with all the protection you could want . you can reach them at www.skidmores.com I highly recommend there leather cream. give it a try I know you will like                                  SHOT STRAIGHT

                    TEN WOLVES FIVE SHOOTER 

[Sawdust Jim]

Hi Knucklehead,
When I had my shop in So. Calif. I did a lot of restoration leather work for antique motorcycles and cars, mostly Indians. Those guys were pretty fusy and didn't want the shine you get with somthing like Neat Lac.

I started with a good oil taned skirting leather, rather than oak taned tooling leather. After dying, I used Fiebing's Carnuba Creame finish. Let it dry for a few days then finish it all off with a silicon based conditioner. Pecard makes a real good conditioner for motorcycle use, as does Langlitz Leathers here in Portland. You need to allow at least a day between coats and work it into your seams real well.

I used this finish on seats, saddle bags, battery boxes, mud flaps, etc. Granted, most of the bikes were "Trailer Queens" but some did get ridden quite a bit.

Good luck,

Jim

[rickk]

I have been doing custom leather work for several years. Neatsfoot oil always seemed to do a reasonable job. It soaks thru acrylic sealer even after the leather is sealed. Of course, that tends to mean that acrylic sealer isn't all that impervious to at least whatever neatsfoot oil is made of.

Neatsfoot oil tends to repel water, but it does need to be re-applied on a regular basis.

Earlier this year I found out about Ballistol and it's great BP cleaning properties. I also found that it also was intended for other uses, such as protecting wood and leather. I have used it on a few holsters and a few other items as well and found that it does an awesome job. It waterproofs them, it makes the leather nice and shiny if several coats are applied about a day apart, and when used on the inside of a holster it makes the gun slide in and out really nice. The alkaline nature protects the holster from acidic BP residue.

Once I built up the amount of gloss I wanted I left it alone and have yet to have to repeat the application. I only have about a half a year on my most used holster, so it will be a year or two before I am really sure it works well. Still, the preliminary results make it look promising.

[Deadeye Don]

The stuff Delmonico recommended for boots may be a good product.

I am going to get me some in the gallon size!!!

[Springfield Slim]

I have used all kinds of stuff on my leather mororcycle seat. I ride in all kinds of weather, rain doesn't bother me much. I have tried neatsfoot oil,saddle soap,  Lexol, obenaufs boot oil, tandy super shene, a few others i can't remember right now.  None of it protects for all that long, sorry to say. Of the bunch the Lexol was the worst and the Obenaufs was the best. Just realized I have never tried neat lac, may do that tomorrow. I do like the Neat-lac on holsters, seems to keep more of the dye from running when wet molding than super shene, especially Hi-liter mixes. 

[knucklehead]

I wet mold my holsters before putting on neat lac.

I found out that neat lac wont let the water dry out evenly which causes the color to be blotchy.
this only happens when wet molding the holster. it doesn't affect the color and shape of the holster when in the elements.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Hey knuchle Head

               Your right about that, only use Neat-lac or Super Shene or Satin Shene or any kind
of shinny finish AFTER YOU HAVE WET MOLDED YOUR LEATHER....your shinny finishes look great at first, but will CRACK alot sooner than leather that has been doused in Neatsfoot Oil and rubbed in and finished off with Skidmores for protection from ALL the elements......You can use Neat-lac on leather that has been treated with neatsfoot oil, even heavely, the less you use of the Neat-lac the solwer the cracking process, you still need to let the Neatsfoot Oil dry before useing the Neat-lac..
                     
                              10w5s

[Springfield Slim]

Except if you are making a mexican double loop holster it can be difficult to get at the leather under the straps. Also I find the supershene and neat lac help to keep the Hi Liter finish from running off when wet molding. The best thing about the neat lac is that it isn't all that shiny to start with.