Sun tan

[Skeeter Lewis]

In the past I've always dyed holsters. This time, I'd like to try Neatsfoot Oil and sun. Is it necessary to clean the leather beforehand with alcohol (or whatever) or do finger marks etc. not affect the outcome?

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Howdy Skeet

           Surely if your leather is dirty, go ahead and clean it, alcohol or lemon juice will work just fine, do your oiling in stages untill you get the color/shade you're looking for, and after it has dried for a few days you might want to hit it again if you think you want a deeper darker shade, this is an easy process and it works great, you can achieve different shades and tones by using a paint brush, and putting the oil in areas that you want darker, this gives you greater control, say you want your border stamping to stand out a little more just use the brush and after you have oiled your piece you can go back with the brush and add oil to darken all the areas you want.

                                                              Regards

                                                            tEN wOLVES   

[Skeeter Lewis]

Thanks for that, 10W. Another question - do you burnish the edges before or after? Would the oil inhibit burnishing or is it okay if you let the oil 'dry' long enough?

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Thanks for that, 10W. Another question - do you burnish the edges before or after? Would the oil inhibit burnishing or is it okay if you let the oil 'dry' long enough?

          Skeet , I burnish before and after, the after being my final burnishing, and on the last burnishing I use BEES WAX.


                                               tEN wOLVES 

[Skeeter Lewis]

Thanks!

[santee]

you can achieve different shades and tones by using a paint brush, and putting the oil in areas that you want darker, this gives you greater control, say you want your border stamping to stand out a little more just use the brush and after you have oiled you piece you can go back with the brush and add oil to darken all the areas you want.

Hmmmm, hadn't thought about that. I have been using spare amounts of oil.

[Skeeter Lewis]

10 W - thanks for the tip about beeswax. Boy, has that taken the hard work out of burnishing.