Antique finishes

[cowboy316]

hey guys ive got a bottle of fiebing's tan antique finish and its not dry dry but more liike a boot polish now
can i add something to it to thin it and make it easier to apply??   
   Cowboy316

[Gun Butcher]

  Yes you can cut it with alcohol. But I would do a little and check the color because it can lighten it.  Play with it a bit and you should come up with what you want.

[JD Alan]

According to Fiebings book on finishes, you can thin it with Tan Kote. The manager at Portland Tandy told me about that, then I found it in their book. Donna says you can add10 % TK to the finish. 

[knucklehead]

According to Fiebings book on finishes, you can thin it with Tan Kote. The manager at Portland Tandy told me about that, then I found it in their book. Donna says you can add10 % TK to the finish. 

Donna is a great person. she loves to share her knowledge with anyone willing to listen.
Ditto on the tan kote. Donna said to mix the antique dye 80% to 20% tan kote.
then slather it on the leather leave on for a min or two then while wearing glove wipe the excess off into your container so you can use it again.

then after its dry you now have a finished piece of leather no need to add finish because you added it to the antique dye.

havent tried it yet. but will some day soon

[cowboy316]

thanks guys ill try that still trying to decide what color to use the lady at my saddle shop
had some old jars of antique and she gave me bout 7 different colors to use cuz she
doesnt sell much of it any more so im set on antique for a while LOL
      Cowboy316     

[cowboywc]

Howdy
Try stirring it up. I have old jars of it and I use a popsicle stick.
WC

[Skeeter Lewis]

Do you have to seal a holster before applying antique finish? If so, what would do the job now that Neat Lac has gone?
I  ruined a holster putting it straight on. (I know, I should have experimented first.)

[JD Alan]

I don't know abouit the sealing issue, but you want to be careful about how big of an area you work at a time. You need to  wipe it off fairly quickly, because when that stuff drys, look out. Want to guess how I know that?

[Patrick Henry Brown]

Not trying to hijack this thread but thought I'd pass this along to others. I just finished a new gunbelt. Haven't shot any pictures yet, but will post if someone wants to see. Anyway, I was going to two tone the belt using Eco-Flow Acorn Brown, but my hand was not steady enough and I ended up doing the entire belt. Problem was that is was streaked badly and didn't look good at all. So I took the belt to the sink and began to wash the stain off the belt. Yes, it did absorb a lot of water, but the stain came off and left a nice antique looking finish. After it dried, I applied a coat of Brown Scuff Coat and waxed with Neutral Shoe Polish. Came out a very nice Antique Brown. Who'd a Thunk It? 

[Skeeter Lewis]

JD, the antique finish seemed to dry straight away. That's what made me wonder about sealing.    Maybe I should have cut it with alcohol, the way Gun Butcher says.

Clint, glad to hear the belt worked out. Sure, post it. I'd like to see what effect you got.

[JD Alan]

Clint, I'd like to see that belt as well. I'm not sure what you mean by Brown Scuff Coat.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I'd like to see how the antique came out on your holster, PC. By all means post a picture when you get a chance.

[Skeeter Lewis]

Marshal Will, what's your view? Is it necessary to seal before antiquing? Sorry to bang on about this.

Maybe Clint's Eco Flo antique is simpler.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Skeeter, I never have sealed the leather first but there are times when I should have. I can remember getting smears on areas I wanted to remain even in color. Mostly, it came out fine if I put the antique on all over the project fast.

There used to be a "neutral" antique finish available that had no dye in it at all. I had a jar and when I was working on a project with large blank areas, I'd apply that first so the colored antique would go on smoother. I guess that was a way of sealing by filling the pores in the leather with something first. I've used up all the antique finishes I had and I've been doing my work without any for a number of years. I suppose I'll have to pick up some and learn how to use the newer stuff that's available these days.

[Skeeter Lewis]

Thanks, Marshal.