Leather finish question

[Henry Hammer]

I have done a few leather projects now and was wondering what you guy's use for a finish. I have finished mine with Fiebings dye and then used neatsfoot oil to protect it. I was just wondering if there is an advantage to using the super sheen? Or if any of you have any other ideas, pro's and con's that would be great.

[Carbon Caster]

I use and have used both.  It normally depends on what the item is going to be used for.  I also like shoe cote waterproofing very well.  I used it on the last couple of sheaths I built.  

The Super sheen is more like a clear coat that goes over the leather, the neetsfoot oil and the shoe cote inpregnate the leather and are a better choice for items that will see a lot of outdoor use in my opinion.  YMMV.

[Henry Hammer]

Thank you for the tips CC these items are armguards and hip quivers so far. But I am going to be doing some sheaths, holsters and slings etc.

[autobows]

I used "Workzone" SaddleSoap for a cleaner/preservative followed by "Workzone" WeatherProofer to condition and waterproof. I bought it at TSC (or Quality Farm and Fleet).
I used it on a new pair of expensive leather shoes.  It worked great...softened the leather plus water actually beads up on top of them.  I'm sure it could be used for various other applications.

[Pat B]

I owned a custom leather shop in Savannah, many years ago, and I always used mink oil on leather as a preservative and Feibing's Resoline(?) as the finish coat(acrylic top coating). Neatsfoot oil has silicon in it and it will clog the pores of the leather and will eventually cause the leather to rot.
  Now all I use is Montana Pitch Blend on all my leather goods. MPB is a mixture of mink oil, bees wax and pine pitch and is an excellent leather treatment.

[Quill Flinger]

For me it depends on the leather. Garment leather I treat differently than saddle leather. If you're using neatsfoot oil then it's likely saddle leather.

For saddle leather, it now depends on the function of the item...laffs. For harnesses, outdoor belts & such exposed to the weather regularily, the best thing I've found is Cocoline. I've seen English harnesses over 150 years old in perfect condition that were always treated with it. It's been around awhile. It will darken the leather some however & acts as a waterproof.

As Pat says, do not use a silicon product as it does not really penetrate but remains on the surface not allowing the leather to "breathe" properly. In a damp climate siliconed leather will rot, in a dry climate it will harden & crack.

For a home made type thing you can just add waxes to pure neatsfoot, or mink, or other similar oil with a little heat. The more wax you use, the greater the sheen. Some waxes produce a higher sheen than others, thought difficult to see any difference after a time really. The neatsfoot oil I get doesn't have any silicon, must cost a penny more so we don't get it up here in Canada....LOL.

[jhinaz]

+1 for Montana Pitch Blend.     - John

[BowHuntingFool]

I just made a Quiver for my son. I dyed it with Fiebings Dye, polished it then used Montana Pitch Blend to finish it off with! Turned out great!    

[pete Darby @ home]

I use atom bomb, or super sheene normally.  I find it doesn't change the color any like some of the soak in finishes.  If the leather goes agains my clothes I use several layers of super sheene since it totally isolates the dyed leather from my sweaty clothes.

[tim roberts]

Another thumbs up for Montana Pitch Blend......All natural, no petroleum products to stink!