How do I antique leather?

[ironhat]

I'm using leather for the hinges and maybe the pulls on a bathroom cabinet for our cabin. It's turning into more of a craft project than I had planned - I'll show it later. Anyway, I'm using a belt but since the cabinet is muti layers of scuffed paint the new leather looks out of place. I tried sanding some leather and it looks, well, sanded. Maybe sanding, painting and more sanding? Odd question, I know. I hope you guys aren't injured when you see this thing and you fall off your chair laughing. The wife likes it so that's all that counts.

[cabinetman]

Antiquing requires you to keep it for 100 years to qualify. No, really, some belt leather is dyed and you might just end up with that scuffed look. I would imagine you would have to actually weather it outdoors in the sun (if you have any). You might try wetting it unevenly and stick it outside, or, try a heat gun to see if it discolors.

Or, take the face and lay it on different types of surfaces and bang it with a hammer.

If the back is the rough suede like natural hide, that also might be a consideration.
.

[Uncle Cracker]

Get some skin off an old cow???

[Tom Slick]

IIRC you can sand it if you want the scuffed look and I think ammonia will fade/distress it a bit.

[ironhat]

I believe I'll try a combo of distressing, scuffing (gotta prevent linear scratches) and ammonia. Sunlight? What the heck is that. We haven't had much precip this winter (very bad thing) but no precip for the pain of the gloom. Thanks, folks!

[oakchas]

Sir Chiz,

Antique leather hinges/straps tend to be cracked and split quite a bit, especially where the natural crease/fold is.

I guess I would try wetting (actually soaking) the leather... then dry it... in the dryer or oven, maybe even folding it where the natural fold would be. You might have to do this repeatedly and you would have to do it before attaching to the box or whatever.

Small nicks parallel to the fold and perpendicular to the belt could be cut with a sharp knife. Wire brushing in random motion would help too. Most belts have a finish on them, you've got to break that down for any real "aging" to occur.

I used to do quite a bit of leather work. most off the shelf belts are so "treated" they resist any wear. For best reults... you might look for a Tandy leather outlet in your area and buy some leather scraps.. prolly only a couple of bucks and most of the owners are very helpful.

[jking]

Here's a couple more options. Can you find an old pair of work boots? Maybe something that's been worn for about a year & is well weathered? You might be able to cut a piece of leather out of that to use. Or, look for a shoe/boot repair shop. They are becoming rare, but, there's still some around. They might have some old boots or even some untreated leather.

Whatever you end up doing, you might try to find some neatsfoot oil. It used to be common to oil workboots, baseball gloves, etc. It tends to darken the leather some.

[iceman61]

Ditto on Tandy leather. That's where we used to get our leather supplies when I was in Boy Scouts years ago. They have workshops so they should be about to tell you exactly what you need to know unlike most stores that just sell products. I also ran across this link while doing a Google search on "how to antique leather". Good luck.


http://reviews.ebay.com/How-to-Antiq...:-1:LISTINGS:4

[ironhat]

Dang, the closest Tandy's is 2 hours. I looked at 'Michael's' arts and crafts chain but they only carried very thin and already finished leather. I wish that I had the boots that I just threw away just before I started this project. This project is getting long in the toot, for sure. The lesson from the e-bay link was really good - thanks, iceman. Thanks to all. I have alread cut and fitted the hinge straps which are actually quite short at maybe 1.25" and scored the back of them so that they open without want to slap you upside the head whith the built in auto-close feature. LOL!
Now, I have to find some boots... I was just thinking that when I mounted the hinges and tested them there was a sag issue so I had to lift the door and redrill the holes so that the door didn't drag when opening/ closing. Boot leather may be too thin. Ah, the quest continues. Hey, I appreciate *evey* suggestion very much. Thanks, and keep thinking.

[oakchas]

found one about an hour away from Chambersburg.

The Leather Factory #03 HARRISBURG
Toll Free: 800-233-7155
Manager: Chris Hatter 1818 N Cameron
Harrisburg, PA 17103-1020

I know it's a bit of a drive... so prolly not worth the effort... but call 'em and see if they'll send you somethin?

[ironhat]

Thanks, oakchas. I save up my Harbor Freight and Woodcraft lists for a combined trip. Of course, when I get there the HF clamps are all picked over and Woodcraft only has 50% of what I want. I should have done a search for Tandys instead of relying on memory. This project has taken on the same problem that I run into with most projects (as told in the poll) - I get frustrated that it's taking longer than anticipated. I have to learn to go with the flow. That said, I have to get this one to the cabin so I'm abandoning any further work on the hinges. They go up as-is which is, sanded with 80 grit so that they look more suede. I'll let time do the rest. Many thanks again.