Hi all - my question is relating to creating a distressed look for leather. i have a bought bag which is in black leather and has a zip. Is there any way to artificially distress the leather to create an antique look? Thanks.
Distressing Leather
- Thread starter Realbark
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the only way i know of distressing leather involves shaking your knobbly bits at cows, and i dont think thats what you had in mind is it?
Dave
Dave
It would help to see the bag as it is now ~ and can you post a pic of the type of wear/antiquing/distressing you'd like to achieve.
While I mop up the sprayed red wine and if it dosent swerve your thread Realbark I'd be interested in knowing how to distress veg tan with out the gratuitous shaking of wobbly bits
Ive been the wobbly bits route and they wernt distressed at all, just mildly embarrassed 
Pic here - the rear sidebag is the new and the front bag is the look id like to achieve. It was black but is now an off-black brown distressed finish (as best i can describe it)
Pic here - the rear sidebag is the new and the front bag is the look id like to achieve. It was black but is now an off-black brown distressed finish (as best i can describe it)
Acetone rubbed over sparingly is good followed up by some work with a 3M scouring pad. I've got a couple of the Wested Indiana Jones Raider jackets and used that method to make them look well worn.
Firstly ~ artificial distressing is more than likely to void any warranty. Secondly ~ practice on something which doesn't matter. Thirdly, and most importantly ~ It's your choice to distress or not. Don't stuff up a perfectly good bag with quick or rash choices.
Is the front bag the one directly below the saddle or the tool roll behind the front wheel? If it's the tool roll, the leather looks very 'dry' (has had the tanning process oils stripped out) and as JD said, acetone will aid with that.
The aging that exists is by weathering ~ the reaction of the piece all types of scouring crud either being pressure sprayed into it or otherwise, driven into
.... Water, road grease and grime, grit, salt etcSo to fake/quickly distress to reasonably imitate the look you want, you need fake the conditions ~ but in an accelerated format ~ in effect it has been wetted, sweated and sand blased!
A piece the size you want to distress is probably going to take a whole chunk of time to distress ~ it might be less work to just blatt up and down some roads and allow it to age naturally
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i have the time to "distress" it. The road method would probably not work as the sidebag is not exposed to road grime etc that the toolroll is.Firstly ~ artificial distressing is more than likely to void any warranty. Secondly ~ practice on something which doesn't matter. Thirdly, and most importantly ~ It's your choice to distress or not. Don't stuff up a perfectly good bag with quick or rash choices.
Is the front bag the one directly below the saddle or the tool roll behind the front wheel? If it's the tool roll, the leather looks very 'dry' (has had the tanning process oils stripped out) and as JD said, acetone will aid with that. It is the toolroll
The aging that exists is by weathering ~ the reaction of the piece all types of scouring crud either being pressure sprayed into it or otherwise, driven into
So to fake/quickly distress to reasonably imitate the look you want, you need fake the conditions ~ but in an accelerated format ~ in effect it has been wetted, sweated and sand blased!
A piece the size you want to distress is probably going to take a whole chunk of time to distress ~ it might be less work to just blatt up and down some roads and allow it to age naturally
I know the question in this instance relates to a bike bag. However i guess im looking for a method that could be rolled out to other products.
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i'm with you on this bud, some things need to be left, and let the air and the general use, and wear and tear, that comes with use to do it mate, i can see wear you are coming from, but its very hard to age leather, like the way it looks when time has done the job for you, i'm not saying you cant do it, because you can, but it just never looks like how something has been used over and over again does, i hope that makes sense.Firstly ~ artificial distressing is more than likely to void any warranty. Secondly ~ practice on something which doesn't matter. Thirdly, and most importantly ~ It's your choice to distress or not. Don't stuff up a perfectly good bag with quick or rash choices.
Is the front bag the one directly below the saddle or the tool roll behind the front wheel? If it's the tool roll, the leather looks very 'dry' (has had the tanning process oils stripped out) and as JD said, acetone will aid with that.
The aging that exists is by weathering ~ the reaction of the piece all types of scouring crud either being pressure sprayed into it or otherwise, driven into
So to fake/quickly distress to reasonably imitate the look you want, you need fake the conditions ~ but in an accelerated format ~ in effect it has been wetted, sweated and sand blased!
A piece the size you want to distress is probably going to take a whole chunk of time to distress ~ it might be less work to just blatt up and down some roads and allow it to age naturally
take care.
lee.
In most cases the only* method to give accurate distressing will be to try to emulate the life and wear a piece is likely to get ~ at a more rapid rate.
* For normal use ~ battered briefcases don't tend to fit in in most boardrooms
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Definitely easy to get it very wrong :yikes: . And wrong can look oh, so very wrong! :tongue-ti
There's something about leather and the way it ages that is exceptionally difficult to duplicate ~ even if it looks good at a distance it can look like day old road kill as you get nearer
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Thanks for the input all. I dont want to spoil it so ill live with it. If you dont ask n all that.....
Great minds think alike... err... well I know what I mean.
Hmm... think that makes it sound worse!
Hmm... think that makes it sound worse!
So - reversing the initial question i have removed the old tool roll and washed it and am treating it with Neatsfoot oil. It has soaked up a good bit (which i guess is to expected). The colour of the tool roll was originally black, as the newer bag - is a simple dye application the way to get it back-to-black?
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