Looking for DIY Leather Tips (dying leather, oiling suede, etc.)

I was nosing around on eBay and found this glorious skirt, by Kiki de Montparnasse. It is listed as 'oiled suede', and I love the finish. LOVE. But I don't $600-plus-shipping love it. I'm going to swing by Goodwill and some other thrift stores to find a suede piece to try a DIY out on.

I did some research online, and waxing with Otter Wax seems to keep coming up as an alternative with similar results - but I thought I would check in here and see if any of you have other products you have used and recommend - and any tips in the process of oiling or waxing suede. I recall some of the YLF'ers have done amazing things with leather dyes and paints.

And for that matter, I would love to hear about leather dying and painting recommendations for shoes and bags. Products, tips, etc.

(I put this post under 'Dressing'. I figured if my experiment is a success, I'll be dressing in what I hope will be an oiled suede skirt. Or waxed).

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9 years ago

carter

Veteran

Oooh! I have noideas for you,but please keepus posted. I have a suede jacket I'd love to try this on:-).

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

I do too, Carter! But before I do it, I'm going to locate some inexpensive suede to test this out on.

Here are some links I found last night:

This one has some good tips, but I don't think I would use Briwax. Imagine getting in your car and then realizing the fumes hadn't fully gone away like you thought!

http://www.improvisedlife.com/.....-new-look/

These guys seem to almost unanimously endorse Otter Wax, but their link to tutorials isn't working...

http://www.styleforum.net/t/30.....w-benefits

And as I was typing this, I JUST found this link, Carter!

http://www.otterwax.com/blogs/.....e-tutorial

I'm going to order the large-size block of the Fabric Wax and go find myself some suede to play with. I'll keep you posted!

(I'm also thinking I'll use any leftover fabric wax on an old thrifted trench coat of mine, and see what happens)

It occurs to me that one of the tests will need to be what happens if I wax a skirt or jacket - will it rub off on upholstery, or melt and get icky if someone is running their heater?

JAileen

I wasn't sure what you were asking about in the your original post. I looked at the Otter Wax tutorial. It looks like what we did years ago with Snoseal, applying it to boots and jeans. We skiied in Levi's!

Regarding the wax on upholstery, I read somewhere that you shouldn't wear a waxed Barbour jacket on car seats because the wax would get on the upholstery. And in winter I have the seat heaters on all the time. I had bought a couple of jackets last year and ended up returning them because I didn't like the greasy feel left on my hands, just while trying them on. I really loved the jackets otherwise. I don't know if you were planning on using Otter wax or some other kind of wax. I don't remember the consistency of Snoseal.

Ah! I want to get that beautiful finish, like the skirt in the photos has, without tpetroleum chemicals or a chemical smell clinging to the garment. I have a vintage suede skirt I might try this out on, but first I'm going to go get something suede from a thrift store, to test it out.

I forgot about Sno Seal! Sno seal came up on some threads I saw, people had good things to say about the waterproofing. I'm not as worried about waterproofing, but if it gives that pretty finish to the suede, then yes!

I just found this link, about halfway down there is a before/after of suede boots.

http://www.askandyaboutclothes.....or-hard-we...

Skiing in Levis is pretty impressive!

In the style forum they showed a suede jacket that they kind of distressed. I liked how it turned out.

Snoseal does give "that" kind of finish. I think you're supposed to heat it so it melts on the item. Also I think it's beeswax so no nasty smell.

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