/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Rhodesian Camo !!+iBQ3vg1oeG No.619745]

Any leatherworkers here can help me out with this?

I received this rucksack today.

The leather straps arrived very dry and were cracking, and other miscellaneous leather parts on it were hard.

I gave it a coat or two of olive oil and that appeared to make the leather more supple. I'm currently letting the leather absorb the oil. Is there any more that I need to do?

If it helps, the leather is "chromium tanned" as shown by its yellowish color.

[Rhodesian Camo !!+iBQ3vg1oeG No.619746]

My other issue is the color of the leather parts.

I would prefer the yellowed leather to match the more natural, darker leather of the flaps' trim. Like pic related.

How should I proceed in dying this?

I assume that a water-based dye would be best so that the finished leather is not dry, correct?

[Anonymous No.619758]

saddle soap will help condition, clean, and maintain your straps, though i am not sure about dyeing leather once it's been tanned already.

[Anonymous No.619932]

>>619745
>I gave it a coat or two of olive oil
Olive oil will go rancid over time and will eventually promote the further degeneration of the leather.

Even if you'd used the ideal leather dressing (maybe neatsfoot oil) you can't reverse the damage done by drying and cracking I'm afraid, it's all downhill from here as far as those straps go.

>If it helps, the leather is "chromium tanned" as shown by its yellowish color.
You can't judge tanning method by the colour of the leather.

>>619746
I think an alcohol-based stain would be your best bet. Problem is you need the leather to be ungreasy for these to penetrate properly!

[Anonymous No.619941]

This thread is relevant to my interests

I too have a canvas bag with horrible leather problems. It got really badly soaked a few years back and the straps and trim have gone hard, some have even snapped from being rendered so inflexible.

I'd like to have a go at refurbishing it as it's a really nice bag, Billingham 550, and I love the patina on the canvas. The question is where should I buy the leather from? Would an equestrian source be suitable? (I mean a tack shop, not Horse leather...)

[Anonymous No.619948]

Take hair conditioner and rub it on the leather, let it soak in. Repeat until as soft as desired. I use it on my SCA armor. Also, makes it smell good.

[Anonymous No.619950]

After

[Anonymous No.619951]

Before

[Rhodesian Camo !!+iBQ3vg1oeG No.619970]

>>619932
I got "chromium tanned" from what other collectors told me about those rucksacks.

So should I just buy some neatsfoot oil then re-oil the whole thing again?

[Karl Gaiser No.619988]

Hi chromium tanned leather has a light blue-grey colour. Straps are mainly tanned with synthetic and plant tanning agent, so that they don't stretch. You were advised to use hair conditioner, I think this is a very good idea use body lotion after that. By the way nothing will rot, because it is tanned. if you want to dye, dye first. You can use thee and coffee or textile dye.

[Anonymous No.619989]

Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP

[Anonymous No.619998]

>>619745
Where did you get that sack, Rhodie? Would love one for edc.

[Rhodesian Camo !!+iBQ3vg1oeG No.620031]

>>619998
eBay. It's a French bergan. They don't show up too often and Indochina/Algeria collectors go crazy when they do.

I got lucky on this one since it's on the older, more used side.

I think there's a Swiss version.

>>619988
Thanks for the info. So should I just apply the stuff over the olive oil?

[Rhodesian Camo !!+iBQ3vg1oeG No.620036]

>>620031
>>619998
Here's the same model but in very bad condition, even worse than the one I posted.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Used-French-Army-Rucksack-Backpack-Leather-Trimming-1960s-/151266778882?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item233833df02

This one is more expensive, but in new condition.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vtg-50s-French-Algerian-war-TAP-era-canvas-leather-backpack-rucksack-army-bag-/161252032467?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item258b5ebfd3

It is also in Britain, so internatinal shipping will be more expensive, and it may be from way after the Algerian war judging by the zipper and green tint of the fabric (key word: may; colors often look funny in photos).

[Anonymous No.620493]

OP this is a DIYer who occasionally posts here about leather projects, so here I am again. You have many options here, your absolute best bet would be expensive and time consuming but in the end the leather will never fail you, your kids, or their kids--it will last that long if maintained. Simply put, your best bet would be to replace the straps. From what it looks like they used leather straps and glued soft leather covers on the front and back so they makers can achieve a soft leather feel, similar to how they make cheap cardboard belts. You can buy leather from all sorts of places online, and then cut it up, dye it, shape it and anything else for whatever you need.

I can go more into that if thats what you want to do. If not, its difficult to revitalize leather, like people have said before. You can try a bunch of leather conditioners, and do wash after wash, soak after soak but if its gone too long without it, you're SOL.

As for dying, I've only ever used water based dyes myself, they require the leather to be supple and porous, as in wet. If you can't renew the leather, then again you're SOL.

OP it looks like you have a hell of a pack, I would redo the leather straps, and it will work like a champ. Another, not as attractive, option you have would be to replace the leather straps with cotton or nylon ones. It won't look as good, but it will be better than the current ones, which will break within a year of moderate to heavy use.

[Anonymous No.620568]

>>619970
>So should I just buy some neatsfoot oil then re-oil the whole thing again?
Doubt it's worth it TBH.

>>619988
>Hi chromium tanned leather has a light blue-grey colour.
Da fuq? Most modern leather products produced for Western and Asian markets are chrome-tanned.

Are they all a light blue-grey colour??? Of course they're bloody not.

>>620493
Word.

I was gonna suggest replacement, but thought it wouldn't meet with OP's requirements.

[ard No.620652]

>>619745
Looks gay

[Anonymous No.620923]

Rhodesian! Fellow /k/ommado here.

I was very jelly of that pack when you posted it the other day. I hope you get it restored, it's gorgeous.

[Rhodesian Camo !!+iBQ3vg1oeG No.621670]

>>620568
So it is possible then to re-oil the leather with Neatsfoot Oil even after the first Olive Oil coat?

The leather right now is a lot more pliable. There's still a few places it's "curling" but it's not nearly as dry as it used to be.

[Rhodesian Camo !!+iBQ3vg1oeG No.621828]

>>621670
Here's what most of the leather looks like so far.

I understand that it will never get back to perfect condition. I just want something passable, as in better than what I have now.

[Rhodesian Camo !!+iBQ3vg1oeG No.621830]

>>621828
This is the curled part I was talking about.

[Rhodesian Camo !!+iBQ3vg1oeG No.621831]

>>621830
This is the worst cracked part.

It's a lot more supple now and a lot "moister" than it used to be.

So should I just get a bottle of Neatsfoot oil and apply it to all of the leather?

[Anonymous No.622396]

>>621831
>So should I just get a bottle of Neatsfoot oil and apply it to all of the leather?
Like I said, I doubt it's worth it TBH.

Since you've already put olive oil on it there's no real point in going to something better now. I'd just go with moisturiser or hair conditioner at this point.

[Rhodesian Camo !!+iBQ3vg1oeG No.622686]

I found out I can remove the yellow color using alcohol and/or acetone.

It looks like someone painted the dye onto the surface.

Anyone know a more powerful remover for this kind of job?

The acetone is pretty strong, but it still requires a bit of scrubbing.

I was thinking denatured alcohol.

[Anonymous No.622737]

>>622686
>I found out I can remove the yellow color using alcohol and/or acetone.
Good news. Looks way better with it removed.

>I was thinking denatured alcohol.
Weaker than acetone. Simplest stronger solvent of the right type would be lacquer thinner / cellulose thinners (might be called either in your neck of the woods).

Condition the leather after using solvents!

[Anonymous No.624118]

>>619745
>I gave it a coat or two of olive oil and that appeared to make the leather more supple.
Use a proper leather creme instead.

>I would prefer the yellowed leather to match the more natural, darker leather of the flaps'

Use some soapy water to clean the oil off the surface or else it won't soak in.
Then stain the leather with boot polish. Liquid kind works, and so does the Kiwi nugget if you flame it.

Finish it off with leather creme.

[Anonymous No.624119]

>>624118
Actually, after looking at the picture it seems to have some kind of lacquer. I would give it a light sand.

[Anonymous No.624159]

>>624118
>>624119
Kinda late to the party there son.

[Rhodesian Camo !!+iBQ3vg1oeG No.624522]

I managed to finish it last night.
Interestingly, it looks like they mixed 2 types of leather and painted over it with that yellow-orange dye. This was probably because my rucksack was made very soon after the Algerian War, so the factory probably wanted to use old parts they had lying around so they wouldn't go to waste.

Some of the leather I was able to remove the dye and get back the natural color; the rest of it looked grey once the dye was removed, so I had to use a dark brown dye on those parts to match the natural color I recovered on other parts.

Either way, here's how it came out.

[Rhodesian Camo !!+iBQ3vg1oeG No.624524]

>>624522

[Anonymous No.624549]

>>624522
>>624524
Looks much nicer with the Yellow crap removed.

[Anonymous No.625749]

>>624522
>>624524
Huge improvement in looks, nice job OP.