Ohhhhh Cr*p!!

[Bigblue17]

A few weeks ago I made this knife and posted some pics of it here. I have finally gotten around to making the sheath for it and all was going sooo well...... until the very last step!!

You can clearly see the white(ish) marks on the top-left side of the sheath. I believe this to be a new brand of dried, cracked neutral shoe polish (Kiwi) that I worked into the leather quite well before letting it dry. I then polished as normal and finished with a thin coating of "Master" Quick Shine spay. I'm guessing that I didn't work the shoe polish into the leather well enough in this section and it has cracked when the leather bent slightly putting the knife into the sheath. This is quite unacceptable!!

Is there a way to strip off the Quick Shine spray...... without ruining the dyed leather so I can clean it up? The spraycan lable gives me no clue on how to do this.

[Crex]

Understand the screaming "O-C" message.
Not had that problem before but acetone might remove the finish. Probably have to figure on the whole sheath. It would be shear luck to get just a spot removal to match back up. Might could squeak by with stopping mid way under your wrap, but that's be iffy for sure.
Nice knife and sheath by the way.

[sheathmaker]

Feibing's #12 Deglazer should work. It's availabe from Tandy/Leather factory or any place that carries Feibings. It might be a little better for the leather and particularly for the products you've already used although Acetone is a good cleaner also. The main thing you need to accomplish is to remove all the polish and top coats you have applied and you'll probably have to deglaze the whole sheath.

I would not recommend shoe polish either as a color agent or as a preservative on a new leather project. It's really great for shoes, hence the name "shoe plolish"..Pure neatsfoot oil (sparingly applied) until you get a color you like and then Feibing's TanKote to seal and finally if you want a satin shine use Tandy NeatLac. If the oil does not produce the color you want then you will have to use dye. I would do it after the first application of Neatsfoot oil and then follow the procedure as above, but only after the dye has dried thoroughly and has the top residue buffed off really well with a paper towel.

The down side to all this epistle is that if you really worked the polish into the leather then it is going to be very difficult to get it all out so the end result in spite of your best efforts could turn out "splotchy" good Luck.

Paul

[Bigblue17]

Paul - Thank you very much for the advice. I've found a local source for the Deglazer so that's what I'm going with. Will the deglazer also dissolve/remove the shoe polish? If not, I think I just have to remove the spray shine to let me get at the underlying polish. If that works, then I'm hoping all I have to do is re-work the polish into the leather.

To say "I've learned my lesson" is un understatement, and your advice on the product I should use is GREATLY appreciated. This is my fourth real sheath and to this point its been trial by error. This forum and folks like you continue to offer folks like me an on-going education that is priceless.

I'll post a "post-op" update in a few days.

THANK YOU!!

BB

[sheathmaker]

The deglazer will certainly remove a lot of the shoe polish, but like I said if will be difficult to get it all if you really worked it in. Some residue of the polish won't really hurt, but you may have to reapply some more polish to get a even look and then if you use that spray shine again it could take you right back to square one. I think I'd be satisfied with the satin sheen you get by just buffing the polish with a soft cloth this time.

Then be sure to use the more "friendly" products I mentioned on your next porject.

Paul