Bag strap marks

Discuss technique for prolonging the life of your gear or giving it that aged look

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jedijoel
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Bag strap marks

Post by jedijoel »

I made a bag strap for my mkvii and at first it left little red crumbles on my shirt. I gave it some pecards and now it leaves a red smudge. Any recommendations about avoiding this?
Thanks,

Joel
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Post by Indiana Texas-girl »

How long did you let the Pecards soak in before you saw that it left a red smudge?
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Post by JohnNdy »

Argh! I feel your pain! I made my bag strap and it also leaves smudges from the leather dye all over my shirts! I don't wear my bag anymore because of it. As per the advice of Michaelson, there should be a leather sealant on the Tandy leather website that might take care of this...I looked but didn't know which one to order. I was thinking about taking sand paper to my strap to sand down to a layer where the dye didn't penetrate to - although I don't know how deep it is stained. Regardless, pecards won't help in this case (one of the few times it won't :)) no matter how long you let it dry. I pecarded mine about 2 months before going to Belize and Guatemala...and the strap really did a number on my shirts. If you look closely on some the stain is STILL visible. Anyway, sorry I didn't really offer much help, but I feel better having vented...

-John
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jedijoel
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Post by jedijoel »

Yeah, it has been about two months or so for mine I guess. I haven't ruined any shirts yet because I won't wear the bag until I know it won't stain. I guess I could check out the possibility of a sealer of some sort. I'm sorry to hear about your ruined shirts John, but I'm glad you could help me out before I did anything to mine. If I get something to work, I'll letcha know about it.

Regards,
Joel
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Post by Indiana Jess »

You might want to consider using Acetone on the strap to remove some of the dye without damaging the leather.
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Forrestal
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Post by Forrestal »

I used a sealer from Tandy Leather called "Satin Shene Leather Finish" #22009-00. Works for me! No stains on my shirt yet. A 4 ounce bottle cost me $3.49. Hope this helps.
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Forrestal
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Michaelson
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Just as a note...

Post by Michaelson »

...and to restate advice given before....be careful using leathers that are used in items such as harness or animal restraining items (leashes) as those leather contain water soluable dyes that will release immediately upon getting damp. No amount of acetone or wetting will completely remove this dye as it's impregnated through the entire core of the leather and not applied on the surface. You need to obtain either sealed hide, or non dyed leather from a leather supply that can be dyed and sealed from scratch. That's why you'll find the MBA and Kepler straps usually unsealed or in the rough on the back side, as they are devoid of leather dyes, and will accept Pecards quite readily. But using pre-dyed harnass like leather will create this dye to shirt transfer everytime. Regards. Michaelson
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Post by Forrestal »

Michaelson makes a good point. It should be noted that my strap did infact start out un-dyed. I applied the dye to only one side of the strap, but I used the sealer on the entire thing. Just FYI
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Rundquist
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Post by Rundquist »

My advice, go with a Keppler and sleep well at night. Cheers






(grin)


:D
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Post by Indiana John »

I agree...

the Keppler strap is the way to go, if you're looking to avoid the dye release problem.

<-- I wore mine at the recent summit (pictured left), specifically for that purpose, because I knew I'd be pretty sweaty. Rankini can vouch, it was hot outside!

-john
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Post by Indiana Texas-girl »

My Keppler strap bleeds. (schwammy can attest to that) But it only happens when I'm outside and sweating.
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Post by Rabittooth »

Indiana Texas-girl wrote:...But it only happens when I'm outside and sweating.
Don't you mean "glowing"? :wink:

If my Grandmother were to ever catch you admitting to sweating...my oh my... :D

-Rabittooth
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Post by Indiana Texas-girl »

Rabittooth wrote: Don't you mean "glowing"? :wink:

If my Grandmother were to ever catch you admitting to sweating...my oh my... :D

-Rabittooth
Oh yes, I meant "glowing". You'll have to excuse my poor manners. Is your grandmother from the South? Sounds like she has some Southern Charm in her.
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Post by Rabittooth »

Indiana Texas-girl wrote: Oh yes, I meant "glowing". You'll have to excuse my poor manners. Is your grandmother from the South? Sounds like she has some Southern Charm in her.
Nah...Charm she's got, but we're all Yankees... she's an Old School gal though...and they all attended that same old schoolhouse didn't they? 8)
BTW...is it true that the term "Yankee" is derogatory in the South?

-Rabittooth
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Post by Indiana Texas-girl »

Rabittooth wrote: BTW...is it true that the term "Yankee" is derogatory in the South?
-Rabittooth
Pretty much! Unfortunately, it's used as a term of disdain, which is why I don't use the term unless I'm talking about the baseball team.
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Post by Rabittooth »

Indiana Texas-girl wrote:
Rabittooth wrote: BTW...is it true that the term "Yankee" is derogatory in the South?
-Rabittooth
Pretty much! Unfortunately, it's used as a term of disdain, which is why I don't use the term unless I'm talking about the baseball team.
Damnn Yankees! :P

-Rabittooth
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Correct...

Post by Michaelson »

...in the South there are two types of Yankees....Yankees, and #### Yankees. The difference? Yankees come to visit, #### Yankees come to stay! (told to me by an old North Carolina cousin years ago). :wink: Regards. Michaelson
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Post by jedijoel »

I used the super shene stuff and I think it did the trick. It really does make it look very shiny. So far no red marks, but only time will tell.
Joel
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Post by Forrestal »

I used the Satin Shene. It's supposed to be less shinny. This stuff works! I wore my bag for 9 days straight in the sun and heat of Cape Cod and Boston in late july. Not a smudge on any of my shirts.
Regards,
Forrestal
Last edited by Forrestal on Mon Sep 02, 2002 3:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
whipwarrior

Post by whipwarrior »

I've never had trouble with my M.B.A. strap, as the underside of it is raw, unfinished leather. It stays in place when moving, and there is no dye to bleed onto my shirt. I'm considering a Keppler bag strap, but how can I be sure that it won't bleed? I'd appreciate any comments, pros or cons, from Keppler bag strap owners. Thanks guys.

-Dale
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Post by Forrestal »

I made my strap. A piece of 72" x 1" leather strap. Small bottle of chocolate brown dye. Small bottle of satin shene sealer. Dye it, let it dry, seal it ,let it dry, Pecard it, let it dry. All this stuff was from my local Tandy Leather store. For about $9.00 and 1/2 hour work ( not counting drying time) I was set.
Just my 2 cents.
Regards,
Forrestal
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Post by Jonesy »

I have to agree with Rundquist and Fenderking, just order yourself a Keppler strap.

I have the ToD strap and couldn't be happier!! It's been though to #### and back with me and never had any problems!!
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Post by vulanth »

Have any of you guys ever tried taking a plain strip of undyed leather and saturating it in a pot of melted pecards? (just heat on the stove over low heat til it's liquid) After the leather dries, the color is perfect, I think. It softens up the stiff leather very nicely, and solves the dye problem. It's what I did for my strap. I'll take a picture of it if I can ever figure out where the digital camera got to.
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Post by Indiana Texas-girl »

Yikes! Let me get this right...
You put Pecards in cooking pot, heated to liquid state, and put your strap in there? Wasn't it kinda hard to get the Pecards out of the pot?
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Post by Rixter »

The one I've seen posted on the old COW was:

http://www.tandyleather.com/
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Post by vulanth »

So long as you get the pecards out while it's still molten and very runny it ought to be easy. just don't let it cool. It'd a ##### to get out then. Of course, if it cools, you may always heat it back up. If there's a thin film of it left after pouring it out, you can just wipe it clean with a paper towel (again, easiest if the stuff is still hot and melted), and clean the pot as you normally would to get rid of any other residues that might still be there.
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