Wested lambskin distressing technique

[RichardSK]

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i10/r ... CF0928.jpg
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http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i10/r ... CF0941.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i10/r ... CF0923.jpg
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http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i10/r ... CF0936.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i10/r ... CF0927.jpg
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My lambskin is now just over four months old. I began by rubbing it with alchohol to remove the sheen. I wore it all the time in the house and even to bed when the wife was away on business. I balled it up and put it under the matress and the sofa cushion to wrinkle and soften.
I did three complete cold water soakings to improve drape and remove dye from the lining. So much color came out that I'm glad I wasn't wearing it when it got wet or it would have ruined my pants and shirt. The third time I soaked it, I scrunched up the sleeves, balled up the jacket and put it in a plastic bag for a day with the air sqeezed out. All three times I dried it by hanging it in the sun turning it inside out also for the lining to dry. The inside pocket was pinned shut so it wouldn't sag or stretch.
I tried the acetone method but didn't like the results so I decided to sand it. I used a 3M SandBlaster sanding sponge in 180 fine while wearing the jacket. To do the back I obviously had to remove it.
The unfinished lamb is not a pretty color so I went over the jacket with different washes of varying mixtures of raw and burnt umber and sienna oils.
I am now waiting to perhaps give it a coat of Pecards but I don't want a glossy finish.
Let me know what you think.

[Indiana G]

awesome looking jacket richardsk. is that an 80's cut jacket?

[RichardSK]

Yes

[Kt Templar]

That is a nice looking jacket SK, I wouldn't have the courage to 'paint' my jacket I must admit. It certainly doesn't look 4 months old either!

[RichardSK]

It is not painting the jacket but using the diluted oils to color the sanded areas wher the finish has been removed.
As an aside, just noticed the member rating system below our names. I haven't been an archaeology student in over twenty years - I got my degree.

[Kt Templar]

Yeh gads! I didn't mean that in a bad way! It's just such a novel approach, others have used boot polish, pecards and even coffee .

[eaglecrow]

you did a real good job on this jacket, well done

[e.m.t. jones]

incredible, I think its one of the best distressing jobs I've seen. I agree the that the color you end up with after sanding or acetone dosent look good at all. IMO the jacket in the movies has a orange color to it,(distressed areas) wich to me has a better contrast to it. I did not like the acetone results myself so I went with light sanding and wire brushing. I used pecards with tint to achieve that orange look , in person you can tell my jacket is broken in, in pics it might be hard to tell, but it dosent look like it was dragged across the country. I dont think indys did either, infact IMO most the scenes you cant even tell its been distressed, it shows best in bright sunlight scenes along a constant layer dust. I also noticed that his jacket still has shine to it in areas that were not distressed so heavy.I will definetly research this oil process, can you tell us is a certain dilution to it and what did you useto dilute it ?Just wondering if this could be a possible correcting measure for those who feel they over distressed a jacket.

[RichardSK]

If you look at the first photo at the top of the page you see everything that I used. Play with the mix for the right dilution - don't over thin.