how does leather darken????????

Question

i have a leather saddle and i keep putting darkening oil on it but it jst rurns part of it orange. wat do i doooooo?????

Answer 1

If you have a natural colored saddle...that is, no dye...or a light chestnut that you want to become dark chestnut, then you will wait a long time and use a lot oil and never get the results I'm assuming you're looking for.

I have had two saddles professionally dyed by the Amish harness maker near my house. The leather has to be deglazed, the deglazer has to be neutralized, then you can stain it a darker shade. I've had excellent results darkening chestnut and acceptable results turning brown to black. It will need to be "seasoned" afterwards or you can get dye bleeding onto your pants.

Answer 2

I've worked in a saddle shop for years, & the olny thing I can think of about the orange is bad dye..... But just about any oil will darken your saddle. I don't know what to do about your saddle..... I would get putting oil on it, if it were mine. Maybe get some saddle soap & scrub it real good then put some oil on it again. Good luck!!

Answer 3

Call a cobbler/shoe maker/shoe repair shop, if you can't find any in your area, look anywhere else and have them ship to you. They usually carry leather pigments and dye. A good one can walk you through the process of application of a particular type. Don't put it out in the sun, it will dry and crack the leather if you just leave it out. Also, try polish before the drastic measure of dye. A good tinted polish can darken slightly (have to use the solid stuff) but beware its only adding a topcoat, not actually changing the leather colour. Best of luck!

Answer 4

You did not say what color it was in the first place, but I would guess that it is turning orange because of other body oils on it. Did you clean it good before you put the darkening oil on it. What kind of darkening oil?

Answer 5

Age, use, regular cleaning with saddle soap will all darken leather. If you want to move it along quicker neatsfoot oil will darken it a bit faster or you can use stain made specifically for leather

Answer 6

If you wanna darken it (if that's what you are asking) put on some Lexol leather conditioner. It makes leather darker. My boots, saddle, etc. are all darker from it. Your saddle will probably get darker with a few coats of it, and will be in good condition and shiny soft :)

Answer 7

I agree with clarinetking28, neatsfoot oil does the trick relatively fast - that's what I've always used (and I prefer dark leather!). It's available at almost every tack shop and feed store.

Answer 8

Leather darkens with dirt, sweat and age.

Answer 9

the sun darkens saddles

Answer 10

you could paint it black...either way i dont think the horse will care