Many people love the unique look of aged leather material. The reason is that good leather types tend to appear cool after some years of use. If you want your leather to age prematurely, learn how to age leather. Thus, you can also achieve such a worn look with new leather without waiting for years to pass.
When you use a leather item for a long time, it wears out as the color begins to fade. You’ll also notice spots and other things that come with aging. The process gives it a distinct, vintage appearance that makes it look even better than when it was new.
This piece will show you how to achieve this weathered look in a fresh leather item in some simple steps.
How to Age Leather
Whether you want to know how to age leather jackets or how to age leather shoes, the natural way to go about it will be to use it frequently for a long time, and the years will reveal more of its beauty. But here are steps to beat the years and age of new leather.
How to Age Leather with Rubbing Alcohol
The things you’ll need for this process include:
- Rubbing alcohol
- Grit sandpaper
- A buffing brush
- Leather conditioner
- A bucket
- Rubber gloves
Step One
Fill the rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle for easy application while working on the leather material. You can get isopropyl alcohol from general stores or drug stores if you don’t have it at home.
Step Two
Put the leather you want to age into a bucket, wear the rubber gloves, and spray a generous quantity of rubbing alcohol to cover the leather item. The alcohol will help remove some color if the leather material is colored.
Step Three
Now begin to beat up the leather item; you can wring, squeeze tightly, and even crease it into a ball. The process will create folds and lines on the item’s surface. So, you can go as hard on the leather as how aged you want it to appear when you’re through with the process.
You can also apply some dirt and stains if you want more faded look. However, you should be careful not to go hard on stains like ink so that you won’t have to deal with removing ink stains from leather.
Step Four
When you are satisfied with beating up the leather, get it out of the bucket and place it on a flat surface. Then, scrape the leather surface with sandpaper till you achieve a worn look. You can work more on shoe heels, the elbow of jackets, and other exposed areas to show more aging signs.
If it’s a handbag and you want to know how to age leather strap, you can scrape that area harder to get a more worn look.
Step Five
Next is to condition the leather with a leather conditioner. You can apply it to the item using a soft cloth or a microfiber towel and remove the excess with a damp cloth. Then, buff using a clean rag or a soft brush to give it a fresh look.