hOW TO APPLY!
Hey thanks for trusting us with your leather goods! Our care for your leather items doesn't stop after your purchase, we want to make sure you know the best ways to apply your balm and soap for your specific situation as well as any other. After all, I am a regular leathercrafter and solely rely on my balm as a finish! You can find more specific information of leather care HERE.
If you're looking to make the best of your leather balm or soap, you've come to the right place!
sADDLE SOAP DIRECTIONS
1- Start with brushing your leather. It’s important to remove as much abrasive dirt and dust as possible. A horsehair brush or microfiber cloth is best for avoiding abrasive damage.
2- Use a damp rag to agitate and lather the soap.
3- Apply across a small portion of your leather. Use a dry rag to brush off the excess soap. Continue this across your entire leather item.
4- Once finished, you can wipe down your leather with water on a towel to remove any unseen soap residue left behind. It's recommended to not oversaturate the leather with water as this will cause it to dry out more.
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Important note: Soap is soap, no matter how it’s advertised. Soap will never have a balanced pH that is anywhere close to leather. You will hear it time and time again, but it's a load of ignorance or lies! It’s recommended to apply leather balm or oil afterwards to mitigate the drying from saddle soap and water. Our soap contains excess mink oil and lanolin for this purpose!
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5- If you have a leather balm handy, wait for your leather to dry before applying. Bluebelly Leather Balm only needs a light coat to be effective!
Also important to note that leather balm is not needed per se for chrome tanned leather.
6- Sit back, brush it off when it’s dry and watch er’ shine! I really appreciate your support! In case you didn't know, we currently dedicate 10% of our soap profits to charity that benefit the families of firefighters that have lost their family member in the line of duty. See more info of the charity we support here!
lEATHER BALM DIRECTIONS
1- Brush any dirt or dust from your leather, or use a saddle soap for really filthy leather.
2- Start with your applicator of choice: your bare fingers or a lint-free cloth. It’s skin safe!
2- Apply a light layer to dry leather for excellent lubrication and a great shine.
3- Wait for the leather to dry before buffing off to a shine. Preferred materials are a horsehair brush or microfiber cloth.
4- Now relax knowing your leather is being taken care of! I appreciate your purchase, hope to see ya again! In case you didn't know, we currently dedicate 10% of our balm profits to charity that benefit the families of law enforcement officers that have lost their family member in the line of duty. See more info of the charity we support here!
DEAR LEATHER CRAFTERS...
I have used, tested and relied heavily on my balm as a finish for the last few years while making adjustments to the recipe. If I didn't make a balm worth my time and investment, I would swallow my pride and continue to use the "mystery white juice" that you commonly find in any leather crafting store. However, I found that it was less frustrating to get an even, non-cracking finish that lasts a long time!
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Just like the "mystery white juice," or any other finish, you have to be mindful of how much you put on. More balm does not mean more shine, it means more wax on top and more oil inside. For objects that you will need to bend like wallets, belts and cuffs, a thick layer of balm can cause visible cracks, similar to "pull-up" leathers, although the cracks are simply the excess wax you applied. Quite literally spreading enough balm just to coat the surface will give your product a beautiful sheen without any cracking. Be sure to buff it off after it dries, this will give it that bluebelly shine!