(Finished) Suede and covering pickle barrel.

Scorpus · Post by **Scorpus** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 10:12 am

Howdy folks,
I am in the process of covering a pickle barrel breast/back plate with suede. What I am wondering is a couple of thingsâ€¦

1.Does any one know of a spray on water resistant coating? I am not looking for it to be water proof but it rains a lot here in Washington state, so any water resistance is good.

2.I know suede can stretch but how much will it when it gets wet? I am curious to know how far it might stretch before tearing from a rattan sword strike.

3.Any tips or tricks from folks who have done it on care and feeding of said suede?

This is for SCA fighting and while it is not period (I know) it will look decent and be functional till I get the rest of my period kit completed. Thanks folks.

Marcus Claudius Scorpus

Oswyn_de_Wulferton · Post by **Oswyn_de_Wulferton** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 2:15 pm

Get some suede stain resist/water resistance stuff. Check out shoe places, it runs about 5 dollars a can of aresol. Should be more than enough. Do not think it will stretch too bad when hit (but the duct tape might leave some undesirable marks.

bigjon · Post by **bigjon** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 4:17 pm

How will you be attaching the leather to the plastic?

Scorpus · Post by **Scorpus** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 5:40 pm

bigjon wrote:How will you be attaching the leather to the plastic?

1. I used 3M spray adhesive and two-headed rivets.

2. I sprayed down a medium thickness layer to the external portion of the pickle barrel and to the inside of the leather.

3. I let them set for 30 seconds and then adhered them in a rolling motion as to clear out any potential air bubbles.

4. Once that was done I completed the smoothing process.

5. I then tacked it down on the corners so there would be no back sliding and let it sit over night (only because I ran out of time).

5. The next day I worked my way from corner to corner as if I were tightening lugnuts on a tire. I did this by rolling the extra leather over the edges to the back side where I would drill a hole and rivet the leather down to ensure a nice tight fit all the way around.

I have already completed the front half and will work on the back plate tonight. Once that is done I will coat it with some water resistance spray. I say spray as I don't have brand name of any of it. This is only until I can get my period Roman torso armor done but even this deserves to be done as best as I can, whether it's plastic or not. Thanks.

Marcus Claudius Scorpus

paxleonis · Post by **paxleonis** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 8:20 pm

Marcus-
I have some water repellent spray at the house and would be glad to share with you. I am in Phoenix this week but, I maybe at practice Sunday. I will let you know when I know more.
Cait

Maeryk · Post by **Maeryk** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 8:38 pm

Theres a number of waterproofing things available specifically for leather, as stated above. Try Tandy. I would try it on a scrap piece first.. I have seen various things do _odd_ things to suede.

On the wet/stretch point.. _if_ the contact adhesive holds, it should not really matter.. it (in theory) should not move much at all, simply due to the fact that it is wholly anchored over the entire back surface.

Caveat: Some stuff sticks to plastic never, some forever, and some for indeterminate amounts of time in between.

Scorpus · Post by **Scorpus** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 12:51 am

With the exception of water-proofing the front half is done......for better or worse. Now on to the back side tomorrow night.

The neck area in the pictire looks photo-chopped because it is....I had a towel stuck in there to help give it some shape and then edited it out.

This will keep me fighting till I can get my Lorica Segmentata started/done.

paxleonis wrote:Marcus-
I have some water repellent spray at the house and would be glad to share with you. I am in Phoenix this week but, I maybe at practice Sunday. I will let you know when I know more.
Cait

Thanks Cait! Whatcha up to in Phoenix....aside from being hot that is?....

Scorpus · Post by **Scorpus** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 9:29 pm

Well both the front and back are finished...yeah I know it's plastic folks, but all of the stuff was leftovers and free since I had all of the stuff laying around. Anyways heres a few more finished pics for those of you don't mind a little plastic in your diet....

Saburou · Post by **Saburou** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 11:02 pm

Looks bad-ass. I wonder if it's cut to give you enough flexibility for fighting...

Scorpus · Post by **Scorpus** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 11:51 pm

Alex Cunningham wrote:Looks bad-ass. I wonder if it's cut to give you enough flexibility for fighting...

Thank you very much. Well, I fought in just the plastic for awhile before covering it. It has the right cut since I can duck, crouch and twist ok. The seude is elastic enough to move with it, though it has gotten a bit heavier. Not bad, a small adjustment that will take two or three practices to get used too. Not to mention I have switched recently to fighting left handed so it's all a learning experience.