Review on 🛢️ 500ml (17 fl.Oz) Hydrophane Leather Darkening Oil by Jeremy Gulledge

Update May 15, 2018: I'm still so glad I found this oil! Fantastic staying power for a chair that I use every day. Initially it tended to transfer traces of oil to the paper placed over it, but no more, but the color remains a beautiful deep brown (it was originally caramel). Amazing results, seriously. Before that I used another oil, which I got here at Revain, but it turned out to be blotchy and didn't make the color deep enough to hide the occasional small blemish. Then I found hydrophane oil and you can see the effect I got. The "before" color of the chair is caramel and the "after" color is a rich coffee shade on the stool. This photo was taken three days after application and the color has not faded. It now behaves like a real oiled leather club chair that can be scratched and then rubbed with the pad of a finger. I remember one of those chairs I used to review at Crate & Barrel that was overpriced for the oiled leather. Now I have it! A few notes on my experience with the product and one major caveat: 1. How long did it take: One ottoman took a whole canister - about 2-3 layers - and ended up taking *five* 500ml canisters to make the chair and finish the ottoman! This was partly necessary because I had to rub a little to get rid of the glaze on the skin. In hindsight, I suggest I probably could have prepared the surface better by degreasing it in some way, but I'm not sure it would have been cheaper to add that single product to the total. Another factor was the dramatic color change, and the transition from caramel to coffee requires a lot of product. You might not need that much to create a similarly sized project that doesn't require a big (or any) color change. 2. Best Application Tool: I've used cheap sponge paint brushes and cheap bristle paint brushes from hardware stores. Both had uses, but I found that removing the thick end of the sponge completely and tossing the handle up worked the quickest way to disperse the oil. Use something like a piece of dense foam, e.g. B. old pillow foam, which spreads quickly. Wear gloves if you want, but I didn't. And make sure you put something like a plastic tarp under the item while you work, as water can drip off it. A notable side effect: oil can still "leak” after a few weeks. In fact, this can be a constant problem. I first noticed this when I placed a piece of white paper on the ottoman and a book on top. When I picked up the book some time later, the paper was stained with oil stains that had soaked into it. That was two weeks after I applied the oil. The same applies to the seat and armrests of the chair. So be careful and see for yourself. The oil that rises may depend on how much oil you have applied and your skin type. I've now started brushing thoroughly every week, using diluted Dawn detergent and warm water to keep the immediate surface free of leech oil, at least temporarily, and when I'm going to sit for a while I put a washcloth down on the cloth. Put a cotton blanket over it first to avoid getting light oil on your clothes. When my bare feet are on the ottoman there is definitely residue on my skin, so avoid putting your bare feet on oiled leather to avoid transferring residue to carpets. Even if I'm careful, I suspect this will result in more frequent spot cleaning of my creamy carpet with my Bissell Mini Carpet Cleaner. So, just one important caveat. The oil never really 'dries out', it just oozes out and can even ooze out again under pressure. It won't necessarily look "oily" when you press the skin, but if you do the white paper test by placing something heavy on the paper for about an hour, you'll know if that's the problem. For her. While this very deep shade wasn't my original intention, I love it - the leather now goes incredibly well with my dark brown bookshelves. Also, since it is now fully lubricated, you no longer have to worry about the small oil stains that will inevitably appear.