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wogpotter · February 16, 2011, 08:50 AM

I got the information on washing & brass staining after my pouch discolored everything brass overnight. Not sure if it is chrome, or something else, but the wash did cure the brass discoloration. When the brass trigger guard started to discolor too I decided to treat all the leather. I found this trick on a Black powder & related forum.

The mix isn't critical, the only purpose of the bicarb is to neutralize any acids present. I used a 5 gallon bucket of warm (blood heat) water with one tablespoon of bicarb completely dissolved. The holster was immersed & left overnight but I did dunk several times after about 15 minutes, just to agitate the liquid & ensure even treatment. Don't be surprised when you get a strong purple discoloration of the water it's perfectly normal, if a bit disconcerting.

The next morning I drip-dried the holster to remove excess water & filled & rinsed the bucket till I got clean water. The holster was dipped several times. More purple came off the surface. I did this a second time & got no color so I assumed it was clear of whatever was leaching from the leather.

I patted the holster dry with paper towels both inside & out & wrapped it in more to draw as much liquid as possible from the leather.

I took the pistol it was going to hold & applied lots of oil I mean dripping wet with thick oil!. Then I shoved it into a 1-gallon heavy-duty Ziploc freezer bag with the muzzle in a corner, wrapped the bag neatly round the pistol & slid it into the unwrapped holster. (Take care to not puncture the bag with the front sight while doing this a turn of duct tape at the area of the sight is a good idea.) The bag & heavy oiling will protect the metal very well, you just have to clean it off later.

I started at the muzzle & working my way back up the material pushed the leather into the shape of the wrapped gun inside. On my holster I removed the wrap round strap which just snap-fastens at the rear, but attached it again after I'd finished doing the mold. Leaving the whole thing to dry took about 2 days, then I removed the pistol, but left the holster to dry even more, when done it was stiff as cardboard & shaped to fit the pistol firmly.

I do not use any kind of oil! Only either neutral shoe polish, or wax furniture polish (not Pledge) will finish the job off well.

February 16, 2011, 08:50 AM	#13
wogpotter Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 2004 Posts: 4,811	I got the information on washing & brass staining after my pouch discolored everything brass overnight. Not sure if it is chrome, or something else, but the wash did cure the brass discoloration. When the brass trigger guard started to discolor too I decided to treat all the leather. I found this trick on a Black powder & related forum. The mix isn't critical, the only purpose of the bicarb is to neutralize any acids present. I used a 5 gallon bucket of warm (blood heat) water with one tablespoon of bicarb completely dissolved. The holster was immersed & left overnight but I did dunk several times after about 15 minutes, just to agitate the liquid & ensure even treatment. Don't be surprised when you get a strong purple discoloration of the water it's perfectly normal, if a bit disconcerting. The next morning I drip-dried the holster to remove excess water & filled & rinsed the bucket till I got clean water. The holster was dipped several times. More purple came off the surface. I did this a second time & got no color so I assumed it was clear of whatever was leaching from the leather. I patted the holster dry with paper towels both inside & out & wrapped it in more to draw as much liquid as possible from the leather. I took the pistol it was going to hold & applied lots of oil I mean dripping wet with thick oil!. Then I shoved it into a 1-gallon heavy-duty Ziploc freezer bag with the muzzle in a corner, wrapped the bag neatly round the pistol & slid it into the unwrapped holster. (Take care to not puncture the bag with the front sight while doing this a turn of duct tape at the area of the sight is a good idea.) The bag & heavy oiling will protect the metal very well, you just have to clean it off later. I started at the muzzle & working my way back up the material pushed the leather into the shape of the wrapped gun inside. On my holster I removed the wrap round strap which just snap-fastens at the rear, but attached it again after I'd finished doing the mold. Leaving the whole thing to dry took about 2 days, then I removed the pistol, but left the holster to dry even more, when done it was stiff as cardboard & shaped to fit the pistol firmly. I do not use any kind of oil! Only either neutral shoe polish, or wax furniture polish (not Pledge) will finish the job off well. __________________ Allan Quatermain: “Automatic rifles. Who in God's name has automatic rifles”? Elderly Hunter: “That's dashed unsporting. Probably Belgium.” Last edited by wogpotter; February 16, 2011 at 08:56 AM.