FrenchFit 

Holy late post Batman.

I said I would post up a pic of my leather tape post-shellacing. I did this to prevent the tape from drying out and because is was way too slippery.

Success, 2 coats. Not the best picture, but here it is:

AZORCH

Looks very nice. How does it feel when you ride the bars?

FrenchFit 

Definite improvement, no sliding. Much nicer feel that shellac on cloth, and only two coats. We'll see how it feels in the summer.

Maddox

I don't know why you'd put shellac, which isn't really intended to breathe, on leather - which is intended to naturally breathe and open up with age and accumulation of moisture. Especially when your tape was something like $80 a pop.

I sincerely hope this test goes really well. I'd hate to see you lose the leather.

Bikedued

Brooks tape looks nice, and apparently looks even nicer with shellac.,,,,BD

ColonelJLloyd 

Proofide works pretty well for that.

I wouldn't shellac leather.

FrenchFit 

Well I think this was covered in another thread. For me the "breathing" means it dries out and looks like crap, or hand moisture, - or worse yet ..'proofhide' - gets into the leather and makes it's slippery and slimey to the touch.

Getting it to NOT to act like leather is the whole point.

ColonelJLloyd 

Oh.

JReade

So...why did you buy leather?

Transformer

Maybe next you could get your Brooks saddle reupholstered with vinyl.

-holiday76

I did the same thing with my tires because they were so slippery. The shellac really made me stick to the road like I was riding rails. I just have to re-apply it every few miles, no biggie.

lostarchitect 

I don't get it. If you don't want it to act like leather, there are plenty of synthetic bar wraps out there. I think this is a waste of nice leather tape.

noglider 

jack002

I could be wrong, but I thought that shellacing handlebars is traditional, at least in the UK.

Beach Comber

Tough crowd! I don't know what shellac will do long term to the leather, but if it works, why not? It looks amazing, and will undoubtably hold off the sweat and grime far better than a traditional treatments. Looking forward to the summer followups.

Chombi

I dunno FrenchFit, if you are trying to make your leather bar tape less slippery, I would certainly not use shellac on it as it will seal of the pores of the leather and might make it feel like it's encased in a plastic film. As for the leather drying out, I bet if you ride enough miles, just the oils from you hands will keep the leather from drying out.

Chombi

illwafer

looks good and fits your needs. i would say a success!

time will tell on what affect shellac has on leather, but i would guess that it'll be just fine.

himespau 

Stupid question about the shellacing:

Did you do it on your bike or did you take the bars off and put them on a vice? If you left it on your bike were you worried about shellac dripping on the bike if your brush got too much on it?

Beach Comber

I've only ever done cloth, and I do cheap 3mil plastic wrap from Home Depot, over as much of the bike as you want. Heavy duty painters tape over the brake cables and hoods - if you leave them on during the application. Makes an easier cleanup too.

Grand Bois

Shellac wipes right off with a little alcohol on a rag.

The bars won't go through the clamp after they're wrapped.

himespau 

Ah, good point. I was thinking in that case of someone lifting the whole stem out and clamping it in a bench vice over a drop cloth, but a drop cloth over the bike would achieve the same ends. In my case, it'll be using a stem with a removeable faceplate as I shellac cork, but will have cables running under the tape, so yeah, I'll probably want to have it on the bike.

I do have to say I like the looks of the way that OP did it as it didn't cause the bars to mismatch the saddle in color, but I'd be afraid that the saddle will change in color and the bars won't.

unworthy1

I used to make some leather articles (billfolds, cases, purses, belts, etc.) that I applied a leather lacquer to (Fiebings), it was to give it that glossy, finished look. I like to use shellac on wood, but never tried it on leather. Think I'd have tried some assorted waxes (bee's, microcrystalline, carnuba) before I shellac'd my bar tape, but that's just me.

Edit: can't believe I wrote that, but: once you WAX something, you can't SHELLAC it. Shellac is an "almost universal" finish, but the one thing it won't stick to is wax. If you want to use shellac you must completely remove any wax (with solvents bound to be pretty hard on leather).

peter_d

Theres a product called 303 Protectant thats made to rejuventate pretty much all rubber and plastic, it also works well on leather and fabric. It preserves and adds UV protection. I wouldnt use it on synthetic bar tape cause it can be a bit slippery but on leather tape i think it'd work well. By the way this stuff is great for softening up old rubber brake hoods and no i don't own the company

rootboy 

You're getting a real shellacking here Frenchfit. Say, how come you spell shellac without a "k" but shellacking with a "K"?
Anyway, shellac, as we all know, is a dried secretion from some bugs. Cut with alcohol, it then dries to a pretty hard shell, so to speak. Not as hard as varnish or poly, certainly. I use it in my woodworking too. I love the stuff. My guess is that it will crack and flake off over time on a porous, semi-flexible material like leather. But what the heck, it's worth a try and you may be a pioneer and/or start a trend.

Drummerboy1975

Correct me if I'm wrong but, that looks just like the wrap that you can buy for your steering wheel.