Thread: Leder skin tanning kit

Hey Team,

I have a few questions regarding the leder tanning kit. August last year I tanned up a nice sika hind skin using the kit and mixed up a full brew of the formula, 35 litres I think. I have kept the leftover liquid solution in a big bin since and now have a fallow skin to do. The kit says it can tan up to 6kg's of skins, I'm assuming the sika skin wouldn't of been 6 kg ( should've weighed it). Regardless, does anyone know if the tanning solution expires once mixed up? Or should it be sweet? If not, how's everyone disposing of the tanning solution? Wanting to to the right thing and not just tip it down the drain. The manufacturer suggested putting it in rubbish bags then into a wheelie bin... can't see that working very well somehow. Cheers.

I recall something about being able to reactivate the pickle with salts of some kind

There should be a formula with your instructions to tell you how much more of the tanning solution to mix in to bring it back up to the right concentration. The previous tan will have stripped some of the important tanning solution from the brew.
And if you had weighed your previous skin while it was still damp, to calculate the amount of leather lube need to keep your skin soft and supple, then you should know how many more kg of skin you can tan with what you have left. The Leders is easy to use so long as you follow the instructions. If you dont use enough of the tanning solution in your brew to bring it back to strength you risk losing all your time and effort tanning the fallow skin.

I tanned fulltime for about 9 years and the (unofficial) rule of thumb for most tans is that if you've used it once you generally top the chemicals up by one half to use again. Unless you've maxed it out with a really big load. I used the Leders (Ledreiters in those days) for floor skins and Lutan F for headskins for mounts. I'm tanning a goat kid skin in Leders now and know that as it's a small, thin skin, I can do another kid skin without topping up chemicals. I don't think I'd be keen to re-use a tan after so long when a skin has been it prior though. I'd be inclined to start with a fresh batch of tanning solution for your skin.

Thanks for the info! I think I might just start from scratch for peace of mind. How do you dispose of the solutions after your done with it? Live in a somewhat residential area without the luxury of tipping it down the back paddock.

To be honest... Back in the day, mine went down an old offal hole. Probably not best practice these days. That's why when I use this bottle up I'm hopefully changing to a style of tanning similar to brain tanning. But I'm still at the experimental stage. I checked the Leder manufacturers websites and it says "DISPOSAL: Dispose of contents/container in accordance with local regulations."

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