Vic's amazing ELC Perry B3

[John Lever]

 

[ButteMT61]

No clue who Vic is, but I'm jealous of that B-3! Lovely.

 

[John Lever]

Silversurfer !

 

[Otter]

Wow, stunning, I normally don't go for the timeworn look, but that does it for me!

 

[John Lever]

To clarify,this is Vic's creation coloured and patinated by a real artist.

 

[Silver Surfer]

to fully understand what you are looking at, go to the elc site, and look at the offered perry b-3. then compare to this one. different animal, so to speak.

 

[Roughwear]

to fully understand what you are looking at, go to the elc site, and look at the offered perry b-3. then compare to this one. different animal, so to speak.

I own an ELC Perry which is great, but this one is just superb. What exactly have you done to yours Vic?

 

[dmar836]

Yeah, tell us. The RW I reassembled needs it. I feel like too much of a tool wearing it even at the airport but it's getting that cold here.
Dave

 

[CBI]

Looks really great. At first I thought it looked a little overdone but original B-3's can look REALLY grainy after all these years. Wear in good health. Post some nice "as worn" pics!

 

[CBI]

any update as to what was done/how was it done with this jacket? I am surprised there have not been more posts. Must be B-3 jealousy!!!

 

[Silver Surfer]

tomorrow, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

 

[ausreenactor]

any update as to what was done/how was it done with this jacket? I am surprised there have not been more posts. Must be B-3 jealousy!!!

I'm more of a B-2 kind of guy these days.... This is a cracker of a jacket though!

 

[John Lever]

I think Vic used oil pigments rubbed into the hide.

 

[dujardin]

absolutely fabulous, gorgeousssssss

love the 'craky' look

congratssssssssssss

that's a beauty

 

[Silver Surfer]

when i received the perry from elc a little more then a year ago i was impressed with it. i found that the seal colored panels had a lighter reddish under tone that was unlike any of the elc b-3s, or for that matter, any repro b-3 that i have seen. however, after owning it for a few months, i came to feel that the coloration was flat looking, ie: no depth as seen in originals. having owned many originals, and now having two redskin b-3s that have a mulitude of different colors, i decided that a little fooling around with the elc was in order. heres where it get interesting, and perhaps not for the feint of heart. with a mixture of fiebings oil dyes [mahogony, chocolate, black] i started to apply different mixes of the dyes to a water color paper, noting the amounts used. what i came up with was a mix of appx. 1/2 chocolate, 1/2 mahogony, and just a dab of black. before application, i used fiebings dye prep to remove oils and or dirt. when dry, the dye mix was applied to the redskin panels, except for the collar and side vees on the bottom of the area under the side body straps. the dye mix was applied with an old piece shearling appx 4"x4", and q-tips for the hard to get to areas. a wad of soft cloth will work as well as the shearling scrap. when done, there were some areas that matched the elc seal colors and some that did not. this, to my eyes looked closer to what originals look like.....however, not close enough, as the whole thing still looked a little too uniform, and not like the seemingly careless applied dyes of originals. this summer i took the jac out to look at in the bright sun, and decided that some more monkying around with the color was needed. this time i went in the opposite direction, and began removing some of the dye with acetone. i did this on some of the elc seal panels, and found that either elc or their supplier had colored the seal panels, the same as i did on the redskin panels. the elc seal panels were dyed over redskin. at this point, the process became some what organic, take some dye off, take some more off....hmmm, reapply some darker dye. about "time worn". the only areas that were abraded were areas that had already shown wear, such as the hh seam facings, and elbows of the hh. for this i used 600 grit wet dry emery cloth. after taking those areas down, i applied fiebings bag coat, as i did to the rest of the jacket where acetone was used. the bag coat application gives a soft luster, i reckon what is called a satin finish. i found that by rubbing the applied areas with a soft cloth further enhanced the luster,, and gave the depth to the dyes that i was looking for. for the most part, "time worn" , or "vintage" finishes look crappy and exactly what they are, sanded down. if you own a vintage a-2, mc, hb, or b-3, you know that the areas where the dye has rubbed off is often kinda smooth and burnished looking, like old wood furniture. getting that look, and feel requires working the area, take some off, put some on. repeat until it looks right. im sure that i left something out, like the major ingredient, patience, or a willingness to possibly screw up an expensive jacket.

 

[CBI]

yep - that's the ticket, great job. I have done a similar approach before on some A-2's and the result has been really good. Agreed, one has to be willing to risk it with a high-end jacket. Congrats on the great work!!!!

 

[Silver Surfer]

thanx, partner

 

[raymos]

Vic that is totally sick.......unreal work my man....But then again they don't call you the SILVER SURFER for nothing...

Thats as good as it gets in my opinion.........kudos....

 

[Steve H]

I feel like too much of a tool wearing it even at the airport but it's getting that cold here.
Dave

Haha Dave, i know that feeling- people look at you with that "dude....really?" Look on their face which i tell myself is just jealousy :lol: