STEVE S.
Well-Known Member
Guys, today marks one year since we bought the new place in the mountains. So far, best decision I ever made getting out of the city. To mark the one yr anniversary, I had a new project I have been working on come to completion this week. Timing was just coincidence, but I’m gonna roll with it!
I recently had an original Aero 21996 in for some restoration work & had to dye/age/match so new panels to the originals. I assume due to the finishing techniques used on this contract, most originals I have handled tend to have a unique “orangy” tone to the russet that shows thru when the seal top coat wears away. The panels I made for the restoration job turned out well, so decided to use the same process & build a new one. I’ve seen some of the pre aged jackets coming out & had a few come in for restitching where someone took some sandpaper to them & ended up sanding the thread away. I just wanted to go a step further & see just how close I could get to the look of an original finish wise. No sandpaper was used in this process, all completely adding & removing dyes at different steps of the assembly process. I probably have twice as much time involved in working the finish than I did putting it together. Still have some work to do but wanted to post some pics at where it is as the moment.
Couple of pics of original jackets for color/wear comparison.
Started with a very light colored hide for the undertones
The jacket where it is now. Some pics are indoors & tend to pull the brown tones out, natural sunlight really makes it pop. Some of the outdoor pics were prior to completion. Had to seize the opportunity while I had it.
I recently had an original Aero 21996 in for some restoration work & had to dye/age/match so new panels to the originals. I assume due to the finishing techniques used on this contract, most originals I have handled tend to have a unique “orangy” tone to the russet that shows thru when the seal top coat wears away. The panels I made for the restoration job turned out well, so decided to use the same process & build a new one. I’ve seen some of the pre aged jackets coming out & had a few come in for restitching where someone took some sandpaper to them & ended up sanding the thread away. I just wanted to go a step further & see just how close I could get to the look of an original finish wise. No sandpaper was used in this process, all completely adding & removing dyes at different steps of the assembly process. I probably have twice as much time involved in working the finish than I did putting it together. Still have some work to do but wanted to post some pics at where it is as the moment.
Couple of pics of original jackets for color/wear comparison.
Started with a very light colored hide for the undertones
The jacket where it is now. Some pics are indoors & tend to pull the brown tones out, natural sunlight really makes it pop. Some of the outdoor pics were prior to completion. Had to seize the opportunity while I had it.
