Mink oil is a type of animal fat that has been used to treat leather for centuries. It’s often called the “king of oils,” and many craftsmen and leather users like yourself use it routinely as part of your leather care regimen. But what does mink oil do to darken leather? Check out my research on why Mink Oil darkens leather!
So why does mink oil darken leather? Mink oil will mainly darken leather due to how mink oil penetrates into leather and then seals off its pores. Another common cause of mink oil darkening leather is due to the mink oil reacting with tanning agents and leather care products like leather saddle soaps or leather cleaners, conditions, and leather protectors.
To learn more details about how mink oil darken leather and how to minimize how dark your leather becomes after darkening it, keep reading this article.
Why Does Mink Oil Darken Leather – Details
1. Mink Oil Penetrates The Leather
We all know that leather is a durable material, but it also needs to be cared for. The natural oils on the skin of animals are what helped make leather impervious to water and other elements.
The first reason why mink oil darkens leather is due to how it penetrates the leather. Mink oil is fat, which means it soaks into the pores of the leather material, filling them up with its natural oils.
The fats in mink oil create an elastic film that seals itself over time. This causes the mink oil to darken the leather with its natural oil, which is what helps it to retain durability and while giving the leather some waterproofing qualities.
2. Mink Oil Combined With Other Substances
Another reason why mink oil will darken leather will be because the mink oil has been mixed with substances like wax. These substances help the oils in mink oil to penetrate and darken leather more deeply while offering the leather supreme protection.
“Mink Oil darkens leather because some contain added natural plant extracts and oils, including tannin from oak bark and acorns which are capable of creating a brownish-black color on finished leather items. “
The way to know which other ingredients are present in the mink oil you’ve got is by going through the ingredients list on the back of your container. If you do not see the list of ingredients then you could ask the shop attendant where you bought the product.
Most leather care product manufacturers do not like to share their ingredients as some of those ingredients are long-standing family recipes they do no want copycats to run away with.
3. Mink Oil Reacts With The Tanning Agents In The Leather
The third reason that may cause mink oil to darken leather is a chemical reaction that occurs between the mink oil and the tanning agents in the leather.
Tanning is a chemical process leather goes through before it becomes the material we all love and cherish. When the skin of animals is sourced, they are tanned and it is the tanning process that changes the leather from raw animal skin to leather.
During the leather tanning process, the animal skin is exposed to several tanning agents such as tree backs, roots, leaves, seeds, (in the vegetable tanning method), or chromium salts, (in the chemical tanning process).
When these ingredients facilitate the raw animal skin becoming a leather material that will not decay or decompose, it leaves behind little bits and pieces of tanning residue that helps to keep the leather decay-resistant.
Fast forward, when the leather is later oiled using mink oil, the oils will usually go into the fibers and will often react with the tannins present in the leather to give the leather a dark appearance which tends to last for weeks if not months.
4. Mink Oil Reacts With Leather Care Product On The Leather
Mink oil will particularly severely darken your leather when it reacts with leather care products that have been used to treat the leather. Leather as material needs to be cleaned and taken care of from time to time.
So you will find that saddle soap, dish soap, among other cleaners will be used to treat leather. These processes also leave leather with cleaning and other chemical residues that could react discolor and darken leather.
This does not only go for leather cleaners but also leather protectors and leather conditioners could have the same reaction with mink oil.
For example, when a petroleum-based product is used on top of an existing layer of mink oil or vice versa, it can create darkening effects to be seen over time as more layers are applied.
If this has happened to you and you do not like the darkening effect, you should remove all petroleum-based products from your leather before applying any more coats of mink oil.
The best way to avoid these chemical reactions would be by using water-based products that do not contain petroleum or silicone oils because those ingredients can react negatively with other chemicals present like sulfuric acid which is commonly found in some shoe polishes, dyes, and solvents.
5. Oxidation
One of the leather characteristics is to turn dark when it comes into contact with any form of liquid. This is because the leather’s natural oils are absorbed by the water which in turn gives it a darkened appearance.
This should probably be the number one and most common phenomenon that causes a color change in leather. Oxidation happens with anything that comes into contact or gets exposed to air or moisture.
So leather that has been oiled with mink oil will also darken over time with or without the presence of other substances or conditions apart from air.
6. Drying The Oiled Leather On The Sun
The last cause of the darkening that occurs after you have applied the mink oil to the leather is by drying it in direct sunlight.
When using mink oil, one should not dry your leather on a sunny day because this will increase the likelihood of discoloration occurring.
This has been noted as being one of the most common causes of discoloration among those who use oils and fats like mink oil on their leather products.
The reason for this is because UV light from the sun can create an oxidizing reaction with the natural oils present in the animal skin or vegetable waxes used in preparing these products.
This then causes them to change color over time. This process can happen quickly and so it is a huge cause of worry if you dry your oiled leather items unprotected outside.
How To Prevent Your Leather From Darkening When You Apply Mink Oil
1. Do NOT Oversaturate
One of the easiest ways to minimize the chance of your darkening when you apply mink oil is to avoid oversaturating the leather with the amount of mink oil you apply to the leather surface.
This is key because using mink oil in excess may cause a massive color change to your leather. To avoid this from happening, be sure to use the right amounts of mink oil just for what you need.
2. Buff Off Any Excess Mink Oil From The Leather Surface
Another important thing that could help to substantially reduce how dark your leather becomes after applying mink oil is to make sure to buff off any excess oil on the surface of the leather.
Always try finishing off your mink oil application by wiping or blotting any excess oils on the surface before it has time to oxidize.
This will help eliminate oxidation from occurring on the topmost layer–which would then affect whatever is below it (the actual fibers).
So if there are any layers beneath where you applied the mink oil, make sure they’re completely dry before applying more coats. This will help to reduce the amount of oil that is applied to your leather.
3. Exposure Of Oils With Air
Buffing off any excess mink oil from the surface of the leather can help prevent the mink oil from seriously darkening the leather but doing so timely will make a lot of difference.
Another action that will reduce how dark your leather gets after applying mink oil is by avoiding the exposure of the leather to excess oils for a long period of time.
Meaning prolonged exposure to mink oil will cause the leather to darken more quickly. This is because oils react and oxidize with oxygen in air causing them to become darker over time
So placing a cotton cloth on top of your mink oiled leather will help avoid exposing it too much for long periods of time.
4. Do Not Dry Mink Oiled Leather On The Sun
As discussed above, you want to avoid drying leather products that have just been oiled with mink oil in direct sunlight.
You should dry your oiled leather by either letting it dry naturally or by placing a wet cotton cloth over the mink oiled leather to form a protective shade over it.
If you have to dry your leather products in sunlight make sure you bring it inside periodically to let them air out. Not doing so can cause the sun to fully saturate and ultra-darkened the leather.
Not oil will the leather be darkened by the sun, it will also become hard and stiff which is not what you would want for your leather products.
Final Thoughts
Now that we know all about how darkening occurs after applying mink oil to our beautiful pieces of leather, I will want you to keep these ideas in mind before continuing with any kind of long-term application process.
Having said the above, mink oil darkening your leather is not always a bad thing as it can have its benefits. Mink oil is one of the best ways to darken your leather goods without using dyes.
So mink oil can come in pretty handy if you want to enjoy both worlds of having a solid leather color while offering your leather optimal protection.
If you want a dark finish, it is best to apply as many coats of mink oil on the surface of your leather as much as you possibly can. The more coats applied, the darker and shinier the leather becomes over time.
It is important to add that all of this will greatly be influenced by the type of leather material was used for the leather product.
For example, chrome or vegetable-tanned leathers can withstand a greater number of applications than aniline-dyed leather would be able to without being damaged by too much exposure to mink oil.