Smoothing Out Underside Of Belt

[mathbishop]

I made a belt and everything is great besides the underside. How do I tame the "fuzzyness" I would like it to be as smooth as possible and to stay that way.

Any tips are appreciated

[RoyalLeatherDesigns]

Some people use Glycerin soap and a glass slicker they seem to do this method more than others. The point is to apply a paste conditioner or soap to that side and use something strong and flat to push those fibers together. People use bones, glass, or metal slickers I would use glass. Try it out and post pics to see the outcome. Good luck!

Ralph

[cgleathercraft]

just like you would slick an edge. little bit of water and a bone folder. so far has worked well for me

[mathbishop]

Great im going to try this. Does there need to be a lot of friction? Almost like burnishing

[Dwight]

Slicking only glues down the "hair". What you want to do is cut the hair off, . . . if you do not want to ever have to deal with it again.

Take a short piece of 2 x 4 and staple sandpaper to it, . . . and sand the back of the belt. Take your time, . . . you can make it smooooooooooth.

AND, . . . there won't be any "hair" to deal with ever again.

May God bless,

Dwight

[mathbishop]

  On 10/8/2013 at 10:57 PM, Dwight said:

Slicking only glues down the "hair". What you want to do is cut the hair off, . . . if you do not want to ever have to deal with it again.

Take a short piece of 2 x 4 and staple sandpaper to it, . . . and sand the back of the belt. Take your time, . . . you can make it smooooooooooth.

AND, . . . there won't be any "hair" to deal with ever again.

May God bless,

Dwight

Great! Do you have a favorite sand paper grit that you use?

[farmkidkoko]

These are all really great ideas! When I do belts, usually all I do is seal it with Super Shene and it ends up pretty smooth. Never occurred to me to try anything else. Good question and good answers! I'll have to try some of these tricks next time. :-) Love this forum!

[Cyberthrasher]

Ditto Dwight. Get the fuzzy off to begin with (my same speech for the use of gum trag). Then when you slick it as I do, you'll have a smooth surface. At this point, slicking isn't for holding it down, it's for smoothing things just like when you burnish your edges. Depending on how bad the back is, I'll use 220, 400 wet dry, or just slick it. Other times I have to shave some fuzz off first.