Sanding Scuffed-Up Veg Tan?

[Roger J]

I recently purchased a good sized piece of veg tan leather scrap whose surface is a bit scuffed-up (sorry no pictures).

The leather is slated to be wetformed, dyed, and treated with beeswax.

I'm wondering if perhaps it would be a good idea to gently sand the surface with ultra fine sandpaper (1000 grit) to evenout the surface first? Would it give a slightly suede-like finish?

Edited November 11, 2013 by Roger J

[Cyberthrasher]

Probably not. It's more likely that it will just make a bunch of smaller scratches. Depending on what you mean by "scuffed", you may be better served by wetting it and slicking it down. That will work out a lot of surface imperfections. A glass burnisher will be best for this, but you can get by with a bone folder or something similar as well.

[Sylvia]

Cyber is right. Unless the "scuff" has broken the surface of the leather, I would just slick or burnish the tar out of it.

Before I got a glass burnisher I used glass bottles... a glass guitar slide... and/or a smooth hunk of wood I had from my pottery wheel days.

[Jwalker]

for what its worth...

20yrs ago i learned to rue a nick out of an airplane prop...6 yrs ago a wallet cracked cuz i didnt pre fold it before super shene dried...i gently rued the crack...BUT...this project was dyed deep black....it was raffled off to a crowd of 250 people.....nobody said one lil word about being able to see anything unattractive

[Roger J]

Hey...it worked!

Luckily the leather wasn't cut. It looked more like a heavy crate had been dragged on it.

I can still very slightly see it, but that is probably because I know where to look.

Jwalker, what do you mean by "rue"? From the prop reference, I take it you mean sand or grind; is this corrrect?

[Roger J]

OOPS! By "it" I meant your slicking suggestion.

[Cyberthrasher]

OOPS! By "it" I meant your slicking suggestion.

I was wondering about that

Keep in mind, even a lot of the top grade leathers have some scuffs on them. So, getting yourself a glass slicker is a good idea because there's really nothing wrong with the leather, it just needs some prep work to make it sparkle.

Edited November 14, 2013 by Cyberthrasher