How To Buff After Dying?

[zaynexpetty]

I always hear that you should buff leather after you dye it. However, I don't know exactly what that means.

I use feibings pro oil dye. I am making belts currently but will be making other items in the future. I dye the inside of the belt, even when using black (yes, I know), because I don't like how it looks undyed.

How does one "buff"? What stage do I buff? After the final resolene finish or right after I dye before I do anything else?

And what is the best way to avoid sealing the leather on the flesh side to avoild bleeding? I have heard that using 50/50 resolene on top of gum trag is the way to go. Is that recommended?

Thanks!

Zayne

Edited March 8, 2014 by zaynexpetty

[JoeSnuffie]

I buff each time I put dye, oil, wax, finish, etc. into the leather. I use the pro oil dyes a lot and I wait until the surface is dry then buff it with squares I've cut from old tshirts. I buff at least until almost no dye comes off and I keep going until it's all evenly shiny.

Now for belts, I don't usually dye the back if it's black or another really dark color. But honestly, most of the belts I make are a simple more 'dressy' style and I just buy nice drum dyed straps, edge dress, crease, add holes and a buckle. I don't charge a whole lot for them but they don't take much time, either. I end up making about $20 profit for less than an hour's work. Not bad for a hobby I think.

[FoamerAce]

@Joe. People pay you over $20 for a basic leather belt? What do your belts have over department store belts?

[TomG]

Probably the fact that they are real leather and hand crafted. A lot department store belts are made with ground up leather and cardboard. So, they can mark them as "genuine leather" but that's not the same as "real leather".

[JoeSnuffie]

I charge $35 - $45 for a basic belt. The people who buy form me aren't usually looking for something that's purely practical, they're looking for something that was made just for them. A recent belt I made was for a really thin woman who wasn't happy with what she could find in the kid's section at the stores, so she wanted an adult looking belt, without stamps, hearts, flowers, sparkles, etc. that you get with a kid's belt.

I also get customers wanting a belt that they know is made from premium full grain leather, not the bonded, reconstituted or whatever else you get in a department store for a low price. My wife has belts she bought at the department stores that are stamped "genuine leather" and I swear it's a brand name and has nothing to do with the material because most have fallen apart and it does not look like leather to me. I don't do a lot of belts so I usually buy 1 or 2 at a time and it costs me about $15 average for a strap but it's worth it. They are typically flawless, dyed to perfection with a beautiful back. This makes my work easy.

This is the last belt I made. Hermann Oak Latigo Grade A.

Edited March 8, 2014 by JoeSnuffie

[FoamerAce]

Ah yes that is premium leather there. How do you finish the backs? If you don't mind me asking.

[JoeSnuffie]

For the Hermann Oak I just apply a coat of Kiwi Leather Lotion and rub it in one direction with the grain. I suppose it's like a thick carnauba cream and I usually thin it anyway. When it dries it isn't tacky or waxy and it doesn't crack. That helps to sort of 'slick' down the back but you can see in the picture that the Herman Oak doesn't really need much help. The strap to the top right of the belt shows the flesh side from the same strap the belt came from.

If I cut the belt myself I make sure I choose a piece with a nice flesh side. There are sometimes some imperfections on the back and when there is, I run it across my belt sander until it's all even and pretty. Then I use the leather lotion again and slick it down by rubbing really good in the direction the grain wants to lay. If the flesh side of the leather is nasty and fuzzy, it can still sometimes be fixed by sanding but not always.

Decent leather is the key to a decent flesh side. You don't have to buy really expensive leather because you can choose the best parts for belts. The undyed strap in the picture isn't from expensive leather but I picked the best parts to cut my straps and you can see that the flesh side is very nice and tight with no fuzz. There are plenty of things that I make where scars and blemishes in the leather can be hidden. When you make smaller items you can usually cut around the bad spots. For example, when I make wallets, the majority of the leather is hidden behind another piece, so if there are blemishes, I make sure to cut so that it's hidden. I just have to make sure the shell and card slots on the front of the stack are perfect and that's easy to do when you only need one 9x5 and two 4.5x2.5 pieces without a blemish

Edited March 8, 2014 by JoeSnuffie

[Dwight]

How does one "buff"? What stage do I buff? After the final resolene finish or right after I dye before I do anything else?

Lay the belt down on a flat table, . . . good side down, . . . take a used terry cloth wash cloth in each hand, . . . begin to rub the back side of the belt. Rub it until no more loose pigment comes off.

Turn it over, . . . do it again on the front side, . . . then do the edges.

You buff it starting about 24 hours after you dyed it and it is DRY !

And what is the best way to avoid sealing the leather on the flesh side to avoild bleeding? I have heard that using 50/50 resolene on top of gum trag is the way to go. Is that recommended?

I think you wrote your question wrong, . . . you DO want to seal the leather, . . . you DO want to avoid bleeding. Personal opinion, . . . gum trag is a trash product, . . . after dying my belts, . . . allowing them to dry, . . . buffing them, . . . I put on Resolene 50/50 and have never had a customer complain about bleeding. Gum trag will also harden the surface of your item you use it on, . . . when it cracks and breaks, . . . your leather will also crack and break. Your customer may never say anything, . . . to you.

May God bless,

Dwight

[SteelcityK9Cop]

The big thing with buffing after you dye is to remove the pigments left on the top of the grain that have not been absorbed into the leather. There are so many ways to do this.. by hand with a cloth... with a horse hair shine brush.... with a horse hair buff on a machine running under 900 rpm. You name it.

[zaynexpetty]

How does one "buff"? What stage do I buff? After the final resolene finish or right after I dye before I do anything else?

Lay the belt down on a flat table, . . . good side down, . . . take a used terry cloth wash cloth in each hand, . . . begin to rub the back side of the belt. Rub it until no more loose pigment comes off.

Turn it over, . . . do it again on the front side, . . . then do the edges.

You buff it starting about 24 hours after you dyed it and it is DRY !

And what is the best way to avoid sealing the leather on the flesh side to avoild bleeding? I have heard that using 50/50 resolene on top of gum trag is the way to go. Is that recommended?

I think you wrote your question wrong, . . . you DO want to seal the leather, . . . you DO want to avoid bleeding. Personal opinion, . . . gum trag is a trash product, . . . after dying my belts, . . . allowing them to dry, . . . buffing them, . . . I put on Resolene 50/50 and have never had a customer complain about bleeding. Gum trag will also harden the surface of your item you use it on, . . . when it cracks and breaks, . . . your leather will also crack and break. Your customer may never say anything, . . . to you.

May God bless,

Dwight

Yes, I did write the question wrong, haha. I obviously dont want it to bleed. Thanks for the info.

Zayne

The big thing with buffing after you dye is to remove the pigments left on the top of the grain that have not been absorbed into the leather. There are so many ways to do this.. by hand with a cloth... with a horse hair shine brush.... with a horse hair buff on a machine running under 900 rpm. You name it.

For my last couple projects I have used just cut up white cotton. Seems to be working well. Thank you for the advice.

Zayne

For the Hermann Oak I just apply a coat of Kiwi Leather Lotion and rub it in one direction with the grain. I suppose it's like a thick carnauba cream and I usually thin it anyway. When it dries it isn't tacky or waxy and it doesn't crack. That helps to sort of 'slick' down the back but you can see in the picture that the Herman Oak doesn't really need much help. The strap to the top right of the belt shows the flesh side from the same strap the belt came from.

If I cut the belt myself I make sure I choose a piece with a nice flesh side. There are sometimes some imperfections on the back and when there is, I run it across my belt sander until it's all even and pretty. Then I use the leather lotion again and slick it down by rubbing really good in the direction the grain wants to lay. If the flesh side of the leather is nasty and fuzzy, it can still sometimes be fixed by sanding but not always.

Decent leather is the key to a decent flesh side. You don't have to buy really expensive leather because you can choose the best parts for belts. The undyed strap in the picture isn't from expensive leather but I picked the best parts to cut my straps and you can see that the flesh side is very nice and tight with no fuzz. There are plenty of things that I make where scars and blemishes in the leather can be hidden. When you make smaller items you can usually cut around the bad spots. For example, when I make wallets, the majority of the leather is hidden behind another piece, so if there are blemishes, I make sure to cut so that it's hidden. I just have to make sure the shell and card slots on the front of the stack are perfect and that's easy to do when you only need one 9x5 and two 4.5x2.5 pieces without a blemish

Great advice. I actually just got my first order of Hermann Oak today and I was happily surprised with the condition of the flesh side. It looks like I wont be fussing with the back side of Tandy leather any more. Thanks!

Zayne