Edge paint VS Burnished edges showdown!!!

[ABR]

I have used various methods of edge finishing over the years.  On good quality vegetable tanned leather I have had good results with just dye and a wood burnishing wheel.  Lately on leather that is harder to burnish and good vegetable tanned leather, I use an electric drill to power the wood wheels and I have used Barry King's Quick Slick.  It works pretty good.  Another liquid that I have found to work really good is Fiebing's Neutral Leather Balm with Atom Wax.  Dye the edges (may take more than one coat) if needed and apply the Atom Wax with a dauber and let it dry for a little while then burnish with a wood wheel in the electric drill or bench grinder.  Then I apply some Bee's Wax and run it again on the burnishing wheel.  You can apply Resolene or Tan Coat over that.  

Thanks ABR

[ABHandmade]

Gary, thank you very much for the experiment. It helped save me some money

[RockyAussie]

Hi Gary, Thank you for sharing your test results with us all. I wonder if before the clear sealer coat were applied if it were sanded back would the adhesion have worked better. Sort of reminds me of how PVA glue behaves when wet for too long.  I might try the base coat now having seen your results. Normally I just apply straight to the rough sanded leather 2 or 3 coats then sand back with an 80 grit? (Medium foam sanding block)to get smooth then finish of with another 2 coats. That separation line up the middle can drive me mad at times if I get too much on but its not to bad if I do as above. Again thank you for sharing so well this information.

[garypl]

1 hour ago, RockyAussie said:

Hi Gary, Thank you for sharing your test results with us all. I wonder if before the clear sealer coat were applied if it were sanded back would the adhesion have worked better. Sort of reminds me of how PVA glue behaves when wet for too long.  I might try the base coat now having seen your results. Normally I just apply straight to the rough sanded leather 2 or 3 coats then sand back with an 80 grit? (Medium foam sanding block)to get smooth then finish of with another 2 coats. That separation line up the middle can drive me mad at times if I get too much on but its not to bad if I do as above. Again thank you for sharing so well this information.

I did not sand the last coat of paint before applying the topcoat, but the fact that the topcoat softened so much likely means it would still peel or wrinkle unless it is sealed with another product.  I will play around a bit again, trying more aggressive sanding between coats as well as testing how well the base coat sticks to the raw leather when it gets wet.  Also want to paint and topcoat edges and follow up with sealer like Resolene and see how it looks if the water cannot penetrate under the paint.

 I suspect that plain burnishing and sealing with some type of wax will still be more durable for applications where leather gets really wet, but edge paint will still have a place in my workshop.

Gary

[immiketoo]

On 6/12/2018 at 8:42 PM, cradom said:

I may be wrong but, I never burnish edge paint. Dye yes, but not paint. Takes the paint off in my experience.

 

 

3 hours ago, ABHandmade said:

Gary, thank you very much for the experiment. It helped save me some money

I don't think that his tests invalidates the use of this product.  I don't know ANY leather gear designed to stand up to what he did to it.

1 hour ago, RockyAussie said:

Hi Gary, Thank you for sharing your test results with us all. I wonder if before the clear sealer coat were applied if it were sanded back would the adhesion have worked better. Sort of reminds me of how PVA glue behaves when wet for too long.  I might try the base coat now having seen your results. Normally I just apply straight to the rough sanded leather 2 or 3 coats then sand back with an 80 grit? (Medium foam sanding block)to get smooth then finish of with another 2 coats. That separation line up the middle can drive me mad at times if I get too much on but its not to bad if I do as above. Again thank you for sharing so well this information.

I use the exact same process when I apply it, and it has stood up to all kinds of bending, folding and deliberate scratching.  It doesn't come off.

9 minutes ago, garypl said:

I did not sand the last coat of paint before applying the topcoat, but the fact that the topcoat softened so much likely means it would still peel or wrinkle unless it is sealed with another product.  I will play around a bit again, trying more aggressive sanding between coats as well as testing how well the base coat sticks to the raw leather when it gets wet.  Also want to paint and topcoat edges and follow up with sealer like Resolene and see how it looks if the water cannot penetrate under the paint.

 I suspect that plain burnishing and sealing with some type of wax will still be more durable for applications where leather gets really wet, but edge paint will still have a place in my workshop.

Gary

All I do for a finish is use RTC over the entire product, although its not necessary.  Any leather product would fare poorly under the conditions you put it through.  

As a foot note, I don't use the top coat.  Only the edge paint.

 

[garypl]

2 minutes ago, immiketoo said:

 

I don't think that his tests invalidates the use of this product.  I don't know ANY leather gear designed to stand up to what he did to it.

I use the exact same process when I apply it, and it has stood up to all kinds of bending, folding and deliberate scratching.  It doesn't come off.

All I do for a finish is use RTC over the entire product, although its not necessary.  Any leather product would fare poorly under the conditions you put it through.  

As a foot note, I don't use the top coat.  Only the edge paint.

 

Mike - I agree that the test I did was extreme and any raw leather piece that is completely saturated will likely ruin any type of paint or topcoat.  When properly applied the edge paint and topcoat were very durable and flexible and I will use them in many projects.  Interesting to test the limits of things, you never know when a particular product might really stand out from the rest!

Gary

[ABHandmade]

38 minutes ago, immiketoo said:

I don't think that his tests invalidates the use of this product.  I don't know ANY leather gear designed to stand up to what he did to it.

 

31 minutes ago, garypl said:

Mike - I agree that the test I did was extreme and any raw leather piece that is completely saturated will likely ruin any type of paint or topcoat.  When properly applied the edge paint and topcoat were very durable and flexible and I will use them in many projects.  Interesting to test the limits of things, you never know when a particular product might really stand out from the rest!

Gary

Speaking about the benefits of Gary's tests and saving money, I was referring to the fact that some limits of applicability of the product were demonstrated. And it is confirmed that there is no ideal product that allows you to abandon other ways of processing the edge. Therefore, one should treat it as one of many options and not buy immediately all the colors by liter bottles

Edited June 14, 2018 by ABHandmade

[immiketoo]

Point is that I doubt other edge processes would hold up any better on soaked leather.  Not buying a liter of anything you don't have a use for or a solid process in place with is good advice though!

 

[garypl]

I let the samples dry overnight and now they look just about the same as before they soaked in water.  The pieces I scratched and rubbed the top coat off still look the same, but the tan edge sample appears to be back to normal.  When I saw the milky film on them yesterday I thought they would be ruined.  This is encouraging in that if a piece really gets soaked, it should return to normal after drying out, as long as you don’t abrade the edges.  Still more testing to follow...

Gary

[RockyAussie]

11 hours ago, immiketoo said:

 

I don't think that his tests invalidates the use of this product.  I don't know ANY leather gear designed to stand up to what he did to it.

I use the exact same process when I apply it, and it has stood up to all kinds of bending, folding and deliberate scratching.  It doesn't come off.

All I do for a finish is use RTC over the entire product, although its not necessary.  Any leather product would fare poorly under the conditions you put it through.  

As a foot note, I don't use the top coat.  Only the edge paint.

 

I should have added that after I finish putting on the last coat of edge coat I do polish it on a finishing machine which puts a coat of a beeswax mix on. This gives a barrier/seal on the paint to help it not stick to itself if left in contact in hot weather for long periods. For instance if a lot of belts are piled up against each other before being polished they can tend to glue together sometimes. Another thing - before polishing if I see any little bumps or grainy looking bits I use a grey fine scotchbrite to gently cut it back and the polish will blend it all in. Hooco wax neutral is one that I use frequently.