Slicking and Burnishing

[FlatwaterLeatherGuy]

So I'm kind of a newbie and I'm a little confused. What is the difference between slicking and burnishing? Or are the two terms interchangeable?

Thanks!

Ken

[battlemunky]

I believe those are interchangeable sir!

[fredk]

Edges can be slicked or burnished; usually slicked

The surface face can be burnished but not slicked

[bikermutt07]

3 hours ago, fredk said:

Edges can be slicked or burnished; usually slicked

The surface face can be burnished but not slicked

Oh my, I have been backwards for a minute. 

[battlemunky]

Yep, I thought they were the same thing but it kinda makes sense except for one thing about the surface backs. Is it slicking on the back side when you get fuzzy crappy leather then?

[fredk]

mmm, that be a good question.

If its real fuzzy I'd say; slicked.

If its already smoothish and just needs more smoothing then its; burnished

[JLSleather]

burnished is when I seal and polish the leather

slicked is when I git you ta do it fer me 

 

[billybopp]

30 minutes ago, JLSleather said:

burnished is when I seal and polish the leather

slicked is when I git you ta do it fer me 

 

Lol.   Are you sure your name isn't really Tom Sawyer?

[ScoobyNewbie]

I thought that was snookered?

[Sheilajeanne]

Okay, just want to take the opportunity to ask what's the best way to deal with crappy, fuzzy leather? Sanding doesn't seem to work - it just gets fuzzier!

With my most recent project, I shaved a lot of the fuzz off with my skiver, then dyed it and applied gum trag, followed by Fiebings Atom wax and leather balm. That seemed to work pretty well, though the leather is now pretty stiff and is going to need a good coat of neatsfoot oil to soften it up.

[fredk]

With the backs of items which need the backs looking good; fuzzy or not, after I dye it I melt and rub in a bee'swax / neetsfoot oil mix which is mostly bee'swax with some carnauba wax, the nfo is just to soften it a wee bit. It takes plenty of rubbing in and buffing but I can get the fuzzy back almost as good as the grain side

[Sheilajeanne]

The last two items I've had that were fuzzy were both straps on bags, so I would be worried about the wax rubbing off on someone's clothing.

[fredk]

If you polish it up well enough the wax wont come off. I always do belts this way and I've never had a problem with wax coming off. I wear one of my own belts, no wax has ever come off on my clothes.

The wax mix has to be well worked in, buffed with a cloth then with brushes, then with a cloth again. Its not something which can be done in 10 minutes. It might take me 30 minutes or more to do one gent's size belt, an hour or more to do the inside parts of a small bag.

[utah leather]

On 10/4/2018 at 11:59 PM, fredk said:

If you polish it up well enough the wax wont come off. I always do belts this way and I've never had a problem with wax coming off. I wear one of my own belts, no wax has ever come off on my clothes.

The wax mix has to be well worked in, buffed with a cloth then with brushes, then with a cloth again. Its not something which can be done in 10 minutes. It might take me 30 minutes or more to do one gent's size belt, an hour or more to do the inside parts of a small bag.

I have been experimenting with beeswax for a while now and it seems to be very labor intensive and I was concerned about it rubbing off on someones cloths if I dyed it and then used beeswax as a finish and nothing else , just fiebings alcohol dye, wait 24 hours , buff litely , neatsfoot oil, wait 24 hours, then beeswax ( mixed 50/50 with neatsfoot oil ) . I have tried different techniqes like just rubbing it on and rubbing it , rubbing it on heating with a heat gun then when cool I would buff it off, ect. I would like to know your technique to see how it works so I could get awaw from the resolene and just use beeswax on my belts. Most of the belts I make are work belts for the guys at work , we install granite countertops. any advice would be great.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Thanks

 

[fredk]

2 hours ago, utah leather said:

I have been experimenting with beeswax for a while now and it seems to be very labor intensive and I was concerned about it rubbing off on someones cloths if I dyed it and then used beeswax as a finish and nothing else , just fiebings alcohol dye, wait 24 hours , buff litely , neatsfoot oil, wait 24 hours, then beeswax ( mixed 50/50 with neatsfoot oil ) . I have tried different techniqes like just rubbing it on and rubbing it , rubbing it on heating with a heat gun then when cool I would buff it off, ect. I would like to know your technique to see how it works so I could get awaw from the resolene and just use beeswax on my belts. Most of the belts I make are work belts for the guys at work , we install granite countertops. any advice would be great.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

A. it is labour intensive, but I believe any job worth doing needs taking time over, sure I'll take short-cuts to speed up work, but not if the end result suffers

b. my beeswax/nfo/carnauba wax mix is quite hard, almost as hard as straight beeswax. A 50/50 sort of mix like yours I only use to feed leather, then use the harder mix on it.

c. my method is simple. I lay the belt/strap on my work bench. on the flesh side, I apply wax mix to about 4 or 6 inches using a bit of denim or linen cloth. I rub it in hard, then do another 4 or 6 inches until I get to the end of the belt. Then I start again, applying less wax mix, but to both sides of the belt. On the third time, I use a clean rag to rub the belt/strap, buffing it hard, section by section, one side at a time. On the fourth time I use a shoe-polishing brush to buff the belt along its length, each side. Fifth time I use a soft rag to buff the belt. I keep checking this for any dye rub off, happy to say usually there is none. Sixth time, the belt/strap is pulled through my hand a few times. I have a clean soft cloth in my hand for this. As I do this I can work the leather to make sure its flexible and the edges are well rounded.

d. the heat generated by the rubbing in and buffing is usually enough to soften and melt the wax mix. Only in very cold weather [ie summer here] do I use something like a hairdryer to soften the wax mix

e. my times mentioned above are kinda guesses, I've never actually timed it. 

f. basically the same process for a bag, but most parts need doing before assembly

hth

[chiefjason]

On 10/5/2018 at 12:13 AM, Sheilajeanne said:

Okay, just want to take the opportunity to ask what's the best way to deal with crappy, fuzzy leather? Sanding doesn't seem to work - it just gets fuzzier!

With my most recent project, I shaved a lot of the fuzz off with my skiver, then dyed it and applied gum trag, followed by Fiebings Atom wax and leather balm. That seemed to work pretty well, though the leather is now pretty stiff and is going to need a good coat of neatsfoot oil to soften it up.

 

Get better leather.  Being serious, not smart about it.  I fought it early on.  When I went to buying better leather, I don't have the issue as much anymore.  If you are trying to lay down the nap, you could try water and a glass slicker.  But what is really going on is you are getting what is most likely belly leather or leather from something like the neck that moves a lot and is softer.