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Sealing (Not Burnishing) Chromexcel Edges

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First, off, I have a paranoia that if any leather edge on any project is not "sealed" in some way, that dirt and moisture will get in from the exposed edges and ruin the item. Is this irrational thinking? To the more specific question, when it comes to Chromexcel, I know burnishing it is very difficult the results marginal. However, due to its characteristics, I think it makes nice casual belts. And in these instances, I usually won't try to burnish the edges. But is there anything that can be done to seal them against dirt/moisture from entering these exposed edges? I've read somewhere here that  Allen Edmonds edge dress for leather-soled dress shoes does a nice job, almost like a paint, at both dying and sealing the edges for small Chromexcel leather goods. Would this work for a belt? Any other suggestions? 

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My experience with cxl is limited to the horsebutt. The wallet I carry is made from it. There are so many waxes and oils in it that burnishing really didn't do anything for it.

I didn't try any edge dressing or paint because I figured it wouldn't stick.

The items I did actually kind of burnished themselves over time. One wallet I carry daily, another I sold to a co-worker. Both seem fine.

This may be an example of leather that needs heat to seal the edges?

I wish I had a better answer for you. Someone who knows more than me will be along, I'm sure.

I will be following along myself for a better answer.

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Even if it's difficult to burnish, wouldn't some beeswax or Tokonole at least seal the edge from moisture? Or you can paint them. I have no experience with waxy/oily leathers. But there are products out there, like adhesion promoters and such.

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I do rub some beeswax on my cxl belts, and burnish it in. That softens the wax a bit for  better penetration. It doesn't "burnish" as we usually mean it, but it does seal it a bit and improves the look. I wouldn't use a paint, and not just for adhesion issues, but because cxl stretches, and I imagine that would be an issue, especially over the length of a belt. The Natural cxl looks fine without an edge burnish, but the brown I just started using has a much lighter edge than the front surface, so the wax burnish darkens it a bit.

Jeff

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Makers leather supply has a new edge paint that is supposed to work well on oily and waxy leather. 

From a company called Ideliable leather finishes..

ive tried a sample they sent and it seems to work good.

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My thinking is since they are hot stuffed with tallow, waxes and such is that they are pretty impenetrable to begin with???

Am I thinking wrong?

Here are pics of the wallet I have been carrying for 2 years in burgandy Horween cxl horsebutt...

CB3530E0-A9D1-4233-BE6F-E19C900F3AEB.jpeg99D204AC-11AC-4EB8-BDAB-FE871C7CFE3D.jpeg4D79C2B0-CB2E-46AD-A1A7-FE49CAA10BF6.jpeg

And a few just to show the wallet while we're at it.

AD4BF69E-5461-4F1B-8079-542A606F3830.jpeg97264B2E-55AD-4E6A-840B-D70CA39EB79E.jpeg

 

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This is some blue CXL glued to Buttero on a wallet. I burnished with clear Tokonole and it turned out much better than I expected. Not as durable as the Buttero inside but not too bad.

Screenshot_20190319-212546~2.png

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5 hours ago, gojosh said:

This is some blue CXL glued to Buttero on a wallet. I burnished with clear Tokonole and it turned out much better than I expected. Not as durable as the Buttero inside but not too bad.

Screenshot_20190319-212546~2.png

I think that looks really good. I didnt have tokonole back when i did mine. I dont think i ever tested it on cxl.

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I haven't tried to glue anything to cxl yet, how do you think it will last? Horween advertises some "glue-able" leathers, but I would think with all the waxes and oils and such, it might not hold well. 

Edges do look good, though.

Jeff

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12 minutes ago, alpha2 said:

I haven't tried to glue anything to cxl yet, how do you think it will last? Horween advertises some "glue-able" leathers, but I would think with all the waxes and oils and such, it might not hold well. 

Edges do look good, though.

Jeff

Thanks!

The primary function of the glue was to hold everything together during stitching but it seemed to stand up decently to burnishing.

I wasn't gentle with it at any point in the process.

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thanks for the info.

Jeff

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try edgepaint. 

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