pasting leather

[sbrownn]

I'm interested in techniques for pasting the backside of leather.  I have tried rubbing with gum trag and it is okay but not nearly as good as factory pasted.

[battlemunky]

Is pasting the term for making the flesh side smooth? I have also used gum trag and have also not gotten the factory smooth look.

[Retswerb]

I’d love to learn this as well. I bought some pasted back leather last year from Zack White Leather for a commission of some coin purses and man was it ever nice to work with.

[Sheilajeanne]

I had some very bad, hairy leather from Tandy that was to be the straps on a tote bag. Sanding and burnishing didn't do much of anything, so I applied gum trag followed by atom wax. That smoothed things out, but the leather became very stiff. I really didn't want to put neatsfoot oil on it in case it would rub off on someone's clothing, but finally put a light coating on it, and it did help.

Would be most happy to hear other people's solutions!

[Matt S]

I've played around with a few things, but never got as good as a tannery finish (which shouldn't be a surprise). Most things that you'd use for edge burnishing worked to an extent -- gum trag, gum arabic, saddle soap, plain water. I found running the pasted leather through a pasta machine while it was still damp worked fairly well, until the pasta machine broke. Slicking with something that I could really put some pressure on was pretty good too. You can get glass slickers for the purpose. I also found that, like edge burnishing, the results varied quite proportionally with the quality of the leather.

[billybopp]

4 minutes ago, Matt S said:

I've played around with a few things, but never got as good as a tannery finish (which shouldn't be a surprise). Most things that you'd use for edge burnishing worked to an extent -- gum trag, gum arabic, saddle soap, plain water. I found running the pasted leather through a pasta machine while it was still damp worked fairly well, until the pasta machine broke. Slicking with something that I could really put some pressure on was pretty good too. You can get glass slickers for the purpose. I also found that, like edge burnishing, the results varied quite proportionally with the quality of the leather.

I wonder if an old washing machine wringer would work for bigger pieces ... Hmmmmm

- Bill

[Mustangdave]

I had very good success using the following method. Get an old or very inexpensive clothes iron. On the lowest setting, press the flesh side of the leather until it it is warm enough to liquify 100% pure wax without burning the leather and follow the iron with a block of the beeswax. After the piece is coated in the wax, allow to cool completely, then go back over the piece with just the iron to even things out a bit.  It takes a bit of practice to get right on but works really well, and if done before the work of stitching and edge finishing etc it is not overly hard or stiff and won’t flake or rub off.

 

[battlemunky]

53 minutes ago, Mustangdave said:

I had very good success using the following method. Get an old or very inexpensive clothes iron. On the lowest setting, press the flesh side of the leather until it it is warm enough to liquify 100% pure wax without burning the leather and follow the iron with a block of the beeswax. After the piece is coated in the wax, allow to cool completely, then go back over the piece with just the iron to even things out a bit.  It takes a bit of practice to get right on but works really well, and if done before the work of stitching and edge finishing etc it is not overly hard or stiff and won’t flake or rub off.

 

Interesting. I figured I'd get inventive and tried ironing some leather once. On high. It didn't turn out well. Microwaving isn't good either. I'm going to (gently) fire up the iron and mess around again. I had given up figuring even low'd be to hot but it sounds like further experimentation is in order. Good to know there's still room for adventure!

[toxo]

At the risk of sounding stupid - Has anyone tried paste? As in wallpaper paste! It is a glue right? and as far as I know doesn't rub off on anything.

[fredk]

I use my beeswax/carnuaba wax/nfo mix. I use my harder version. I apply it with a cloth and rub it in. Takes some work but I can get a nice smooth and shiney surface, almost as good as the grain side. I do it on all belts and straps I make.