Help! Boer War Leatherworking Advice Needed

[BobsYourUncle]

Calling all leatherworking experts! Artificer, Nighthawk, Donnie from Wyvern, anyone else with expertise ?!? I bought a set of Slade Wallace equipment for the new Boer War impression for which I'm collecting/making gear, and it needs to be renovated before it can be used.

The Problem

The leather of the Slade Wallace set that I bought is NOT PERIOD CORRECT, in that it has a patent leather-type finish, which has a hard, shiny surface. I would really like to find a way to get the surface into a period correct condition, as such sets are expensive.

Here is a close up of the offending surface:



The Solution?

On another forum dedicated to Victorian Wars, someone in the same fix stated that they had sanded off the improper finish to render the leather "natural" again ["Buff" is the term used in the British Army for the natural, or unfinished rough out leather surface]. I am looking for some specific advice about

(1) whether sanding the leather to remove the outer surface is a good idea or not;

(2) specific suggestions as to how to sand it, and what to use, i.e., what number grit sand paper, or if steel wool is recommended, what number steel wool?

(3) Are there any tools that are appropriate, like a power sander, or should this be done strictly by hand?

Here is an example of what the correct "natural" or "buff" surface looks like. A substance called Blanco is then applied to this surface to render it white, the white as you see Victorian era soldiers wearing in movies like "Zulu", or "Breaker Morant". However, the leather must be in this condition BEFORE it is made white:



I hope that several of you great leatherworkers will have some good ideas and strategies. Thank you in advance. Regards, BobsYourUncle

[artificer]

without seeing the specific piece in person, I can only issue the following warning.


Be greatly careful with "sanding" the surface. You're more than likely to sand off the outer stitching as well as the offensive finish.

If I was FORCED to make a recommendation, I'd do the main areas with a detail sander, and the areas w/stitching by hand, first with a wire brush and then with a sanding block, possibly masking off the stitches with tape for later "detail sanding" in a more careful fashion.

Best 'o luck. I don't envy you your project.

ith:

[Downunder Kilt]

Far from being any kind of leatherworker, I know that when attempting to recolour shoes there is a substance that strips the shine, gloss etc off so that the new dye can penetrate the leather. I have used it several times and the leather has not bee affected. I have purchased this from the local bootmaker.

You may find once you take the shine off that the white maybe able to be washed out in warm water as I did with a blancoed sporran bag

[artificer]

Far from being any kind of leatherworker, I know that when attempting to recolour shoes there is a substance that strips the shine, gloss etc off so that the new dye can penetrate the leather. I have used it several times and the leather has not bee affected. I have purchased this from the local bootmaker.

You may find once you take the shine off that the white maybe able to be washed out in warm water as I did with a blancoed sporran bag

Mike,
I think this goes beyond surface treatment. The harness is a VERY hard finished chrome tan, rather than a suede finish waiting for Blanco.

If I had my guess, I'd say it was built intending to resemble the suede + blanco without the hassle of actually having to do the work.

Short cuts usually = fail. Sad but true.

Also, the machine stitch is MUCH finer on the repro than it is on the original. (which is more of an aside than anything)

[Downunder Kilt]

I bow to your superior knowledge Scott, the last thing I would want to do is wreck the thing with with a suggestion doomed to failure. Cheers mate

[artificer]

I bow to your superior knowledge Scott, the last thing I would want to do is wreck the thing with with a suggestion doomed to failure. Cheers mate

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mike, but I'm shooting in the dark really.

BTW, BobsYourUncle: Definitely DON'T use steel wool. The metal fibres get into the surface and will rust over time, leaving stains on the leather.

If it were me, I'd probably use a 220 grit sandpaper, but make sure to test it on a small area of leather that is out of view. Again, be really careful around the stitches. I'd mask them off during the main job and do those areas with a very small sanding block afterward.

[budd4766]

Mike,
I think this goes beyond surface treatment. The harness is a VERY hard finished chrome tan, rather than a suede finish waiting for Blanco.

If I had my guess, I'd say it was built intending to resemble the suede + blanco without the hassle of actually having to do the work.

Short cuts usually = fail. Sad but true.

Also, the machine stitch is MUCH finer on the repro than it is on the original. (which is more of an aside than anything)

I concur. And I'd be afraid if you tried to "fix" it by sanding, you're probably going to do a lot more damage than you want trying to make it look authentic. If you're REALLY serious about it being suede and adding white stuff to it, I'd probably use the pieces/parts you've got as a pattern and go get some roughed-out leather or suede to make new stuff from.

There's also a few places that can take leather and refinish it to match pretty much any color you want to match. My wife knows some people in Memphis, TN that do this, though it's pretty expensive. If you want, I'll get details and maybe they can help you take that route. Just let me know.

[Ryan Ross]

Best 'o luck. I don't envy you your project.

ith:

Ditto. This job is going to $uck. Bigtime.

[Nighthawk]

without seeing the specific piece in person, I can only issue the following warning.


Be greatly careful with "sanding" the surface. You're more than likely to sand off the outer stitching as well as the offensive finish.

If I was FORCED to make a recommendation, I'd do the main areas with a detail sander, and the areas w/stitching by hand, first with a wire brush and then with a sanding block, possibly masking off the stitches with tape for later "detail sanding" in a more careful fashion.

Best 'o luck. I don't envy you your project.

ith:

That was my thinking exactly! It would be a nightmare trying to do that! If I were forced to advise on such a project, I would offer the same advice as above. If I were forced to do such a project, I would pull the stitching, and then rough the leather. I would do that for 2 reasons- first, sanding around the stitching without destroying it is going to be really tough. Second, I don't personally like white stitching with brown leather, and would be easier to pull the stitches, rough the leather, and then restitch the whole think with a natural-color sinew or black nylon thread. Of course, that's labor-intensive and the holes for the stitches may stretch when you sand the leather... which I suppose is where the labor-intensive part comes in! Whatever you decide to do, a good wire brush and some really careful sanding would serve you well.

And, um... I will emphatically restate what Scott said about steel wool! Steel+leather=bad!! And shortcuts=fail...

[T-Bone]

I do not envy your upcoming adventure. If I were to do this using any sort of power tool, I would use a flap sander and go real slow.
Good Luck!

T