How to prepare the Leather Edge: Old vs. New Method

Leather Edge physical preparation is a key phase for the final look of your leather items. The way of prepare leather edge has changed during the last few years due to the paint innovation, that now allow you a quicker and easier process.

How was usually prepared the leather edge in the past?

In the past, leather edge preparation to the following finishing and colouring phases has represented an important step for success enabling us to get a high-quality leather edge.

Using old paint and old acrylic technologies, preparing the leather edge with various
phases of work was essential, such as burnishing and beveling.
This long preparation was requested because the application of an acrylic-based paint itself can not cover the defects on the surface on which is applied, but probably that kind of paint will enhances the leather edge defects; that’s why was so necessary to spend a long time working on the leather edge before applying the leather edge paint.

Usually, the surface to be coloured (the leather edge), was beveled, burnished, sandblasted, brushed, and possibly closed using different tools, especially when you were going to work on the leather edge made of laminated leather, like belts, bag handles, wallets, or any other leather good items which provide for the coupling of two pieces of leather.

How should I prepare the edge to perform the new process?

Using our edge paints all of these long operations can be avoided, as the paint itself provides to fill the empty spaces and to prepare the leather edge for the following operations, creating a uniform base layer, which will allow you to get a leather edge with all the
requested features to be a high-quality leather edge.

In conclusion, using our leather edge paint you will no longer have to spend long periods of time in the physical preparation of leather edge, indeed avoid these operations that "close" the surface, will allow the paint to penetrate even better, increasing the adhesion and resistance to mechanical stress.
The only advice that we would like to give you is to provide a light sanding of the leather edge (which can be done using sandpaper with very fine grain), in order to remove any residual impurities on the leather edge, or some leather hair excess.

And You, how to prepare the leather for the edge coloring process to achieve the highest quality?

Download our free Basecoat User Guide for Leather Edge Dyeing and find out the new process for Leather Edge finishing.