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Remove compound from strop?
- Thread starter No1up
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I'd avoid water, and especially avoid soaking or immersing it in anything. The leather will likely swell and/or soften, if it's soaked in water, and that might alter it's behavior after the fact. Might also shrink or curl, after it dries.
Some WD-40 on a rag or paper towel can be used to wipe away the heavier stuff on the surface. Again, DON'T spray WD-40 directly on the leather, and don't soak it. If you're wanting to remove every trace of the compound, some light sanding of the leather after the strop is dry can take off the embedded compound, down to clean leather. Any medium-grit sandpaper can work well for that, wrapped around a block for even sanding.
David
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I've used "waterless hand-cleaner" many times with excellent results. Make sure it has "no pumice" or "no abrasive" on the label.
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I'm in the "scrape and sand" camp. If trying to use it with a finer compound than it currently has, I'd just make a new one. If its totally loaded up and not working well anymore a good scrape down and reapply will do the job nicely. If its a real hard leather it can be sanded as well, but a stout scrape down is my vote.
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It's more about a solvent. The light solvent in WD-40 does a pretty good job loosening up the compound's binder, so it can be wiped off. And it'll evaporate afterward, which is much better than an oil that'll hang around much longer. WD-40 does have a little bit of light mineral oil in it; that's why it's best to apply it with a rag/towel, so too much of that oil isn't left behind. Used lightly, it won't harm the leather at all, as previously mentioned.
Might also use some isopropyl alcohol in the same manner, wiped on with a rag. It'll dry the leather a bit, but not too bad, if you don't use too much.
All that being said, you don't HAVE to use any oil/solvent or other liquid cleaner, depending on what your objective is. If you just want to completely remove the compound on a simple veg-tanned leather strop, the sanding method is likely the most straightforward. I recommended wiping the heavy stuff away with WD-40, just to avoid clogging the sandpaper and rubbing/grinding too much of it into the leather during the sanding. Sanding will be cleaner & simpler that way; it's quite easy.
David
I've scraped and sanded a few myself . On some I've wanted to replace green wit white or even black . I just colored over them lol.
The leather wasn't that thick so on another one I melted the white compound and just spread it over the finer . Worked fine
Finally!! People have been talking about using WD-40 for years because it works so well... But we all KNOW (don't we?) that we don't really want to use mineral oil on leather if we can avoid it.... We just want the solvent that's in it!
Sooo.... Let's all go down to the Art Supply store and buy a small bottle of (and get ready for a list of 'Also Known As')
Mineral Spirits
Odorless Paint Thinner
Stoddard Solvent
White Spirits
4 names for the same stuff... the same solvent used in WD-40
You can get a little bottle (4oz?) for about $3, and it will last you a few years unless you use it for all the other things it's good for.
It works. Just remember to feed your strop every year or two if you're going to clean it with a solvent.
Stitchawl