Skin treatment at home





Leather products are always reliable, practical, stylish, fashionable and elegant. And if you learn to sew such clothes yourself, then it’s also cheap. Skin treatment at home, removed from a cow or a bull, is a rather complicated undertaking, since the mass of the material reaches 15-25 kg. Modern leather production requires special equipment and the use of chemicals that are not so easy to buy. Today we will focus on relatively simple and affordable methods of making light skins that can be used at home.

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Leather trim at home

Three layers are distinguished in the skin of an animal:

• Upper (epidermis).
• Medium (dermis). This layer represents its own skin.
• The lower layer or subcutaneous tissue.

So that the skin does not rot, does not deteriorate under the influence of the environment and pests (moths, skin-eaters), it must be properly processed. The whole process of making leather at home consists of several stages - we will consider each of them in more detail below.

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Stage number 1. Preparing for dressing. Canning

First of all, the skin removed from the carcass of an animal must be cleaned of the remains of meat, fat, blood and dirt, since these are potential sources of putrefactive bacteria.

To prepare the skinned for further operations, proceed as follows:

1. Wash the skin in cold water using laundry soap. Especially carefully remove the remains of blood and dirt.
2. Let the water drain.
3. Spread the skin hair down on a flat surface.
4. Thickly salt the skin with table salt.
5. Fold the blank and place in a cool place.

Important! Well-processed and carefully salted skin can be stored at a temperature of -1 to +2 degrees for several years.

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Stage number 2. Soaking

This process helps to preserve the raw materials and bring them to the state of a pair of skins. The soaking process during the treatment of the skin at home looks like this:

1. Weigh canned raw materials.
2. Put the skin in the bathtub and fill it with clean water at room temperature. The ratio of water to mass of raw materials should be at least 5: 1.
3. Change the water every 12-15 hours. This is necessary so that the raw materials do not rot.
4. Spend stage 2 days. During this time, the salt will be removed, and the skin will be saturated with moisture and become elastic.

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Stage number 3. Coating:

1. Hang wet skin for 2 hours to remove water.
2. Remove the subcutaneous fat layer with a blunt knife (from the side opposite the hairline). This procedure is called corediation.

Work to remove the grease film requires from the master not only efforts, but also skills. Sheepskin, goatskin are easily cleaned, but calf skins are much more difficult to clean, so large skins should be cut into separate pieces and processed as separate skins.

Important! If during work you feel that the material is not too plastic, and the skin is dry, then after cure, put it again soak for a day.

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Stage number 4. Dehairing

To remove wool from the skin and free it from the epidermis, use the process of dehairing.Its essence is the weakening of hair follicles and the destruction of the epidermis. As a result of this process, the epidermis together with the hair is easily separated from the dermis.

Carry out this step in the following sequence:

• Lay the skin down on an even surface.
• Prepare a wool remover. For a small skin you will need: 40 g of sodium sulfide, 160 g of quicklime. In a separate bowl, extinguish lime with water and mix it with sodium sulfide. As a result, a creamy mass should be obtained.
• With a brush, apply a solution for dehairing on the skin part (bakhtarma).
• Fold the skin with the wool out.
• Leave the rolled roller in a warm place (20-30 degrees) for 12-15 hours. During this time, the solution will penetrate the skin and dissolve the hair follicles that hold the hair.
• Check the raw materials for readiness (the hair should easily come off with a rubber spatula).
• Lay the skin on the table with the hairline up. With a dull knife or a rubber scraper, remove hair. Do this carefully so as not to damage the face of the skin.

Important! The wool during this operation is not damaged, so it can be used for other purposes.

• Place a clean and hairless skin in a bath of water. The ratio of water to mass of raw materials should be 7: 1. Leave the skin in water for 12-15 hours, periodically adding water, maintaining the initial balance.

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Stage number 5. Desalination

The purpose of the process is the neutralization of lime and alkali residues and the creation of conditions for the softening process.

Carry out this process when treating skin at home as follows:

1. Remove the skin soaked with water from the bath and rinse it thoroughly with running water (temperature 18-20 degrees) for 2 hours. During this time, the remains of lime and sodium sulfide will be removed.
2. Leave the skin for 12-15 hours in water at room temperature. Without removing from the water, if necessary, cut off the tail and legs.
3. Immerse the skin in a solution of ammonium sulfate to completely neutralize the alkali and lime that have penetrated the skin. On a small skin, take 140 g of the product. The ratio of water to the weight of the goal should be at least 4: 1.

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Stage number 6. Softening

While the skin is in the process of neutralizing, prepare the powder to soften the skin. The raw material for the preparation is dried cattle pancreas powder, usually a bull. Grind the dried iron together with wood sawdust in a ratio of 1: 3. Powder obtained from one dried bovine gland is enough to process 40-50 small skins.

Important! Sawdust is an excellent preservative, so this mixture can be stored for a long time.

Use the prepared powder as follows:

1. Take the necessary part of the mixture (for one skin - 1 / 40-1 / 50 part of the powder) and dilute it in warm water.
2. Add the solution to the bath where the hide is neutralized.
3. Leave the skin for 1 hour in water, and then remove and rinse thoroughly in warm running water. The enzymes located in the pancreas destroy the soluble protein, which is removed from the skin by washing. After this procedure, the skin will become slightly lighter in weight.

Important! After the time indicated in the technology of softening, check the skin for readiness. It should be silky (fingers should not feel roughness), and the fingerprint at the point of compression should not swim. Squeeze the skin from the face with your fingers and pay attention to the print. A long, non-floating imprint should form at the site of compression.

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Stage number 7. Tanning

To maintain the skin's resistance to moisture, temperature and chemicals, the skin should be tanned. The essence of this process is the introduction of tanning agent into the fabric. The duplicated skin gains strength.

Important! The speed and quality of this process depends on the properties of the glue, the concentration and quality of the tanning agent, the temperature of the tanning bath and the introduction of auxiliary substances for better coordination of the main tanning agent.

The most widespread in the leather industry of all mineral tanning agents are chromium compounds. In home practice, tanning is used with a chromizing solution containing:

• Aluminum alum (4%).
• Chrompeak sodium or potassium (5%).
• 35% hydrochloric acid (2.5%).
• Water (200%).

Important! Take all components as a percentage of the weight of the skin. The module of the bathtub for chromium plating (ratio of water to the mass of the goal) must be at least 2: 1.

Perform the tanning step immediately after the softening step:

1. Well-washed skin (especially on the front side) is weighed.
2. Prepare the solution as follows: dissolve alum in a separate bowl, then add chromic and hydrochloric acid. Mix the prepared solution thoroughly.
3. Pour the solution into the bath. Carry out the process in a cold solution (15-17 degrees).
4. Stir the solution periodically for the first two hours.
5. Leave the skin in solution for 10 hours
6. After the tanning time has elapsed, make sure that the solution passes through the thickness of the skin. To do this, remove the skin from the solution and make a through incision in the collar part.

Important! If the skin turns yellow, stop tanning. If the solution does not thoroughly saturate the skin, repeat the chrome plating process, but reduce the exposure time of the knees in the solution.

After the tanning process, the skin must be rinsed and restored. For these activities, prepare solutions:

• For rinsing: 5% hyposulfite solution + 0.5% hydrochloric acid solution.
• For recovery: hyposulfite (18%), hydrochloric acid (6%), water (200% of skin weight).

Important! Use only freshly prepared solutions for skin treatment at home.

After the solutions are ready, do the following:

• Immerse the skin in the rinse for 4-5 minutes.
• Then rinse your skin slightly and immerse it in a recovery solution.

Important! The temperature of the solution should be no more than 18 degrees.

• For the first 2 hours, thoroughly mix the reconstituting solution with the skin.
• Leave the skin alone for 10-12 hours. After this treatment, the skin will become more durable, soft and moisture resistant.
• After recovery, hang the material on a rung for 9-12 hours.

To neutralize the residues of substances used during tanning, carry out in a working bath with a 1: 5 module (ratio of mass of drumstick and water) as follows:

1. First rinse your skin in running water for 30 minutes.
2. Place the material in a bath with the following solution: borax (1% by weight of the net) or bicarbonate (1.5% by weight of the net). Leave the skin in neutralization solution for 1 hour.
3. Rinse skin in running water (1.5 hours).
4. Hang the skin on a pole for draining and drying. In this position, the material should be within 12-15 hours.

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Stage number 8. Dyeing

Dyeing the skin will give it a certain color. The skin is almost ready and it must be ennobled and brought to marketability.

Two methods are used for dyeing a loaf:

• Perch is the most effective method. The skin is processed in solutions with the addition of dyes.
• Prayer. This is a less effective method. The solution is applied with brushes to the skin from the bakhtarma side.

Important! For skin dyeing, acidic (metallic salts of coloring acids) and direct dyes (sodium salts of coloring sulfonic acids) are used. As a rule, masters use two types of dye at the same time:

• acidic - pierces the skin in thickness;
• direct - gives a more intense painting.

The skin of young animals, having a smooth, uniform thickness surface, is enough to live, dry and knead. If the skin has noticeable defects and is different in thickness, then such material must be leveled using a special plow, and then painted.

Important! When choosing a paint, it should be remembered that light colors emphasize natural vices, and dark colors, on the contrary, hide them. It is better to dye the skin with acid dyes, however, you can use dye for cotton.

The process of dyeing the skin as follows:

1. Prepare a bath for dyeing: dissolve the dye (1.5-2% by weight of the material) in water. It should be 20 times more than dye. Bring the solution to a boil and pour into the bath. The initial temperature of the solution should be 60 degrees. Bath module 1: 5.
2. Place the skin in the solution and continue the dyeing process for 4-5 hours, constantly stirring the solution.
3. After dyeing, rinse your skin with hot running water (50 degrees).

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Stage number 9. Fatliquoring

Immediately after the dyeing step, carry out the fatliquoring procedure. Prepare the solution in advance. For the fatliquoring process, you will need the following components:

• Laundry soap (2.5% by weight of material).
• Castor oil (1.5-2% of the mass of the goal).
• Borax (0.1%).
• Water (20 times more than the mass of ingredients).

Prepare the solution as follows:

1. Bring the water to a boil.
2. Dissolve the soap in water.
3. Add oil and borax to the solution. The resulting solution should resemble baked milk.

Perform the fatliquoring, observing the following sequence:

1. Place the skin in a hot water bath (60 degrees). The ratio of water to skin mass should be 1: 5.
2. Pour the fat solution into the bath.
3. Leave the skin in solution for 1 hour. Fatliquoring is carried out at a constant temperature and vigorously stirring the solution.
4. After the fatliquoring time has elapsed, rinse the skin well with running warm water.
5. Hang material on the bar to dry. Wet skin is best dried in a well-ventilated room. Before drying, shake the skin thoroughly and hang it face out. You can dry in the open air, but always in the shade.

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Stage number 10. Stretching

After 18-20 hours of drying, the skin should be stretched. Use a blunt knife or a metal strip stuck in the edge of the board for this purpose. If the experience of treating the skin is enough, it will be correct to stretch the skin from the front side, but with little experience it is better to carry out this operation from the wrong side. Lightly rub the stretched skin on the front with Vaseline and hang it in the dryer (duration 15 hours at a temperature of 30-35 degrees).

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Stage number 11. Formation of a commodity plate:

1. Remove the dried skin and cover it with moist sawdust. They should not be very wet, because the skin should be slightly moisturized, and not be wet. Leave the skin in sawdust for 10-12 hours.
2. Stretch the material again carefully, knead it by hand and pull it (lightly) onto the wooden frame.
3. Leave the skin on the frame in a ventilated area for 10-15 hours.
4. After the stretching time has passed, remove the material and cut off the hard edges.
5. Iron your skin. The temperature should be minimal.

The skin is ready, but if the paint could not hide all of its defects, then use a special coating composition, which we will discuss below.

For a coating agent, you will need the following components:

• Dye or pigment (11 grams).
• Borax (5 grams).
• Animal blood (200 ml).
• The protein of one egg.
• Glycerin (3 ml).
• Formalin (1.8 ml).
• Milk (100 ml).

Use the components to prepare the drug as follows:

1. Dissolve the dye (pigment) while boiling in 500 ml of water.
2. Separately, dissolve borax in 100 ml of water.
3. Cool both solutions.
4. Take a separate dish and beat the protein thoroughly. Mix protein with chilled dye.
5. In a separate bowl, beat the blood, mix it with a solution of protein and dye.
6. Thoroughly mix the resulting mixture, add glycerin and formalin.
7. Mixing the composition thoroughly, add borax solution and milk.
8. Filter the mixture with gauze, folding it 4 times.

Important! The prepared composition is enough for glossing 8-10 small skins.

Gloss the surface as follows:

1. Wipe the skin with a lactic acid solution (1:12). You can use pre-filtered whey or kefir.
2. Apply the cooked gloss with a short-haired brush or pad covered in plush. Apply gloss with a thin layer without drips.
3. Leave the material to dry (15-20 minutes). Try not to overdry the skin.
4. The front layer of the material is slightly rubbed with petroleum jelly.
5. Spread the skin on a flat wooden surface and polish the skin with thick smooth glass. It can be the bottom of a bottle or a glass.
6. After a day, cover the skin again with gloss diluted with water in a 1: 3 ratio.
7. Dry the material, polish it again with thick glass.
8. Iron the finished material on the front side with an iron using a minimum temperature (90 degrees). Smooth the skin from the center to the edges until a shiny, even surface is obtained.

The skin is ready for further use.

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Stock footage

Making leather at home is a rather laborious and lengthy process. We hope that our article helped you understand this difficult leather business, and now you can process any animal skin and use it to sew a practical leather product.