Thread: Removing Strop Paste

Hi everyone,

I pasted my small dovo "Prima Rindleder" strop a while back, but now looking back I realized I put WAY too much paste on. I used the dovo red strop paste on it, and as a result I have a REALLY red strop. I'm going to get another small strop to apply some chromium oxide to, since it'll be much better than the dovo red-paste for a finisher. Do you think my red-pasted strop can be un-pasted somewhat and salvagable? Do you think I could sand some of the paste off? Wash it off? I have no idea! Any suggestions are welcome. Thank you,

Dave

I wouldn't wash it. I ruined a nice strop that way, and for the same reason.

The only idea that comes to mind, (NOT TESTED) is to actually scrape it off with maybe a putty knife?????? I don't know if that will work ..
Anytime I re-condition I use a pumice stone and scrub the crap outta the strop, but that just doesn't seem right in this case

I need help with a strop similar to this. Someone gave me some green paste but it's terrible. I'm not a chemist so I can't describe it but the strop is completely unusable now. The paste clumps up on the strop and dulls my blades more than anything.

I bought some from ChrisL and I want to apply but how do I get the junk off first? Apparently, washing isn't recommended. What about scraping most of it off and then using a wet sponge to wipe off whatever is left?

What about soap or gojo? Using Gojo that has a mild abrasive may work. Again I am speaking of using this stuff dry!!! Bar Soap or Gojo in a can.

Spam I found Spam!!!

Kill it

The bad news is there is no way to completely unpaste your strop as the paste works itself deep into the fiber. You can come close by cleaning it best you can and sanding it.

The good news is it's easy to get rid of the excess paste. Get yourself a good leather cleaner and have at it. Depending on how much you want to remove it will probably take 3 or 4 attempts using a clean cloth each time but it will work.

Please whatever path you choose do yourself and your strop a favor and use something that is specifically formulated for leather. I'm partial to Lexol products but there are others out there that are adequate for the task.

As a side note that red paste is pretty coarse grit for polishing. You would be better served with a .5 micron (or finer) paste.

Originally Posted by singlewedge

What about soap or gojo? Using Gojo that has a mild abrasive may work. Again I am speaking of using this stuff dry!!! Bar Soap or Gojo in a can.

I want to adress this post because it contains a couple common misconceptions about leather.

First, while I have never read the list of ingredients on a can of GoJo I doubt if it will read "specifically formulated for leather". I doubt if GoJo will ruin a strop but in general I'd be vary wary about using any sort of cleaner that wasn't designed for leather as there are certain chemicals that will cause the leather fibers to break down. And if you do decide to use it you will then have the issue of removing all the grit that you have just rubbed into your strop.

Secondly the "using this stuff dry" comment is a common misconception that water is the "kiss of death" for leather. It's not, and in fact when you tool leather (cut or stamp those fancy patterns you see in western style belts) the first thing you do is dampen the leather with a wet sponge to soften it. Using water with a properly formulated leather cleaner is very effective and will not harm the leather. Water by itself may discolor the leather (usually darken it somewhat) but it won't hurt anything unless you try to remove the moisture too quickly and then you risk cracks or wrinkles.