New Belts for Old

Maybe I'd lost weight, or size, or something. I don't know. But the two belts that I use most had somehow become too large for me. Even on the tightest settings, they were just too loose. It was getting embarrassing.

So I took them both up to Maine to have them worked on by the guy who made one of them, a belt that fastens through a double ring instead of a buckle (I think he custom-made that one at my request, since it's not something he normally stocks). The other was just a normal belt I'd picked up somewhere.

But I'd forgotten that when he was a kid my father used to be the chemical expert at his father's leather factory in Istanbul. No sooner had I mentioned what I planned to do then he whipped out some sort of drill-auger (or something), and drilled/burned perfect holes as needed. I wish I was half as handy as he is.

But I'd also planned to ask the leather guy to do something about the color of the ring-belt; over the last fifteen years much of the black stain on the leather had leeched away, leaving large faded areas. It looked pretty bad.

Trust my Dad to have a simple solution: liquid shoe polish. He was positive it would work. A week later Teri was cleaning up in the basement in preparation for the big yard sale she's doing tomorrow, and we found an old bottle of black liquid shoe polish (and when I say old, I mean at least fifteen years old). So we polished the belt and left it to dry overnight.

The next day I rubbed the belt down with dry paper towels, and to my amazement the belt looked practically new - and the remaining color didn't run or stain at all.

* * *
Incidentally, I've done a few posts which are viewable by friends only (and a few just for me, if you were wondering). Unfortunately one or two of the people who sometimes read this aren't LJ members. Just a reminder that the accounts are free and invitations are no longer needed. And as far as I can tell, LJ never sends out spam.

New Belts for Old

Maybe I'd lost weight, or size, or something. I don't know. But the two belts that I use most had somehow become too large for me. Even on the tightest settings, they were just too loose. It was getting embarrassing.

So I took them both up to Maine to have them worked on by the guy who made one of them, a belt that fastens through a double ring instead of a buckle (I think he custom-made that one at my request, since it's not something he normally stocks). The other was just a normal belt I'd picked up somewhere.

But I'd forgotten that when he was a kid my father used to be the chemical expert at his father's leather factory in Istanbul. No sooner had I mentioned what I planned to do then he whipped out some sort of drill-auger (or something), and drilled/burned perfect holes as needed. I wish I was half as handy as he is.

But I'd also planned to ask the leather guy to do something about the color of the ring-belt; over the last fifteen years much of the black stain on the leather had leeched away, leaving large faded areas. It looked pretty bad.

Trust my Dad to have a simple solution: liquid shoe polish. He was positive it would work. A week later Teri was cleaning up in the basement in preparation for the big yard sale she's doing tomorrow, and we found an old bottle of black liquid shoe polish (and when I say old, I mean at least fifteen years old). So we polished the belt and left it to dry overnight.

The next day I rubbed the belt down with dry paper towels, and to my amazement the belt looked practically new - and the remaining color didn't run or stain at all.

* * *
Incidentally, I've done a few posts which are viewable by friends only (and a few just for me, if you were wondering). Unfortunately one or two of the people who sometimes read this aren't LJ members. Just a reminder that the accounts are free and invitations are no longer needed. And as far as I can tell, LJ never sends out spam.