--- title: Polishing and Painting the Working Tote description: Every Monday, we're giving an inside look at a step in the process of creating an item that's out on our studio floor right now. image: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0213/4994/files/Grinding.jpg?11454538531173034205 --- [** ](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/polishing-and-painting-the-working-tote#) [![black_Lotuff_logo.jpg](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0213/4994/t/13/assets/logo.svg?10524817447150324571 "black_Lotuff_logo.jpg")](http://lotuffleather.com) ## Making the Best:   Polishing and Painting the Working Tote By **Liz Silvia** on Jun 27, 2016   •   Topic: [Making the Best](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/topic/making-the-best) --- - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![Polishing and Painting the Lotuff Leather Working Tote](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0213/4994/files/Grinding.jpg?11454538531173034205 "Polishing and Painting the Lotuff Leather Working Tote") After a Lotuff bag is turned and burned, polishingand painting follows. Most leather bags on the market today skip the polishing and go straight to layering paint on the edges instead, which looks fine for awhile but eventually peels right off. In our case, we polish and buff each bag’s suede edges, paint over those edges, and re-polish the coarse and “fuzzy” texture that surfaces above the paint. Repeating this process at least four times and up to seven is arduous, but it means that when we’re done, each coat of paint has literally been buffed right into the leather and will never peel.  To be sure we’re done our job, we always run a finger over the finished edges of each bag without looking in what we call a “blind test”. This ensures that they’re all consistently flat to the touch and that no palpable roughness remains- but when this is occasionally the case, we spot-buff any areas that need a little extra evening out before doing the test again.    ![Polishing and Painting the Lotuff Leather Working Tote](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0213/4994/files/Grinding-1.jpg?9682186120952182822 "Polishing and Painting the Lotuff Leather Working Tote") Essentially, each bag is treated almost like a piece of wood: just as one might “raise the grain” on a wooden chair or table, we raise the grain of the suede on our bags’ edges. In woodworking, raising the grain entails the act of sanding down the wood, staining it to cause any rough edges and fibers to “stand”, and then sanding those fibers off once again. This results in a finished product that is streamlined and smooth, exactly what our parallel process achieves for our bags in the studio. It’s a special step that other artists tend to skip over, but it’s important for us to do all we can do make each piece lasting and beautiful.    ![Polishing and Painting the Lotuff Leather Working Tote](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0213/4994/files/Grinding-3.jpg?10803990235288084645 "Polishing and Painting the Lotuff Leather Working Tote") Once these smooth contours are finally achieved, then, our Leather Elixir is then used to round off the polishing of a Lotuff piece. Serving as a moisturizer for the leather to bring out the richness of its color and to preserve its texture, this last action guarantees our bags will look the best they possibly can upon reaching their new owners. Taking these extra steps creates a structure and cohesion that not only helps to make our bags look amazing, but guarantees they’ll be around for a long time. ### Subscribe to Our Blog ### Leave a Comment ### Posts by Topic - [12 Days of Gifting (12)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/topic/12-days-of-gifting) - [A Lotuff Life (3)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/topic/a-lotuff-life) - [Gift Guides (2)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/topic/gift-guides) - [Gifts with Personality (7)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/topic/gifts-with-personality) - [Making the Best (116)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/topic/making-the-best) - [Meet the Team (13)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/topic/meet-the-team) - [The Essentials (112)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/topic/the-essentials) - [The Weekender (145)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/topic/the-weekender) - [Travel Guide (76)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/topic/travel-guide) ### Popular Posts ### Blog Archive - [May 2017 (20)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2017/05) - [October 2016 (18)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2016/10) - [March 2017 (18)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2017/03) - [August 2018 (18)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2018/08) - [August 2016 (17)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2016/08) - [April 2018 (17)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2018/04) - [May 2018 (17)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2018/05) - [October 2018 (17)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2018/10) - [September 2016 (16)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2016/09) - [November 2016 (16)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2016/11) - [April 2017 (16)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2017/04) - [June 2017 (16)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2017/06) - [March 2018 (16)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2018/03) - [July 2018 (16)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2018/07) - [February 2018 (15)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2018/02) - [July 2017 (14)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2017/07) - [June 2018 (14)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2018/06) - [September 2018 (14)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2018/09) - [March 2019 (14)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2019/03) - [November 2017 (13)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2017/11) - [November 2018 (13)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2018/11) - [December 2019 (13)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2019/12) - [February 2017 (12)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2017/02) - [August 2017 (12)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2017/08) - [January 2018 (12)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2018/01) - [September 2017 (11)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2017/09) - [October 2017 (11)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2017/10) - [April 2019 (10)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2019/04) - [June 2016 (9)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2016/06) - [December 2017 (9)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2017/12) - [December 2016 (8)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2016/12) - [January 2017 (8)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2017/01) - [August 2019 (8)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2019/08) - [December 2018 (7)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2018/12) - [May 2019 (7)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2019/05) - [July 2019 (6)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2019/07) - [September 2019 (6)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2019/09) - [June 2019 (5)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2019/06) - [October 2019 (5)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2019/10) - [November 2019 (5)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2019/11) - [January 2019 (4)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2019/01) - [February 2019 (4)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2019/02) - [September 2015 (3)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2015/09) - [July 2016 (3)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2016/07) - [May 2016 (2)](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/archive/2016/05) [Contact](https://lotuffleather.com/pages/contact) [About](https://lotuffleather.com/pages/our-story) [Stockists](https://lotuffleather.com/pages/stockists) [Terms & Conditions](https://lotuffleather.com/pages/terms-and-conditions) [Customer Service](https://lotuffleather.com/pages/customer-service) [Sitemap](https://lotuffleather.com/pages/sitemap) ![](https://blog.lotuffleather.com/hubfs/Lotuff%20Logo/logo.svg "logo.svg") [EMAIL US](mailto:info@lotuffleather.com) [  Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/lotuffleather/) [[fa icon="twitter"] Twitter ](https://twitter.com/LotuffLeather) [[fa icon="facebook"] Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/LotuffLeather) [[fa icon="pinterest"] Pinterest ](https://www.pinterest.com/lotuffleather/) 1 Sims Ave, Providence, RI [info@lotuffleather.com](mailto:info@lotuffleather.com) [888 763 2247](tel:18887632247) © 2026 Lotuff Leather. 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