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Intermediate Level Courses
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL FINISHING COURSE CURRICULUM
Unit 1 Overview of the Leather Industry
Role of leather industry in relation to farming, abattoirs and leather goods manufacture
Tannery processing options
Factors that impact on the global leather industry
Unit 2 Crust Leather Production
Soaking
Unhairing / Liming
Fleshing
Deliming
Bating
Pickling
Tanning
Basification
Horsing up / Ageing
Sammying
Sorting / Grading
Splitting and shaving
Wetting back and neutralization
Retanning
Dyeing
Fatliquoring
Fixation
Setting out and drying
Unit 3 Pre-finishing Operations
Reasons for conditioning
Moisture contents for conditioning
Staking
Milling
Milling times
Buffing
Corrected grain leather
Snuffing
Grit sizes of different buffing papers
Impregnation
Improvement of loose grain
Acrylic resins for impregnation
Application rates for impregnation mixtures
How to correct or prevent impregnation problems
Unit 4 Introduction to Leather Finishing
Why leather is finished
Properties of a leather finish
Finish coats applied to the leather surface
Properties of the different finish coats
Diluents
Solvent vs water based products
Resins
Properties of acrylic, polyurethane and butadiene resins
Lacquers
Properties of different lacquers
Pigments
Dyestuffs
Difference between pigments and dyestuffs in terms of opacity
Modifiers
Crosslinkers
Viscosity
How to measure viscosity of mixtures
Viscosity of different finishes
Unit 5 Application of the Finish
Factors that impact on the method of application
Padding
Brushing
Swabbing
Curtain coating
Foiling / Laminating
Spraying
Roller coating
Advantages and disadvantages of the different application methods
How to correct and prevent finishing problems
Unit 6 Mechanical Operations
Plating
Embossing
Ironing
Glazing
Polishing
Boarding
Milling
Brush off
Buffing
How to correct and prevent mechanical operation problems
Unit 7 Finishing of Various Leather Types
Ratio of film forming to non-film forming products
Finishing of corrected grain shoe upper leather
Finishing of automotive upholstery leather
Finishing of ostrich leather
Finishing of sheep nappa leather
Finishing processes
Unit 8 Leather Finish Testing
Standard leather sampling
Sample conditioning
Conditioning times, temperatures and humidity
Common test carried out on finished leather
Interpretation of test results
Possible reasons for finishes failing the tests