METHODS USED TO MANAGE DEFECTS RELATED TO VEGETABLE TANNED LEATHER 123 Revista de Pielărie Încălţăminte 19 (2019) 2 METHODS USED TO MANAGE DEFECTS RELATED TO VEGETABLE TANNED LEATHER Jennifer Tabi SEFAAH * , Eric Apau ASANTE, Kwadwo Fosu DUAKO Department of Educatonal Innovatons in Science and Technology, College of Art and Built Environment, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana Received: 01.03.2019 Accepted: 06.05.2019 htps://doi.org/10.24264/lf.19.2.4 METHODS USED TO MANAGE DEFECTS RELATED TO VEGETABLE TANNED LEATHER ABSTRACT. Leather surface quality is vital when it comes to leather artfact producton. Users of the locally produced vegetable tanned leather adopt various methods to manage and improve on the poor surface quality of leather produced in Ghana. Students from the various secondary schools and local crafsmen who ofen depend on the vegetable tanned leather for it inherits unique propertes such as fexibility, resilience, breathability, perspiraton, durability and mechanical strength adopt various methods to improve on the surface quality and also meet the market standard. The necessity for quality leather surface in leather artefact producton has called for the need for correctve measures to manage defects associated with vegetable tanned leathers produced in Ghana. Stains, cuts, holes, grain loosing, creases, wrinkles, scratch marks, bacterial and viral infectons are common defects which afect the quality of vegetable tanned leathers produced in Ghana. Defect managing methods such as dyeing, paintng, screen printng, stamping, appliqué, and scorching adopted by leather users to manage surface defects were examined for their viability in this current study. KEYWORDS: vegetable tanned leather, defects, managing methods, viability METODE PENTRU GESTIONAREA DEFECTELOR PIEILOR TĂBĂCITE VEGETAL REZUMAT. Calitatea suprafeţei pielii este vitală atunci când vine vorba despre producţia de artefacte din piele. Utlizatorii pieilor tăbăcite vegetal produse la nivel local adoptă diverse metode de gestonare şi îmbunătăţire a calităţii slabe a suprafeţei pieilor produse în Ghana. Elevii din diferite licee şi meşteşugarii locali care depind adesea de pielea tăbăcită vegetal care are proprietăţi unice, cum ar f fexibilitatea, rezistenţa, respirabilitatea, permeabilitatea la vapori de apă, durabilitatea şi rezistenţa mecanică, adoptă diferite metode de îmbunătăţire a calităţii suprafeţei, pentru a se conforma standardelor pieţii. Necesitatea pielii cu suprafaţă de calitate înaltă în producţia de artefacte din piele a impus luarea unor măsuri corectve pentru a gestona defectele pieilor tăbăcite vegetal produse în Ghana. Petele, tăieturile, găurile, curgerea feţei, cutele, încreţiturile, zgârieturile, infecţiile bacteriene şi virale sunt defecte comune care afectează calitatea pieilor tăbăcite vegetal produse în Ghana. În acest studiu s-a examinat viabilitatea metodelor de gestonare a defectelor, cum ar f vopsirea, pictarea, serigraferea, ştanţarea, aplicarea cusăturilor şi pirogravura, adoptate de utlizatorii de piele pentru a gestona defectele de suprafaţă. CUVINTE CHEIE: piele tăbăcită vegetal, defecte, metode de gestonare, viabilitate MÉTHODES POUR GÉRER LES DÉFAUTS DU CUIR TANNÉ VÉGÉTAL RÉSUMÉ. La qualité de la surface du cuir est essentelle pour la producton d’artéfacts en cuir. Les utlisateurs de cuir tanné végétal produit localement adoptent diverses méthodes pour gérer et améliorer la qualité de surface médiocre du cuir produit au Ghana. Les étudiants des diférentes écoles secondaires et les artsans locaux qui dépendent souvent du cuir tanné végétal aux propriétés uniques telles que la souplesse, la résilience, la respirabilité, la perméabilité à la vapeur d’eau, la durabilité et la résistance mécanique adoptent diverses méthodes pour améliorer la qualité de la surface et s’adaptent également aux normes du marché. La nécessité d’une surface en cuir de qualité dans la producton d’artéfacts en cuir a nécessité de mesures correctves pour gérer les défauts associés aux cuirs à tannage végétal produits au Ghana. Les taches, les coupures, les trous, la feur creuse, les plis, les rides, les égratgnures, les infectons bactériennes et virales sont des défauts communs afectant la qualité des cuirs à tannage végétal produits au Ghana. Les méthodes de geston des défauts telles que la teinture, la peinture, la sérigraphie, l’estampage, les appliqués et la pyrogravure adoptées par les utlisateurs de cuir pour gérer les défauts de surface ont été examinées dans la présente étude pour déterminer leur viabilité. MOTS-CLÉS : cuir tanné végétal, défauts, méthodes de geston, viabilité * Correspondence to: Jennifer Tabi SEFAAH, Department of Educatonal Innovatons in Science and Technology, College of Art and Built Environment, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana, sefaah.tabi@gmail.com