Leather Treating

Crude scale and paraffin waxes are employed to soften and impart water repellent to leather goods.

candellila wax is harvested from shrubs grown in the Mexican states of Coahuila and chihuahua and in texas. The entire mature plant is uprooted and immersed in boiling water acidified with sulfuric acid; the wax floats to the surface for recovery. Principal markets for candelilla wax include cosmetics, food and pharmaceuticals.

other vegetable based waxes include japan wax, produced on the berries of a small tree native to japan and china; ouricury wax, obtained from the fronds of another palm tree growing in Brazil; rice-bran wax, extracted from crude rice bran; and jojoba, obtained from the seeds of the jojoba plant grown in parts of costarica, Israel, Mexico and the united states.