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Leather Care and Info.
Leather Reconditioning
There are four stages in the process of restoration and cleaning of damaged and stained leather:
1. Degreasing and thorough cleaning
Degreasing and thorough cleaning
During the intensive cleaning stages and degreasing, we open up the leather pores and stop the destructive process on the leather surface. The absorption and breathing capabilities of the original leather are restored and enable the novel regreasing process. The leather is fed "nourishment", guarding against renewed and quick drying out. A deep-drawing undercoat provides improved adhesion properties between leather and coloring.
2. Removing tears
Removing Tears
A specialist repair product which levels out any surface unevenness is applied carefully to leather surfaces which are chapped or damaged by scratches.
3. Application of the Leather Coloring
Application of the leather coloring
The original coloring is taken from a place that is not exposed or from a color sample (change of coloring possible on request). Coloring is applied in several fine layers.
4. Surface Sealing
Surface Sealing
The final coat sets the leather coloring and determines the degree of shine. The subsequent application of the light protection agent delays bleaching of sensitive leather colors in the long-term.
Leather facts - LEATHER BELONGS TO LIFE
content:
- From hide to leather
- Natural or pure aniline leather
- Slightly pigmented or semi-aniline leathers
- Pigmented or coated leathers
- Suede leathers: Nubucks, velours and buckskins
- Leather - the traces of nature
Nature nearly pure
Leather is a natural product and brings some kind of nature also in your living room. Leather is produced from animal hides, and therefore it shows features of an individual living thing. Insect stings, thorn chaps and injuries leave traces on the hide of the animal which can only be covered partly in the manufacturing process of the leather. Nature cannot be retouched totally. These “injuries“ of the hide, indeed, indicate the natural origin of the covering material. A synthetically produced covering material can never give such an impression of nature. Moreover, nothing is more hygienic than leather - if it is treated right. Not for nothing leather is recommended as the covering material, e.g. for allergic people.
There is a long way from hide to leather…
For the upholstery leather manufacture preferably cowhides from mostly European breedings are used. They quite show above-mentioned natural features, however, by far less than hides from overseas, where animals live in the open-air. In the leather manufacturing process the raw hide is cracked in the tanneries after the first cleaning process to receive evenly thick leather. The resulting upper surface, the so-called grain split, shows the part which is mostly manufactured into upholstery leathers, the bottom surface, the so-called flesh split, is less used. After tanning, which means to preserve the raw animal hide, you have already received the material leather.
Leather is not leather
The individual features of the animal, which the leather bears inside, are one reason for the different further manufacturing steps within the leather production. However, also fancy trends and customer demands contribute to the fact that many ways have to be gone to receive the finished upholstery leather. Furthermore, there shall be made big quantities same looking leathers from different hides so that the furniture manufacturer can offer an uniform product to his customers. After a further cleaning step the leathers will be dyed in a dyeing process. The leathers are evenly dyed in the so-called drum dyeing, i.e. they are dipped into a coloring agent. After this dyeing, the different hides go now separate ways, and doing this, the nature of the hides plays again an important role…
Natural or pure aniline leather
Production
After cleaning and dyeing the leather in the drum, the selection process follows: How many natural features does the leather show? Is it possible to handle the leather without applying a further color coat or would these traces on the hide be noticed immediately? Only about 15% of the hides withstand this selection. They are manufactured into the so-called natural or pure aniline leathers. The leather will then be stuffed since the fat content determines essentially the properties of the leather, e.g. the softness and the warm texture, and additionally a light protection layer will be applied to the leather to reject stains.
Properties
| These just drum dyed leathers show all natural features of the animal hide, which are, indeed, not very numerous ones for these selected leathers. Of course, the colour distribution and the evenness of the leather vary, however, these properties just make up the charm of this material. |  |
These leathers are very soft and handy leathers, the pores are still visible, so the respiratory activity of the leather is completely maintained. When touching the leather, its open porosity facilitates a temperature balance, so the leather feel warm.
Treatment
Room air conditions, sun and use affect especially this leather badly in very short time: any kind of dirt, in particular body and hair fat, collects on the leather (especially body fat cannot be recognized immediately as a dirtying agent!). And often dry air and sun contribute to let the leather dry out or even bleach out prematurely.
Therefore, consequent treatment is very important: Clean your leather regularly with a damp cloth (not wet). Slightly pigmented or semi-aniline leathers
Production
Do the hides show more natural features than permitted for the production of pure aniline leathers, a slight brightening colour coat will be applied after the drum dyeing. In fact, the natural features are still partly visible, however, they are quite leveled. Some leathers are additionally embossed or pressed to give them a natural and live appearance. After dyeing, this leather receives also a protective layer to reject dirt.
Properties
| The slight protective color coat makes the leather more insensitive but maintains the pleasant texture. Despite the color coat the leather is still soft and handy, and therefore the slightly pigmented leather proves to be the middle class of the upholstery leathers. Also the pores of the hide are for the most part visible, therefore the respiratory activity and the temperature balance are - similar to the pure aniline leather - possible as well. |  |
Treatment
The slight color coat makes this leather less absorptive for the dirt of the daily use than the pure aniline leather, however, because of the closeness to the pure aniline leather it also makes certain demands on the treatment. Any kind of dirt, especially body and hair fat, collects on the leather (especially body fat cannot be recognized immediately as a dirtying agent !). And often dry air and sun contribute to let the leather dry out or even bleach out prematurely
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Production For these leathers the hides with the most natural features are used. A color layer is applied to receive a pleasant leveling of the surface. The natural features are nearly no longer visible, they are coated, therefore the term “coated leathers“. Consequently, of course, also the pores are nearly no longer visible. Some kinds of leathers are additionally embossed or pressed to give them a natural and live appearance. After dyeing, this leather receives also a protective layer to reject dirt. Properties
Treatment Pigmented or coated leathers are carefree leathers, liquids are - as mentioned above - generally rejected and can be easily wiped up with a cloth. The not immediately visible body and hair fats affect also this kind of leather badly. If you do not remove them regularly, they attack the protective coat consisting of impregnation and color, it breaks up and becomes cracked. The damaging influence of dry air can also cause this breaking-up of the protective coat, ugly chaps are the consequence |
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Suede leathers: Nubucks, velours and buckskins
Production
Different to the kinds of leathers described before, suede leathers distinguish themselves from the other types of leathers by a velvety surface. This effect is caused by grinding the smooth top side of the grain split of the nubuck leather. For velours and buckskins also the bottom side of the grain split and the flesh split is used. For nubuck leathers you reach a strong liveliness of the surface when embossing it with a pattern according to the latest fashion. Of course, an impregnation is also applied to reject dirt.
Properties
So, for velours leather the already available velvety nature of this part of the hide is used, and for nubuck leathers this very pleasant and velvety, however, not so fibrous surface is received by grinding. This kind of surface excludes any application of a colour coat after drum dyeing because it would conglutinate the fibres. This type of leather captivates because of its very skin-kind softness, smoothness and warmth. This leather shall be protected against dirt by a regular impregnation.
The traces of nature
As already stated at the beginning: you can recognize the naturalness of leather by the fact that according to the type of leather the so-called natural features of the animal hide are more or less visible. A part of the animal’s life can be read from the animal’s hide - from injuries caused by barbed wires or insect stings up to fighting traces. Just imagine this natural origin when looking at a leather and discovering an unevenness. (Of course, this does not concern defects which have been produced through the manufacturing process of the leather or the piece of furniture. This, indeed, happens very seldom).
Please find below a short list of possible natural features and two exemplary photos to give you an impression how these features make themselves felt:
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fattening wrinkles
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hedge chaps
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leather affected by
sweat and fat |
desiccated and faded
leather |
