All About Leathers

[Jeanius 0]

Dear readers

Do post me your questions about leather and i will try my best to answer you to the best of my knowledge in this field. It actually helps me to relearn what i have learned.

Cheers.

[Jeanius 0]

Thanks, Interesting to know that q cheap car like Toyota used good leather......

As i said, not much leather used. Why not, less then 5% of the whole car.

[Daveyap 0]

Thanks, Interesting to know that q cheap car like Toyota used good leather......

You are luckier than me. I drive a Merc and I recently confirmed that they used Imitation leather in my car.

[folwer 0]

You are luckier than me. I drive a Merc and I recently confirmed that they used Imitation leather in my car.

That is what I thought too.....if my old Toyota uses imitation leather and can lasts .... Why not get them to make sofa....

Your merc how old? Does the seat still look good? Maybe can dig out their supplier to custom make sofa

[Jeanius 0]

You are luckier than me. I drive a Merc and I recently confirmed that they used Imitation leather in my car.

Have you reupholster the leather before?? I don't think Merc will do that. I drive a beemer for the last 3 years, leather still good as new, nothing special done other then have it scrub and wash on my seat last year due to jeans rubbing onto the sitting.

Luxury cars like Posh, Lambo, Fer, bent and others, uses Nappa leather or Full Aniline leather for their seats. It just aged with the owner. Class of its own.

[Daveyap 0]

actually, I have a burning questions that I meant to ask. few years back, i have a toyota car that I own for 5 years. In fact, during those days, i spent more time inside my car driving around then sitting on the sofa at home. After 5 years, despite being well use and under the sun all the while, there is no peeling or tear of my leather seats. Throughout the 5 years, I have also never used any leather care product on it.... I'm sure given the pricing of the car, the leather seat can't possibility be real or top quality leather.

So why is it that car seat leather seems to last and has better track records then sofa leather?

About 2 years back, after huge losses in the stock market, I decided to reinvest what is left of my investment income by putting whatever money I have left into buying used cars from direct sellers and then putting them in my friend's car showroom to sell on my behalf as I have no intention whatsoever of becoming a used car salesman. We split profits and losses 50/50. Some of the buyers would want to redo the leather car seats as some of the leather seats do get worn out by former owners who don't really take good care of the seats. My friend's showroom would have a wide range of leather samples (swatches) for the customers to chose and like what Jeanius said, much of the car leathers range are heavily corrected and pigmented so I guess that is where most of the protection come about from the thick sealant. However, If you go into the luxury range of car leathers, the quality is really superb and equal to those semi aniline soft leathers found in high end sofas. But like you, I just don't quite know how come the leather can remain in such good condition despite being lightly sealed (Semi-Aniline)

Frankly, if the sealant that is used is so **** thick, you don't need to use leather conditioners because these conditioners cannot penetrate into the leathers to nourish them in the first place.

[Daveyap 0]

Have you reupholster the leather before?? I don't think Merc will do that. I drive a beemer for the last 3 years, leather still good as new, nothing special done other then have it scrub and wash on my seat last year due to jeans rubbing onto the sitting.

Luxury cars like Posh, Lambo, Fer, bent and others, uses Nappa leather or Full Aniline leather for their seats. It just aged with the owner. Class of its own.

I can only assume that the previous owner, a Japanese Expatriate must be a cheap skate.

[Daveyap 0]

That is what I thought too.....if my old Toyota uses imitation leather and can lasts .... Why not get them to make sofa....

Your merc how old? Does the seat still look good? Maybe can dig out their supplier to custom make sofa

The seats looked brand new even after 5 years. Bet you didn't expect imitation leather to be that good, yeah?

[Daveyap 0]

Have you reupholster the leather before?? I don't think Merc will do that. I drive a beemer for the last 3 years, leather still good as new, nothing special done other then have it scrub and wash on my seat last year due to jeans rubbing onto the sitting.

Luxury cars like Posh, Lambo, Fer, bent and others, uses Nappa leather or Full Aniline leather for their seats. It just aged with the owner. Class of its own.

Just don't quite understand how such high maintenance Nappa and Full Aniline leathers can remain in almost brand new condition in an enclosed hostile environment with such wide ranging daily temperature fluctuations.

[musingaway 0]

Since this topic is open for questions, can I ask another-

What is the leather used usually on women's bag? Any way to get genuine leather, like with certificates?

How about men's suede casual shoes, or black leather business shoes? I think some of them are PU (Which is scraps of leather bonded by glue and given a high gloss finish). Which is not really leather and won't last...

[Jeanius 0]

Just don't quite understand how such high maintenance Nappa and Full Aniline leathers can remain in almost brand new condition in an enclosed hostile environment with such wide ranging daily temperature fluctuations.

How often do you think they use their cars, bro. Just look at their mileage.

[Jeanius 0]

Since this topic is open for questions, can I ask another-

What is the leather used usually on women's bag? Any way to get genuine leather, like with certificates?

How about men's suede casual shoes, or black leather business shoes? I think some of them are PU (Which is scraps of leather bonded by glue and given a high gloss finish). Which is not really leather and won't last...

Depending on the brand of these bags, many different animal hides are used.

Suedes are made from split leather.

Visit Mastrotto site, they supply leathers to different industry. www.mastrotto.com

[Daveyap 0]

Extracted from one of my favourite leather websites.

Leather furniture Care

Leather furniture sales have increased significantly over the last 5 years and one major problem has now become clear- IGNORANCE.

IGNORANCE in the fact that firstly customers rarely know what kind of leather they have bought and secondly the salesperson's ignorance in not advising the correct way to look after it.

There are 6 main types of leather used to make furniture, you need to know which you have.

1. Sealed Leathers, often called Corrected Grain. This leather is top surface coloured then a clear protective sealant is sprayed over the colour, this leather is the most common, to test if you have this leather drip a small amount of water on a hidden area, if it sits there for 15 minutes or more, you have a sealed leather.

2. Antique Rubbed. These usually have a very shiny finish, in the case of Antique Rubbed a base coat of colour is applied first, dried then a dark shade is applied over the top, areas are then rubbed and the light colour underneath shows through. A protective coating is then sprayed over the top to seal in the colours, PU is as above but without the rubbing process.

3. Semi Aniline. This leather is coloured by dyes which penetrate the leather, a thin clear sealant is sprayed over it, this sealant gives some protection, but not much, to test for Semi Aniline, drip water on a hidden area and if it soaks in within 5 minutes you have Semi Aniline.

4. Pure Aniline. Dyed as above but without any protective sealant, fades and stains easily. Do the water test, water will soak in within 30 seconds.

5. Waxed pull-up. This is a pure aniline or sometimes Nubuck, waxed or oiled, this treatment gives some protection against spilt liquids, but fades and dries out quickly with heat and clothing. It also shows slight "scratches" if rubbed with a blunt object, this is sometimes done at the factory to give an aged look.

6. PU Leather or Bicast Leather. This is a leather with a plastic type coating and generally very shiny. It's very similar to Patent leather often used on shoes. Keep away from strong heat, clean with a just a damp cloth. Cannot be conditioned because of the plastic coating. Conditioning could cause the coating to part from the base leather.

THE WATER TEST - RESULTS:

Antiqued Rubbed: The water will remain for around 10 minutes

Semi Aniline: The water will remain for between 3-5 minutes.

Waxed Pull-Up: The water will not be absorbed at all.

[Jeanius 0]

Things to watch out for when purchasing a leather sofa and what's written in the sales order/invoice.

1) Full leather sofa set - A full leather set does not mean that it is a full cowhide leather set.

2) Full Bovine leather sofa set - What animal is the bovine, buffalo, water buffalo, ox or cow. If it is cowhide, we don't use the term Bovine leather.

3) How thick is the hide - Typically, the entry level for leather sofa upholstery, the thickness should be at least 1.3 - 1.5mm.

4) What grade is the cowhide - Full Grain / Top Grain / Corrected Grain / Bicast / Bonded

5) Warranty - Always ask to see the warranty card and read what it covers. Minimum of two years for leather upholstery is sufficient as if the quality of the 'leather' is of poor grade, it tends to peel and tear within that period. 100% Top Grain Leather shouldn't peel or tear even if you do not take care of it over this period of time.

Edited November 6, 2011 by Jeanius

[SamTheMan 7]

Things to watch out for when purchasing a leather sofa and what's written in the sales order/invoice.

1) Full leather sofa set - A full leather set does not mean that it is a full cowhide leather set.

2) Full Bovine leather sofa set - What animal is the bovine, buffalo, water buffalo, ox or cow. If it is cowhide, we don't use the term Bovine leather.

3) How thick is the hide - Typically, the entry level for leather sofa upholstery, the thickness should be at least 1.3 - 1.5mm.

4) What grade is the cowhide - Full Grain / Top Grain / Corrected Grain / Bicast / Bonded

5) Warranty - Always ask to see the warranty card and read what it covers. Minimum of two years for leather upholstery is sufficient as if the quality of the 'leather' is of poor grade, it tends to peel and tear within that period. 100% Top Grain Leather shouldn't peel or tear even if you do not take care of it over this period of time.

Jeanius,

Most entry level sofas use 0.9-1.1 mm leather in Singapore which is actually good enough for a mass market sofa.