Leather has never been more popular, but as with fabric upholstery there are many different types out there.
What type of leather have I got?
Protected – Commonly called Finished, Semi Aniline, Pigmented or Painted.
Probably the most common, as they have a more uniform appearance and colour to other leathers, also as they are interpreted to be low or no maintenance.
Protected leather has a durable pigmented finish, but is by no means indestructible and does require the correct maintenance. Essentially this type of leather is painted, with a leather effect pattern pressed on and protected with a leather balm or cream.
Using products not designed for leather (I won’t mention any of the favourites I come across!) may appear to remove all those stubborn stains and dirt to a very satisfactory level when new, but they also break down and remove the durable protection causing the pigment to crack or peel. This then leads to very costly restoration and often replacement.
If the correct products are used, your leather can look as good as new for years to come. Periodically a deeper clean and top up protection is required, that’s where we come in. Our professional leather cleaning system offers much higher levels of dirt and stain removal than ‘over the counter’ cleaners. We then fully apply new protection in the form of nourishment creams, to protect your furniture for years ahead.
Aniline or Natural, Pure, Naked and Unprotected leather
These types of leather often have very little or no protection at all. They are usually coloured with a transparent dye making the leather grain and markings visible.
These types of leather are not low maintenance as they are very porous and therefore should be cleaned on a regular basis to ensure their ongoing appearance. With our expert knowledge and training we can help advise or set up a cleaning program to keep your investment looking as good as possible.
Nu-buck – often known as Suede, Chaps, Bomber or Distressed
Nu-buck differs from Aniline leather only in the appearance of the surface. Suede is the underside or ‘flesh side’ of leather, nu-buck is the effect done on the ‘grain side’ of leather, brushed up to create a similar feel and texture to velvet
As with aniline leather they are not low maintenance and require regular cleaning, sometimes difficult to identify between nu-buck and aniline they are softer to the touch and will scratch easily. A good test to see if you have either nu-buck or aniline leather is if you wet your finger and touch the leather, if it instantly goes dark and stays that way till its dry you have a nu-buck or aniline leather.
All leathers can be a great choice depending on your requirements, but all certainly aren’t treated in the same way. With our expert training and products on hand, we can tackle all your leather cleaning requirements. Please feel free to get in touch to discuss cleaning methods or just to find out what leather you have! Click here to contact us via our contact form.