Slippery new leather sofa

We recently purchased a new leather sofa from leatherfurnitureexpo.com and have noticed how slippery it is. Does anyone have any advice on how we might go about eliminating some of that slickness? Thank you in advance

Always - ALWAYS - get a sample of the leather before you order. If you placed an order based on photos, you have no way to check the "Hand" or Topcoat. This is so important, that in most cases we at The Keeping Room will ask "Have you had a chance to handle the leather before ordering in person?" And if the answer is "No", then we delay the order until we can get a swatch to them, that's what responsible sellers do.

A slick topcoat is usually indicative of an inexpensive base crust that is loaded up with pigmentation and topcoat. The lesser quality the hide, the more topcoat that is required to cover flaws. I would chalk that one up to experience and see if you can return the piece and exchange it for something will less topcoat, or better yet an pure aniline hide.

You *can* sand the topcoat down like you can with any painted finish, using rougher sandpaper to deliver a more textured finish, but this is not for the faint of heart - you stand a chance of ruining your piece and you would want to practice on samples of the hide first. The most difficult part is not the hand-sanding in and of itself, but of doing in in a way that would not show scratches and swirls. Not recommended for novices, but it is possible.

I was very concerned with the quality of the sofa once we received it as compared to the sample we received prior to ordering the sofa. The leather is Brompton chestnut (grade F if that means anything) from Leatherfurnitureexpo.com which they say is 100% top grain Italian leather, the sample is not as slick and creases when you crumple the leather sample. The sofa received is very orange and slick and will not crease no matter how much crumpling you do to it. Would you have any insight on if the slickness, orange color or nature of the leather might change over time or if our suspicion of receiving a lesser quality leather than the sample may be the case?Attachment 15275Attachment 15277Attachment 15276

I've included a few photos of the sofa, one showing the sample laid on top of the sofa cushion and another showing the sofa cushion that has lines in almost a checker patter as if the leather was folded into a square prior to being used for the sofa. This is my first real leather furniture purchase outside of the stuff you'll find in big box stores so I'm 100% ignorant to what to expect and how it may age over time or if what we received is a lesser quality. Any insight would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

Ok, that helps. Brampton is a leather from Moore and Giles, the same series as Hancock and Moore Tiburon. It’s a waxed Italian Pull-up hide, a pure Aniline. So what you are feeling as slick is the wax that is pressed into the hide, characteristic of this kind of leather. The wax and oil will eventually fade out from the sofa, and it will look dry when that happens. The Leathermaster Pull up care kits will rejuvenate those leathers.

What you bought is a pull-up leather, and it’s a high quality hide. Pull ups have unique characteristics you may not be aware of, and are designed to show color pops with pressure. The sample you have is probably old and lost its wax. Italian hides vary wildly from batch to batch, in color and textures. Believe it or not, the hides from China are the most consistent.

The leather on your sofa is very loose, however, that’s all that concerns me. If this unit is less than six months old it should be tailored better. I would ask for them to send me a set of over-filled back and seat cores.

It’s a good hide, will last many years if you keep it out of direct sunlight.

Hi Duane,

First of all, thanks for a great resource here - I just had my first non-cheapo sofa delivered this week, and while the H&M tier is still in the aspirational category for me, I wish I'd found this place and learned a bit more a few months back when I ordered.

I thought I'd add my own "Leather Furniture Expo" data point to this thread, as it was where I ordered from as well, and had a bit of a similar initial reaction. I'm a bit on the fence as to whether to keep it or eat the $1k (!) return shipping fee and get something else. There are two things I'm not crazy about: (1) the quality/feel of the leather, and (2) the looseness/fill.

Re: (1) - I'm fully sold by your posts preaching the virtues of pure aniline hides, rather than something with a protective layer on top. In that light, I was initially disappointed by the feel of this leather - I got the same "slippery" vibe as Phuegel did, and it just felt a little more... pleathery than I'd expected, versus a luxuriantly soft and buttery leather. My leather ("Tuscany Acorn" - details attached) is also apparently a full aniline with a oily pull-up finish - while I like the idea of a pull-up patina as it ages, is this slippery/harder leather feel characteristic of a pull-up? And if so, should I expect it to soften as the injected oil works its way out over time, or will such a finishing process just generally results in a permanently less-soft leather than a non-injected pure aniline, all else equal?

Your responses in this thread have moved me off the ledge a bit, but I still can't help feeling as though I accidentally wound up with the "something on top" version of leather, rather than its purer form.

Re: (2) - There does also seem to be more give in the cushions than I was expecting. I'd be curious to get your take, though, as I don't really know what I'm talking about - does this look loose enough to be concerning, or does it seem appropriate for a new couch that has been used a couple times?

A big thanks in advance for any perspective you're willing to provide!

Pics attached - please forgive the not-yet-reconfigured living room.

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There is only so much you can tell from photos, I've seen better pieces and I've seen worse as far as leather tautness on the casings. Once of the most expensive components in a build are the interior cushion cores - they are pricey. And there are a number of vendors that sell different qualities of cores. I doubt that Furniture Expo uses the top makers on their cores, but I can't really tell. Inexpensive cores won't last long, the degrade quickly and then in two to three years you would have several hundred dollars to re-core. One thing I love about Hancock and Moore is they are the ONLY company in the business that will send you out new replacement cores (original owner only) for just the cost of shipping them, currently at $ 140 per sofa. That's $ 1,000 worth of cores for just a shipping charge. And you may re-core a sofa three to four times before the leather/frame/suspension gives out. That's a hidden value to a premium piece of upholstery.

Leathers are equally as difficult. If you sent me a swatch I could evaluate it pretty easily, but again - photos can't let me hold the hide and see the hand, or the color bursts, all the things I want to test for Pull-Ups.

There are a number of Direct-To-Consumer companies out there. They have slick web sites, appealing price points, and you get pulled in thinking you are buying top shelf quality cutting out the middleman, etc. I get it. But the reality is they subcontract out all their furniture, their "Business" is usually from an office in their home and they run it from their computer, and the quality is mediocre to subpar. I would LOVE to have someone drop off their pieces from one of these on-line marketing direct-to-consumer sellers when they are done with them, so I can take them out back and cut one up with a Sawzall. Then I can see how they are made. So far, no one has taken me up on that offer - would be fun to see if my suspicions are correct.

If you decide to keep your Leather Expo pieces, the very best thing for those of use here is to report back in three, four or five years time on how its performing for you. That builds the knowledge base, and there is no substitute for an honest consumer review over time.