Help deciphering this description of cover options

[ajssbp]

Hello everyone,

First I've learned a ton from reading here, so thanks to everyone so far!

My wife and I have a totally blank canvas in our living room, so we're starting fresh. I would like a nice comfortable lounge chair, and found this one at a local furniture store that I like a lot and is very comfortable: http://imgcomfort.com/en-US/Product/SPACE/MACAN.aspx#
It's the Space Recliner 55.55 if the link doesn't work.

It comes in a variety of leather options, and according to their Covers document (http://imgcomfort.com/Userfiles/Site...AUG%202013.pdf)

PRIME is a top grain aniline-dyed and pigmented upholstery leather with a thickness between 0.9-1.1 mm.
It has been slightly corrected and Grain embossed to create a uniform appearance in both color and texture.
The careful processing and protective top layer enhances the performance and longevity of this leather quality.
Prime is therefore all about value and carefree maintenance

From my reading here I understand what aniline vs protected/painted leathers are, but based on this description it sounds like some strange combination of the two. If they had just left out the "aniline-dyed" part I would have assumed it to have been the protected/painted leather, but this statement just plain confuses me. The higher grades don't say anything about pigments or doing corrections, which makes me think they are true aniline leather. Anyone have any insights on how to interpret this? Thanks.

-Adrian

[drcollie]

That's called a Semi-Aniline leather, and generally they perform very well. I don't think any leather is 'carefree maintenance' if you want it to last, but otherwise you are probably good to go on it.

[ajssbp]

Since semi-aniline leathers do have a coating on them, I would assume they have the potential to peel then? Is there any different care semi-aniline leathers need since they seem to be a combination of leather types? Thanks for the help so far, and providing such an awesome resource.

[drcollie]

In theory, anything that is top-coated can experience a delamination of the top coat, only leathers that are pure aniline are not subject to that because they don't have a topcoat other than a layer of teflon or wax on them. What I generally see is that most semi-anilines hold up well and don't show that characteristic. I mostly see peeling over time on painted leathers that are thinly coated. Think of those white Nike leather tennis shoes you buy at the store, they look great when new, but in 5 years the toe box is chipped of the white paint. Then think of a good men's wallet (most are either semi-aniline or pure anilines) and in the same 5 years, the wallet will show color shifts from use, perhaps some staining here and there, but it doesn't peel the finish. Both those examples are far more extreme in use than leather residential furniture but it illustrates a point.

Semi-Anilines get the same care treatment as Finished leathers.