Leather Care Help

[cander]

I've read the H&M cleaning regimen post but have some additional questions.
I purchased the used H&M sofa, chair and ottoman I had posted about earlier that I had found on Craigslist. Love how it sits. Looks great in my house.
It is in Weston Tobacco leather. Is this considered an aniline unprotected leather? (Need to know which kind of cleaner/conditioner to buy)

The previous owner had used the Guardsman or Guardian (don't remember for sure what she said) leather cleaning product on it. I know that was not one that was suggested by H&M. Has it put any kind of 'coating' onto the leather that should be cleaned off and then use the recommended products for cleaning and conditioning process. There is a small area of discoloration of what I think would be hair/body oil on one cushion of the sofa back. It is not as noticeable as I thought it would be I think because of the lighting where it is sitting in my room. I know it would be pretty hard to get that stain out, but will future cleaning and protecting help keep future stains from happening?

My other concern is one side of the chair is faded (They had it sitting near a window. It had sheers on it, but apparently wasn't enough to keep it from affecting the leather.) Would the product I've seen by Leather Magic (I know that's not the product that H&M now recommends) be good for recoloring the faded portion of the chair. Would I need to do the entire chair to make sure the color was even? Also, would the UV protector they sell be helpful, since the chair will be getting some sun during part of the day. Or is there another product that would be recommended.

I want to help these pieces last a long time so I know I need to take proper care of them. As a new leather furniture owner, I need your expertise in what would be the best care for these .

Thanks for your help.

[drcollie]

The kits 1 and 2 are identical in product makeup, the difference is in the directions. For a pure aniline, you should use a hair dryer to speed water evaporation on the product which will avoid a stain if its applied too heavy. Weston is a pure aniline, but has a waxy topcoat with a pull-up effect. Kit 2 will work, but Kit 3 is better as it has additional components for the wax finishes.

Recoloring a waxy leather might be tricky. Call Leather Solutions directly and talk to them about it. Leave a message if you get the voice mail, they will call back. (866) 875-7446

[cander]

Thanks Duane for your advice.
I will give them a call and see what they say about recoloring.

Do you think the previous care products (Guardsman) to other owner used will have put anything on the surface that would make it difficult to clean and condition properly?

Is this waxy topcoat on this particular leather a form of protection or is it more to do with the look of the leather? Guess I need to do more research on what a pull up effect is.

Always appreciate your advice. I have learned a great deal about what good furniture is from your posts.

[drcollie]

I have seen problems with people who have told me they use Guardsman on certain types of leather, and it has caused the hide to fail, specifically it attacked the topcoat and caused it to strip and flake off. First thing companies like H&M (and others) do if a customer claims there is bad leather on their purchase is send the hide off to a lab for testing of what is on the top surface, if an un-approved product has been found to have been applied, then any chance of a warranty replacement is gone. Many times that product has been Guardsman, which is sold as a post-sale add-on treatment by dealers as a profit margin builder. I have no idea if it would chemically interact or play nice with the Leather Solutions product, but my guess would be it wouldn't do any harm to apply the LS product onto the pieces...but that is just a guess.

A pull-up hide shows lighter color bursts when subject to pressure. Some people call those 'scratches', but in the trade we call it a 'color burst'

I'm not sure how a re-color will work over a waxy topcoat, that's why you would want to talk to them directly to see what they say.

[cander]

As you recommended, I contacted the people at Leather Solutions. You were so right in your previous posts. She was very knowledgeable and not only answered my questions, but gave good reasons and explanations of why certain procedures should be used. She asked what leather that was on my pieces - Weston Tobacco - and was familiar with it and knew what would be needed.

First, she felt that the Guardsman didn't contain any product that might have harmed the leather or put any coating on it that would make future cleaning/conditioning a problem. (Possibly because this was not a leather with a topcoat/protection) She did think with using their product, that leather will have a softer feel.

Next regarding the coloring of the faded area, she thought that should be possible. A good cleaning would be the first step, followed by the softening. Since it had been exposed to sun she mentioned that it would be dried somewhat (you can feel that in the area) and said the softening may take several applications. This would be so the color would be absorbed correctly. She even explained how the color would be applied, layering it in the faded area first until it came up close to the color of the rest of the chair and finally go over the entire piece to make it even out. After that the wax layer would be applied. They would have a color that would match up with the Weston Tobacco
I did ask about if they had a UV protectant that might be applied to prevent further fading. She felt the better prevention would be treating the windows as I think you have done Duane or closing the shades during the day. Another suggestion was to put a throw of some type over the area on the chair that would be receiving the sun. She was concerned about the ingredients in a UV protectant effect on the leather. She did say that all leather will fade over time even if they are not in direct sun.

Finally, while talking about how often the cleaning conditioning may be needed she was saying how body/hair oil would accumulate if they weren't cleaned off periodically. I mentioned that there was a small area where the previous owner's head must have rested. (Since you had said that this probably could not be 'rescued' I hadn't really thought about asking her about it ) She said they did have a degreaser that might be able to help. She asked if the cover had a zipper so that it could be removed. (It does) In which case, it would be worked on from the inside--basically drawing the oil on through and out the back side. She explained the the oil spot has appeared because the oil has penetrated into the leather and saturated the pores and that it why it shows on the cover. By pulling this out the back side, the pores will open up and the leather will be able to 'breathe' again. If left, that area will eventually begin to crack and break down. She indicated that it was not so much a labor intensive process, just time consuming since the degreaser has to be applied and then allowed to dry for several hours which works to draw out the oil. The residue is then vacuumed off and another coat applied until the stain is lifted.
Hope that explanation of the procedure is understood so that it may help someone else who may have body oil stains. If the cover can not be worked on from the inside I don't know if this procedure would work well. She said by doing it from the back side the current finish of the leather isn't disturbed.

This sounds like a great company that really knows their leather and are very willing to help. She said that if during the coloring process that I wasn't sure about what steps I should be taking, to call and she would walk me through it.

[drcollie]

See how much you learned in that phone call? <G>

Leather Solutions is one of the primary vendors for most leather houses, including Hancock and Moore. When they have a leather issue, they call her and she also teaches the H&M workers how do to touch ups. Yes, the best place to stop sun fade is at the windows with solar film. I use it at both my home and the store. Then do the regular maintenance, and you'll be good to go.