Hello Duane and all the great leather minds on this forum,

I have a ~10 yr old B&Y semi-aniline sofa, for its age the leather has held up remarkable well(cushions are another story). Although, the leather surface has evolved into extreme variances of appearance and I would like to safely remove the top coat from the areas it remains. What is underneath is a soft, pliable leather and the look and feel I desire whereas the areas not worn have a hard, crusty and shiny look...like faux leather which I don't want.

Through the years I have used your site (clicked on the ads) for my information but I have not found an existing thread regarding this subject. I did find some DIY sites that use water, alcohol, hairdryer, & 220 sandpaper to give the distressed look. This site has educated me enough to know that you have to be careful with leather. Those sites use the water and heat to create small crackings in the leather but that sounds crazy to me...wouldn't it start to flake? I dont want to damage the leather but with an older sofa I would be willing to take some calculated risks.

This morning I took the area of leather under one cushion and used 220 sandpapper with rubbing alcohol(skipped the water/heat) then wiped clean and worked in some of your recommended leather conditioner. I knew the surface was off because it soaked up the conditioner like never before. The results seemed positive - smooth, soft with no blotchy spots or sanding marks.

Before I go "head first" what are the risks? Has anyone tried anything similar? Will the alcohol make leather crack in the future even if I use conditioner? Anything I should be aware of that I am missing or even a better process?

Thank you, all

Jerry