More Discussion on Protected/Unprotected - Experience with Recliner Arms fading

[WAnnP]

Duane outfitted our great room beautifully with all H&M pieces four years ago. We went unprotected all the way! Thanks to Duane I knew how to clean them and three out of four still look great. My husband's Monaco has browned out. We are replacing the Monaco because it's not supportive enough lumbar-wise.

I believe my husband's leather has browned due to medications or just natural skin differences. The arms are brown while the seat is tan (Hyde Park). So, we're looking at protected leathers for the new recliner. I know the color is painted on and can come off due to friction or lack of cleaning. We experienced a complete loss of the second color on the arms of our H&M office chair with protected leather despite regular cleaning. I'm assuming friction was the culprit.

My question is for those with protected leather on H&M recliners. Have you experienced much loss of color? (Noticeable/not noticeable/how many years into use) If so, was it despite adequate cleaning?

Yes - I read the long posts on different types of leather and the care regime. Thank you, Duane.

What I'm seeking is info on experience with how the H&M protected leather holds up on recliner arms. My office chair experience tells me not to buy protected from H&M but my B-Y recliners (2 years old) and Stickley Durango recliner (four years old) all show zero color loss so far. I'm wondering if the poor performance of the office chair is due to the tight stretch of the leather around the quite narrow arm rest.

[SueCT]

Yes I have in a 4 year old sofa where I sit a LOT and bit on the seat cushion piping. Yes I clean and protect couple of times a year. Since my health has not been great in the last year I have spent much more time than any normal healthy person would in that spot so I am sure that accelerated it. I did get a piece made as a head protector but I drape it over the arm where my arm lays most of the time instead and have had no color loss there and it doesn't cover the nailheads or alter the look of the arms like arm protectors would. But I would suggest one or both. It is much less expensive to replace those in a few years than a whole new chair.

[drcollie]

Leather on upholstery is just like leather on shoes, a belt, or a handbag. If you use it, then it's going to show wear in some form or manner, its unavoidable. Finished leathers have paint that wears away, Aniline leathers can discolor and stain. The piece is still perfectly usable, it's not as cosmetically handsome as it was when new. Cleaning and Conditioning go a long way to prevent hide failure, such as cracking and splitting, but that's not going to stop friction and use wear over time.

All the furniture makers get their hides from (mostly) the same group of tanneries. There is a big leather "Show" every 6 months timed to be 3 months before Market. That's where all the furniture guys go to buy their hides for the next Market. And there literally are thousands to choose from. Bradington Young may buy the same hides as Hancock and Moore, or American leather, and they just rename them all. And some tanneries do a better job of getting paint to adhere than others to the leathers. It's hard to know which one is going to perform well several years down the road.

I have a pure aniline office chair at home (Quintessence) and a finished leather chair at my store desk (Angelo), but H&M. They are both pretty old, both show some wear, but are presentable with no rips or tears in the hides. The chairs work, the cushions are still supportive, so the wear just comes with the many hours of use on both. If you want the toughest leather in the H&M Line, I'd say go with a Burnished Leather, they can really take a beating.

[WAnnP]

Sue - Thank you! We decided to add the arm rest protectors and plow ahead based on your very sensible input.
Wendy

Yes I have in a 4 year old sofa where I sit a LOT and bit on the seat cushion piping. Yes I clean and protect couple of times a year. Since my health has not been great in the last year I have spent much more time than any normal healthy person would in that spot so I am sure that accelerated it. I did get a piece made as a head protector but I drape it over the arm where my arm lays most of the time instead and have had no color loss there and it doesn't cover the nailheads or alter the look of the arms like arm protectors would. But I would suggest one or both. It is much less expensive to replace those in a few years than a whole new chair.

[WAnnP]

Thanks, Duane - sounds a bit like a crap shoot to me but we love the design of the Ava chair. It's a bit hard to put that much money into a product with basically no warranty on the leather. Oh, well. It is what it is and fabric wouldn't perform any better!

Wendy

[drcollie]

In my opinion, one of the best things you can do is a quick and simple wipe down of a frequently used leather upholstery piece with a damp cloth that has a very small amount of cleaner on it. And I'm talking every two weeks. This is not a big production like getting out the leather care kits, its simply a hit and run. This will virtually stop leather discoloring or dirt build up.. Think of your kitchen counter and what it would be like if you didn't wipe it down but every 6 months....gross, right? Or some jeans you wore 6 days in a row without washing....the leather will accumulate dirt and body oils from hands and head. Do that 15 second wipe down on the tops of the arms and the headrest, AND if you have a leather steering wheel in your car or truck, get that too, because it will be nasty.

At my home here's what I do. I make my own juice and keep it in a spritzer bottle from Amazon. And some of the Microfiber towels that you can buy at Costco or Amazon, Target, etc.




* Fill it 90% with tap water.
* Add 2 oz of White Vinegar
* Add 1 pump liquid hand soap. (not dishwashing, too harsh). Do not use two pumps, too much soap is not good.

Shake it and now you have one of the best cleaners around all for about 25 cents of content. Spray it on your Microfiber towel (Not directly on the leather) and do that quick wipe down. That's it! Your leather will stay clean