Nubuck - Sofa and Love seat

Hello Roger and All,

My first post and naturally with a need for your help. I have these two Nubuck pieces of furniture that we recently acquired for next to nothing. They show a lot of potential and the Mocha color fits our taste perfectly for this particular room.

I was out of town and my wife had found some leather conditioner that she tried and it turned it(one cushion) a light brown in the cleaning process. Now I'm in town and have taken over the project. I would mention the product Leatherique will darken your leather if it's a lighter color and it also made the leather stiffer than the cushion next to it. Please excuse me as I'm not here to bash another product but she found no warning of such issues before hand. A polite warning to others.

Onto current events I am hoping with your expertize you(Roger) can point me the right direction to better turn this set into it's original beauty. Attached are some pics of the set and also one of the Leatherique debacle. I also have a picture of a nail head that is missing, if anyone can point me the right direction to find it I would like to pick a couple up as well. I am a handy man capable of destroying just about anything you put in front of me, just so you know what I'm capable of.:rolleyes:

Attachment 6105

Attachment 6106

Attachment 6107

>>> the Leatherique debacle

You may show us the reverse suede if the oil have gone through the other side.

How much have you applied and this amount need to be removed as the first phase with Degreaser-2.2 > Acidifier-2.0 > Hydrator-3.3 system.

As the pic shows in fact it does make it through. The process used a saturation with the oil and heat to help penetrate the soiled leather. There is one corner that is somewhat light so my hope is that it can be revived.

Attachment 6131

How much have you applied and this amount need to be removed as the first phase with Degreaser-2.2 > Acidifier-2.0 > Hydrator-3.3 system.

My wife had applied about 6 ounces.

If you would please suggest what is needed to clean up the other soiled Nubuck and I will order all of it at one time. I apologize for the delay in my reply as I work out of town and just made it home last night. Thanks again for your patience and your help.

>>> If you would please suggest what is needed to clean up the other soiled Nubuck and I will order all of it at one time.

Other soiling if any has to be identified and removed according to the procedure recommended from this Nubuck Problem Solving Guide.
Removing the Leatherique unwanted non-compatible oil under ‘Stain Type’ from the guide is by row#7. The number denotes the sequence of process and the top row are the recommended products used. With this in mind the products mentioned are found in this Kit-N5.dr. Other stains are combined removed altogether accordingly during this stain removal phase-1 before rejuvenating the leather structure with the Hydrator-3.3 > Fatliquor-5.0 > Hydrator-3.3 system as the next phase-2

Nubuck Leather Problem Solving Guide
Attachment 6132

Nubuck Degreasing Kit-N5.dr
Attachment 6133
http://www.leatherdoctor.com/kit-n5-...degreaser-kit/

Excellent Roger, I'll get things in motion on my end.

Thank You so much!!!!

>>>My wife had applied about 6 ounces.

Logically you need more than 6 oz of Degreaser-2.2 to overcome or emulsify the unwanted oil follows with equivalent of Acidifier-2.0 > Hydrator-3.3?

Does my recommendation make sense?

>>>As the pic shows in fact it does make it through. The process used a saturation with the oil and heat to help penetrate the soiled leather. There is one corner that is somewhat light so my hope is that it can be revived.

You will find that the suede side has coarse fiber then the finer nubuck side.

Thus removing from the suede side is easier and not worry about surface distortion if you do it from the nubuck side - make sense with this practical point?

Logically you need more than 6 oz of Degreaser-2.2 to overcome or emulsify the unwanted oil follows with equivalent of Acidifier-2.0 > Hydrator-3.3?
Does my recommendation make sense?

Yes, it does.

Thus removing from the suede side is easier and not worry about surface distortion if you do it from the nubuck side - make sense with this practical point?


Sure, the more open pores of the suede side will more effectively accomplish our goal. I will treat both sides in hopes of extracting the Leatherique. I had thought the Leatherique was more oil base but once dried it actually stiffened the leather which was a surprise.

BTW, I found a Leather Master sticker underneath both the Love Seat and on the Sofa. This leads me to believe it had a sealant sprayed on it at one time. Are the final sealants commonly silicone base out of curiosity? Do I have any other concerns with the Leather Masters sealant involved? If it was sprayed it had been a long time back as it wasn't working very well.

>>> I had thought the Leatherique was more oil base but once dried it actually stiffened the leather, which was a surprise.

There is a difference when using a “stuffing” oil versus “charging” fat and oil. Fatliquor-5.0 is an ionic negative (-ve) charged fat and oil that hydrogen bonds with the ionic positive (+ve) charged leather protein fiber. Thus it bonds to the fibers and leave the air space free with a more cushion effect then compared with stuffing oils like leatherique that fills up or take up the airspace which will make the leather stiffer. The fats component of Fatliquor-5.0 in room temperatures solidifies and plumps the leather for fullness while the oil lubricates the fiber for smooth flexibility. Leatherique kills the leather natural transpiration by stuffing the breathing pores while Fatliquor-5.0 water component helps to carries the fat and oil molecules and when in contact with the positive (+ve) charged protein fiber breaks free and evaporates thus creates the air or breathing space in the drying process. A little insight into the working at the molecular level of the leather inter-fibrillary structure or cross section will help us understand why leather stiffened.


>>> BTW, I found a Leather Master sticker underneath both the Love Seat and on the Sofa. This leads me to believe it had a sealant sprayed on it at one time. Are the final sealants commonly silicone base out of curiosity? Do I have any other concerns with the Leather Masters sealant involved? If it was sprayed it had been a long time back.

What we may be concern is the yellowing/browning effect as it ages or oxidized. To reverse may require a redox (reduction-oxidation) reaction like Vachetta-2.8 to lighten the effect. Another point is why a sealant product for an open pore finishing like nubuck. What a contradiction, you have nubuck for its comfort of breathability (less sweating comfort) and you put a sealant to close up all the pores, why to avoid any stains, but it will still stain through once the barrier is broken. Sealant is an after market idea, not even used originally from the tannery. Water shedding or proofing is done with fatliquor, when its fat and oil contents reads about 14% it becomes less absorbent from within the leather structure and the still breathes naturally.

Hey Roger, We just got your care package and will get after it tomorrow AM. Your explanation above is excellent and I get it. Saddle soap is the thing in Texas and Fibens leather whatever. I'm finishing up my honey do's today. Picking up a Texas sized recliner next weekend and we'll see what you think.
You're the Man, stay out of trouble and have a good weekend.

I'll keep you posted on progress with pics.