Hello,
What products should I use to repair this damage?
Thanks.Attachment 10913
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Hello,
What products should I use to repair this damage?
Thanks.Attachment 10913
Read more . . .
https://leatherdoctor.com/auto-leath...on-kit-at5-ws/
Attachment 10915
Auto Leather Water Damaged Stiffness Restoration Kit At5.ws by Leather Doctor is to fatliquor recondition leather stiffness caused by water and heat drying issues.
People Also Ask:
What is Leather?
Leather is an amphoteric protein fiber material that is pH sensitive and any liquid that has a pH value above the pH neutral of leather will cause the leather constituent, especially the fatliquor fat and oil content to leach out.
Why Water Damage Leather?
Water's average pH value is about 7, while leather's pH neutral is about 3 to 5. Any liquid source that has a pH value above 7 will cause the leather protein fiber to weaken its ionic positive (+ve) charges. As the main leather constituents like the tanning agents and fatliquor are ionic negative (-ve), the hydrogen bonds weaken and the fat and oil migrate out, emptying out the center of alkaline overexposure.
Why Heat Damage Leather?
When heat is present during the accelerated leather drying process with insufficient fat and oil present, it causes the leather fibrils to become stick together due to the 'Van der Waal' phenomenon.
What is Leather Stiffness?
Leather stiffness is due to the lack of fat that separates the fibers from sticking together stiff and oil that lubricates the fibrils like millions of interlocking hinges for flexibility.
How to Restore Leather from Stiffness when Wet?
Leather stiffness is relaxed by hydrating the thickness of the leather structure separating them and reversing the shrinkage by massaging/stretching/flexing without a dry edge. When suppleness of the leather is achieved with dimensional satisfaction during the wet process fatliquor reconditioning begins. Otherwise, when all water content evaporates without fat and oil, the leather reverts back stiff again.
How to Restore Leather from Stiffness when Dry?
Fatliquor is the lifeblood of leather! Without it, the leather loses its practical usage, becomes stiff and when flexed will crack. Loss of fat and oil will need to be replaced with ionic negative (-ve) charged microemulsion. Upon contact with the millions of ionic positive (+ve) charged fibrils the water-encased fat and oil break free, hydrogen bond takes place and the water evaporates leaving a breathing space.
Repeat fatliquoring continue each cycle water evaporates until the last application leather absorbed no more. Although leather is already dry of water, it is the fat and oil content remaining that keeps the leather soft and strong, with all surface residues removed with a hydrator.
How to Saturate the Leather Structure Below the Finishes?
Hydrator is the preconditioner to penetrate the leather structure easily by the reverse suede side, otherwise follows where the water has seeped in typically along stitching holes between panels. Water has gone through the holes and moves sideways and the hydrator will follow beyond the path of water damage to even out and redistribute fugitive tanning agents and fatliquor. Fatliquor reconditioning follows thereafter to replenish.
How to Ease Conditioners Penetration?
Perforated leather is easier to work with as there are more holes for products to penetrate, a bamboo toothpick could be used to standardize shrunk holes back to size or stitch holes on smooth leather.
How to Move the Conditioners to Spread out the entire Panel?
The practical method is by hand over a plastic sheet to reduce friction rubs to the leather finishes spreading out the conditioners, another practical method is sitting movement over a plastic sheet while the conditioners are being applied with less effort to spread them out.
What Can be Done with Finishes Damages?
Finishing damage repairs is the second phase based on satisfaction of the first phase of stiffness restoration success.
Depending on the severity of shrinkage in question, where a new color refinishing is deemed inevitable, it will require a related refinishing kit to accomplish the finish restoration. Embossing damages becomes permanent and is not practical to recreate without pressure, heat, and an embossing plate. Shriveled finishes may be too delicate to work during the stretching to relax it and may result in de-lamination. In such a situation the entire damaged panel finish may be shaved with Razor-60 for ease of relaxing the leather structure with hydrating is recommended.