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View Full Version : Aniline (Sauvage) - Is restoring this 6 yrs old Lane Aniline Leather Loveseat to a New Life possible?



Gary43
03-09-2009, 09:22 AM
I was a bit heavy handed in trying to clean the armrest on this Lane loveseat.

I used a stiff nylon bristle brush with soap and water, and really damaged the leather.

The surface roughened, then over time with use it cracked and ripped open, forming the hole you see in the photo.

This part of the couch may be a lost cause.

One option I'm considering is to simply cover the arm rests with fabric.

The couch is 6 years old, and I've never cleaned or conditioned it.

It has sun-faded and developed a lot of color variation, which I dont mind.

However, the leather is dry, and unsupple in places.

I tried to clean and then condition a dirty area at a headrest, using Lexol Leather Cleaner and Fiebing's 4-Way Leather Conditioner, but one or the other of these darkened the leather and seems to have stiffened it.

What can I do at this point to clean and condition the leather, and perhaps reverse the darkening in the head rest area?


#1:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn4/Rogerkoh/IMG_11851.jpg

#2:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn4/Rogerkoh/IMG_11861.jpg

#3:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn4/Rogerkoh/IMG_11901.jpg

#4:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn4/Rogerkoh/IMG_11901.jpg

Roger Koh
03-10-2009, 01:14 PM
First is to indentify the leather type:

This leather looks aniline dyed and there is a possibility that it has a wax pull-up effect to it.

Aniline leather because of its top coat gives a whitish appearance when scratched.

The wax pull-up effect can be determined with a characteristic lightening of color when the leather is stretch.

The test should be conducted on the unused areas, unexposed areas hopefully the effect is still there.


Color loss:

Sun-Fading - The UV lights both natural and artificial lightings will fade an aniline dyed leather faster than opaque pigment coated leather.

Fatliquor - Fatliquor is the primary micro-emulsion tanning oil that softens and strengthens leather structure, when diminished will lighten the intensity of the leather color too, especially on aniline.

Wax-Effect - The secondary leather structure conditioner provides waterproofing and also imparts the wax pull-up effect.

Waterproofing is define as “Leather treated with special chemicals in drum or by spray which will block the migration of water or moisture into and through the interior part of leather even though the surface can be we at that time”.


Why cleaning with soap and water really damaged the leather - “The surface roughened, then over time with use it cracked and ripped open, forming the hole you see in the photo”.

Leather is protein fibers that is tanned with preservatives, fatliquor (emulsion tanning oil), dyes, etc. and are hydrogen bonded.

And the pH value plays an important role in stabilizing this make-up that gives leather its integrity.

Overall the average pH of leather is between 3 and 5.

Any liquid that used to clean leather beyond this pH range will cause the breaking of hydrogen bonding between the leather protein fibers with its other chemical constituents (unless otherwise neutralized immediately).

When this chemical breaks bond; resulting in the lost of the main leather chemistry of fatliquor or tanning agent, the leather denature thus resulting in the weakness of the leather with stiffness, roughness and cracking, etc.

Most soap are alkaline, a pH above 7 and it will also leaves a sticky scum that attract soiling like a magnet; even “saddle soap” when used on a regular basis will cause damaged to the leather (originally it was meant for fatliquoring with raw tanning oil and has become obsolete with better fatliquoring technology).

Next, average tap water suppose to be pH neutral of 7.

The average neutral pH of leather is 4.

So, the power of hydrogen difference is 1000 times.

This pH difference contributed to the breaking of bonds between the fibers and the other leather constituents.

Water alone will cause damages to sensitive leathers and suede like water spotting even with clean water or rain shower.

High-end leathers manufacturer cautious the uses of water that cause rings or marks even with clean water.

It is because sometimes leather behaves like a litmus paper, and is pH sensitive.


Why leather is dry and un-supple in places?

Leather becomes dry when fatliquor diminishes through evaporation caused by heat or leaching out caused by pH differences during cleaning.

Dryness comes with lost of strength too and it comes in stages from dryness to stiffness; from micro-cracks to macro-cracks; resulting to ripped and holes as shown in above pictures.


Why improper products make the situation worse; in this case the darkening effect and stiffness resulted with wasted effort?

First all products used has to be leather safe; that is having a pH value of between 3 & 5.

Second products used have to match up with severity of soiling level.

Third all residues have to be removed from the leather.


Why leather conditioning sometimes backfire with adverse result as happen in this case?

First, the leather foreign contamination needs to be removed with all other cleaning product’s residue.

Second, determine whether we are conditioning the leather structure or the leather surface.

Anyway, the structure conditioning comes first and to condition it means we want the leather to feel soft, supple with strength.

When leather is dried, it also means it has shrunk three dimensionally; so all the leather fibrils tend to stick together.

Before an effect softening can be achieved these stick-together fibers need to be separated by hydrating to separate them apart microscopically.

A leather relaxer is needed to precondition the fibril dryness so that fatliquor can coat these millions of fibrils working like micro hinges thus structurally soften the leather.


I will continue your main question on the next post: “What can I do at this point to clean and condition the leather, and perhaps reverse the darkening in the head rest area?”


In the meantime, anyone has a question so far?


Roger Koh
Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification #942
Leather Care Technician
Master Textile Cleaner
Master Fire & Smoke Restorer
Journeyman Water Restorer
Since 1973

Gary43
03-16-2009, 09:42 AM
This is not an heirloom nor a particular expensive piece of furniture, but it is comfortable and I'd like it to look clean and feel soft.

What can I do to accomplish these objectives with only a modest investment of time and money?

Roger Koh
03-16-2009, 02:20 PM
You can see how Aniline leather is clean in this thread and you can follow as accordingly.

You can see Post #6, Pictures from #1 to #10, the condition is much worst than yours in this link:

http://www.leathercleaningrestorationforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=856

However, you have an additional repair simpler than “considering covering the arm rest with fabric”.

See example of a rip repair here on Picture #13 of this link:

http://www.leathercleaningrestorationforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=805


Here are the supplies you need for your aniline leather loveseat.


Repair System:

leatherBond3D™ - A medium soft aqueous polyurethane leather bond with good filling for leather structure bonding repair.

leatherBond7A™ - A soft nitrocellulose emulsion bonding aid to level and remove excess bond from leather surface safely.

skin4™ - A 0.4mm thick vegetable tanned lambskin used as a sub patch or as a surface skin repair.

leatherTool6™ - A 5 inches double ended stainless steel leather tool.



Restoration Cleaning System:

d’Oil4.4™ - A pH value 4.4 leather safe dye transfer, oil and grease stain remover for all absorbent leathers.

d’Grease4.9™ - A pH value 4.9 aqueous leather safe general degreaser for all leathers.

clean3.8™ - A pH value 3.8 leather safe aqueous general purpose cleaner for all leathers.

rinse3.0™ - A pH value 3.0 leather safe aqueous mild acidifier & all purpose rinse for all leathers.

leatherBrush1™ - A 7 inches length with 1½ inches horsehair brush head.

anilineEraser4™ - A 2½ x 2 ¼ x ¾ inch erasing block for both dry and wet scrubbing

stake70™ - A 70mm Ø leather staking tool.

Rag - A roll of Kimberly Clarke Paper Rag.



Leather Structure Softening & Strengthening System:

relaxer3.3™ - A pH value 3.3 leather safe hydrator to relax all stiff, crease, wrinkle & dried leathers.

fatliquor5.0™ - A pH value ±5.0 anionic charged micro emulsion fatliquor for softening and strengthening all leathers.



Leather Wax Effect Revival (to be confirmed):

waxEffect95™ - A hydrocarbon based wax emulsion to revive wax pull-ups effect.



Leather Surface Conditioning:

leatherScent’B™ - A non-stick tactile feel conditioner to enhance a soft natural buttery feel with a classic leather scent.

foamBrush3” - A 3 inch foam brush to spread the conditioner



Leather Top coating (optional):

anilineTop54M™ - An aqueous matte fine particular size urethane resin emulsion top coat.

razor60™ - A 60mm Ø tungsten carbide razor leather tool.

foamBrush3” - A 3 inch foam brush to apply the top coat.



I deliberately skip the re-dyeing process simply by what you said - “This is not an heirloom nor a particular expensive piece of furniture.”

We shall go into details if you wish to proceed further into the above process.

You can email me for the products you need.

Roger Koh
[email protected]


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