>>> they just want them conditioned. How should we proceed? I cannot get to the inside of the worse one. They don't care about cleaning first but how should we proceed so they don't get worse.
Use Hydrator-3.3 > Fatliquor-5.0 > Hydrator-3.3 cleaning and rejuvenating system.
Cleaning is done with Hydrator-3.3 and horsehair Brush-1 and white cotton towel extract until towel shows clean thus complete the cleaning as desired.
Hydrating continues preferably with a foam brush to control and spread to the weak areas penetrating the finishes and spread horizontally inwards. Enough dwelling time is needed to relaxes and separates the stick together fibrils up 72hrs with high moisture contents with moisture oozing out between finger and thumb when presses. Plastic wrapping is use to control evaporation in the dwelling process. With relaxed fibers, the cracking gaps should close up significantly and the leather should be limp evenly throughout.
Fatliquoring continues when the plastic wrapping is removed and the evaporate water content is replace with Fatliquor-5.0. As both the water content continues to evaporate more Fatliquor-5.0 is replenished. Recommended fatliquor content when dry should be up to 14% (universal tannery fatliquoring standard).
For further readings:
Leather Approximate Quantity or Percentage of Fatliquor:
The quantities of fatliquor (fat and oil) contents retained in the leather after an universal tannery fatliquoring process may varies up to 14% depending on the leather types and it usage. This percentage drops as the fat and oil content diminishes or leaches through ageing, water, heat or chemical overexposure.
Leather rejuvenating or fatliquor replenishing is base on weight of the leather in relation to the percentage of remaining fatliquor. A simple calculation of percentage of fatliquor topping up requirement would be as follows:
If the weight of the leather in question is 100gm and fatliquor (fat and oil) content meter reading is less than 1%.
By applying 80gm of Fatliquor-5.0 to it will deliver an end result incremental of 13.3% fatliquor when dry as the 66.6% water contents evaporates.
In the leather rejuvenating Hydrator-3.3 > Fatliquor-5.0 > Hydrator-3.3 system, Hydrator-3.3 plays an important role by relaxing, opening up the inter-fibrillary spaces, facilitating and redistributing colloidal water movement, protonating and doing all the pre-conditioning work prior to fatliquoring including cleaning up any excess surface remnants to have a sticky-free surface. In practice the ratio for Hydrator-3.3 is 2 to 1 of Fatliquor-5.0.
It works out to be approximately 160gm of Hydrator-3.3 plus 80gm of Fatliquor-5.0 to replenish a 100gm dry leather from less than 1% back to the original tannery up to 14% fatliquor content.
Roger Koh
Leather Care Consultant
[email protected]