Bicast Leather – almost 10 years old and the stickiness is a real problem!

Stickiness is a common issue with Bicast or Bycast leathers besides delaminating.
It usually started with the body contact areas and age plays a part in the deteriorating of its urethane topcoat.

Restoration to the sticky topcoat includes a pH balanced restorative cleaning to removes surface contamination and partial deteriorated topcoat prior to a fresh new matching cross linked topcoat. Color if affected and comes off during restorative cleaning will need refinishing as an option depending on its severity. A sealer or adhesion promoter may also become part of the system accordingly. In most cases the stickiness is gone for another lease of useful life and so far we have not have any experience for a second reoccurrences.

Holistic products system for topcoat stickiness is with Leather Doctor Kit-B7, additional products for coloring as necessary after the restorative cleaning evaluation may include Adhesor-73 > Bicast-32 > Bicast-76 prior to topcoating it.

Roger Koh
Leather Care Consultant
[email protected]

For your information:

Bicast / Bycast leather is split leather with a layer of polyurethane applied to the surface and then embossed. Bicast was originally made for the shoe industry and recently adopted for use by the furniture industry. The result is a slightly stiffer product that is cheaper than top grain leather but has a much more consistent texture and is easier to clean and maintain. The use of terms like "leather", "genuine leather" or "100% leather" in relation to this bicast treatment is considered a misrepresentation and therefore not permitted in some countries. Furniture made with bicast exhibits none of the characteristics associated with aniline leather. With constant use, the polyurethane layer may crack and split free of its backing. Other common problem is the finish becomes sticky

Attachment 4270
Leather Doctor® Kit-B7, bicast leather sticky topcoat refinishing kit is an innovative system developed for bicast leather to restore finishes sticky problem. The sticky problem is often described from owners as follows. The finish gone dull on the seating areas and any material comes in contact sticks to it. The finishes feels a bit rubbery but after 5mins of sitting clothing were stuck to it. The location that suffers tackiness also reveals roughness to the touch. When sitting down and getting up, there is the sound of tape pulling and you can actually see a pattern on the couch from the jeans. If these experiences sound familiar then this kit is the answer. Stripping the surface contamination is done with Degreaser-2.2 and the help of Eraser-4 for better traction to removed surface materials. Suspended soiling is towel extracted and rinse with Acidifier-2.0. 2000-grit sandpaper is used to smoothen rough surface. A 10% Crosslinker-25 is added to the BicastTop-76G for extra finish strength from stickiness. Protector-B+ imparts a non-stick buttery-feel against sticky soiling; a rub-resistant against friction wear and diffuses a leather scent that enhances leather sensuous and luxuriously. This kit comes with reduced weight option to save on shipping thus the 250ml concentrate ratio for Hydrator-3.3 has to be cut or filled up with distilled water prior to use. This starter kit is design as a holistic system, optional adds-on and refills are available as individual bottles.

Attachment 4271
Leather Doctor® Kit B8.cl, Bicast leather color refinishing kit is design for a holistic restoration approach to not only the finishes but also rejuvenating the leather crust for suppleness. Most of these repairs are for abrading damages into the leather split-suede crust.
Most of these exposed areas may be contaminated with foreign soiling that includes conditioners, protectors, body oil, grease and sweat or alkaline overexposure from non leather-safe cleaners.
A comprehensive repair for a long-term lasting solution will require a holistic approach to deal with both the exposed leather split-suede for structural integrity and surface finishes for aesthetic.
A leather-safe restoration system begins with removing foreign contamination from the penetrated leather structure and from the surface with the proven Degreaser-2.2 follows with Rinse-3.0 to a healthy squeaky feel.
A pH in-balance leather structure with alkalinity overexposure will manifest as tackiness, stickiness or in extreme cases sliminess. The ionic strength of such denaturing leather will need to be strengthen by protonating its ionic positive (+ve) with the help of Acidifier-2.0 until the leather is revert back to a healthy pH chemistry integrity.
Penetrated soiling may be further moves with the help of Hydrator-3.3 by successive wicking process with optional reverse transfer technique and erase off with Eraser-4 for a satisfactorily inspection.
Leather rejuvenating system for softness and strength is accomplishes with Hydrator-3.3 follows with Fatliquor-5.0.
Surface uneven absorption is seals with Adhesor-73 to smooth out the suede and restore a skin to reduce the need for color over-coating thus increase its flexibility and stretchability from coating premature cracking.
With Adhesor-73 as a base for adhesion promotion as well, it is ready for color coating with Bicast-32 an opaque pigment coloring to block out the unwanted based color. Bicast-76 is an aniline transparent color that gives the beauty of depth as the secondary coloring to simulate the appearance of aniline leather. And BicastTop-76 is a gloss topcoat that seals the coloring from bleeding, crocking and resistant to cleaning during the course of the leather useful life.
Protector-B+ imparts a non-stick rub-resistant surface with a buttery feel, reduces noises that translate into less friction wear. As the leather surface is well lubricated it reduces compression when comes to heavy body contact thus reduces compressed creases, wrinkles thus prolong the useful life of the new finishes.
Note the products suffix numbers denotes the pH value of the product.

This kit comes with reduced weight option to save on shipping thus the 250ml concentrate ratio such as Rinse-3.0, Hydrator-3.3 and Fatliquor-5.0 has to be cut or filled up with distilled water prior to use. This is only a starter kit to help you moves in the right direction, optional adds-on and refills are available as individual bottles.