Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Facts For Maintaining Hides Plus Leather Items

By Rick Bradley


First decide if your leather item is finished or unfinished. Normally finished leather items will have a shiny or smooth surface which can be luggage, handbags, wallets, or garments. Unfinished leather and suede usually have a relatively natural dull finish or nappy finishes like saddlery, work boots and shoes or sport gloves.

Purchase good leather cleaner and rub it into your leather in even circular motions. After using the cleaner, use a leather conditioner. Leather Balm with Atom Wax Leather Conditioner is the perfect dressing, that can clean, soften, and condition leather. Do not use saddle cleaning soap in leather couch simply because it is too harsh for furniture.

Keep in mind, that direct sunlight can be very harsh on leather since it will fade or discolor the leather. Removing spots from leather is usually accomplished by dipping a soft clothe into rubbing alcohol and rubbing the spot. Water spots can actually be taken out of the leather by moistening the area again with a little water. Let the leather dries or gently blow dry. Oil leather using a leather preservative like mink oil after removing the spots.

Clean leather shoes often with a damp clothe. Keep shoes polished with a shoe polish paste. If leather shoes should become drenched with the water, let air-dry with shoe trees in place. Regarding discoloration use a leather spray to bring back the color to leather garments, gloves and bags. Dry leather needs re-hydrating with water and natural oils. Waxes are not recommended as it will dry out of the leather. It is important to preserve a normal cleansing system.

At first check it out on a small amount of leather conditioner in a spot not apparent if your specific brand of leather doesn't respond well to the treatment. Saddle soap really should not be applied to a leather couch, because it is too unkind for leather furniture. Do not use products like mink oil, shoe polish and waxes when cleansing leather furniture or garments. Start using a damp clothe or sponge to rub saddle soap into the leather working the soap perfectly into a light lather. Oil leather using a leather stabilizer such as mink oil or leather cream.

A dry leather needs more re-hydrating with water and natural oils. Waxes are not recommended as it will dry out of the leather. It is critical to maintain a frequent cleaning system cleaning dirt off the surface regularly. Stopping the absorption of body oils in to the leather using a protector is the best way to accomplishing this. Car owners manual suggest using a 5% solution of detergent made for wool on car leather seats. This cleans and protects leather of all kinds.

A different option for cleaning leather is to take a damp clothe, wipe it across moisturizing soap and lather the leather. Remember: Whenever removing spots from leather, always test out any cleaning method on an out-of-the-way place first.

Suede is an unfinished type of leather that needs to be handled carefully. For suede items, try an art gum eraser first and if that doesn't do the trick, use undiluted white vinegar on a soft clothe, and be sure to blot -- never rub whenever treating suede. Some people recommend low-cost leather cleaning processes, like baking soda or salt.

The best method for cleaning leather is determined by the type of the spot and the type of the leather. The following happens to be instructions for typical leather cleaning: Always test the cleaning on a small unseen patch of leather before proceeding overall item. You should also follow cleaning by using a Fiebing Suede and Fabric Coat leather protector that will acts like a 'scotchgard' and inhibit dirt and spots from being absorbed making cleaning easier the very next time.




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