Family owned and still "Simply the Best Since 1968"

Leather Restoration, Preservation, Cleaning & Customizing

  With Technical Advice Provided By George Pavlisko, LEATHERIQUE, LTD.

The maintenance and restoration of your leather is a SIMPLE project. Even the novice can tackle a complete "hands on" leather restoration project and achieve spectacular results. Our Connolly leather makes a project of this type easy because its’ high quality provides exceptional strength, durability and suppleness. All it requires is a little attention and even when that attention has been overlooked, this leather is forgiving. Some oil, cleaner and dye can make it look like new again. To insure a successful project you must choose the right restoration products, here I used exclusively the products of Leatherique, Ltd.

The leather on my 1964 Bentley presented very poorly. It was dry, hard, faded, cracking both in the surface color and in the "skin" of the leather itself. I had no rips or tears but two of the cracks required immediate attention.

How does leather get this way? Very simply: Due to lack of maintenance. Our leather has a number of enemies, first and foremost is the SUN. Direct sunlight and the heat generated will rob your leather of its natural oils, these oils are the lifeblood of a healthy hide. Lack of these oils leads to cracking and fading. The next enemy is dirt, grit and grime. These present a two fold problem, first they discolor our surface area and if allowed to remain, will be driven down into the sub surface where they will begin to break apart the leather fibers, this leads to tears and rips. Other causes of damage to leather are some leather products that contain silicone or Teflon sealers. These products harden the leather surface. Thus the leather cannot flex as readily nor expand and contract with heat or cold and is more prone to cracking. Also, the leather loses its ability to "breathe", which is what makes it so comfortable to our touch. Also, avoid extensive use of products that contain heavy petroleum, mineral, or lanolin oils. On particularly dry leathers, these heavy oils can actually expedite the rotting of leather fibers, and can also cause stitching to rot and break. They can also accumulate, saturate, and destroy leather fibers. Heavy artificial fragrances are also unnecessary for leather. Remember, surface wear and use will accelerate deterioration when your leather remains untreated and exposed to these elements. My Bentley proved this point, the driver's seat side bolsters showed excessive wear. It was also obvious that the car was stored for a long time near a window as you could follow the sun's effect from the tip of the right front seat across the cushion, spanning the seat backs and arching over the left front seat. Proof positive of the sun's harmful effects when the leather remains untreated and exposed.

The maintenance/restoration process is simple:

This was done with the application of Rejuvenating oil, which is a ph correct complex of proteins and collagen’s necessary to restore tensile strength and luxurious suppleness. To begin with I removed much of the leather from the car and vacuumed (paying special attention to seams, folds and cracks) all surfaces. Then:

I liberally brushed on Leatherique's Rejuvenator Oil onto the surface and also worked it in by hand, especially on the high traffic areas.

I allowed it to sit for 24 hours, if doing this in a warm climate, let the leather sit in a closed car parked in the sun. This will aid in the absorption of the proteins and collagen’s by the leather.

On particularly dry cardboard hard leather, you may reapply several times as necessary to achieve the original suppleness.

What is happening in this most important FIRST STEP is that the natural nutrients are being absorbed into the leather, displacing and driving to the surface the dirt and grime. At the same time, the proteins and collagen’s are renewing the sub surface leather fibers, giving your seats and trim flexibility, strength and durability. Once they have been absorbed your surface leather may feel "tacky", this is the dirt and grit that has been displaced as the leather fibers became plumper and healthier.

I applied Leatherique Prestine Clean by rubbing it into the leather by hand and towel.

Allow it to sit for a few minutes, usually by the time you have completed the next piece, and then rinse the surface with a clean, soft, damp terry cloth towel.

Once all of the dirt has been removed I buffed with another clean cloth towel to bring out a luxurious finish!

The use of Prestine Clean WILL NOT remove the proteins and collagen’s absorbed by the leather. While on this step please note that the use of Saddle Soap is NOT recommended for the cleaning of our leather. It can be too harsh for our needs, may remove the surface dye and it does nothing to nourish the leather.

To keep your leather clean, soft & supple this maintenance routine should be done two times per year. If storing your car long term, a liberal application of Rejuvenator Oil should be applied and the seats covered. As an added bonus Prestine Clean works just as well on vinyl interiors and the two-step process can be used on all leathers, including clothing, furniture, shoes and accessories.

That is the maintenance process, but what happens if your leather needs further work? That was the question I faced; After steps 1 & 2 my leather was soft, supple and very luxurious to the touch, but from an appearance standpoint it still had cracks and fading. To correct this I moved to the next stage of the restoration process:

To strip the color coat use lacquer thinner, Ditzlers is recommended due to its quick flash (drying) capabilities.

I liberally applied the thinner to a shop towel and began to work it across the leather, sections at a time, turning the towel frequently. Our goal is to remove as much of the old dye as possible and to get the leather surface smooth.

With the dye removed wipe down the surface with a damp towel and lightly wet sand with 180 grit sandpaper. Start with a bowl of water and add a squirt of dish soap to make it slick, soak your sand paper and begin to lightly sand, our objective is to smooth and even out the surface.

Once smooth I applied Leatherique’s Prepping Agent, applying it to a towel and then wiping down the surface to remove dirt and sanding residue.

Then again very lightly wet sand all surfaces using 320 grit sandpaper and again wipe down with the Prepping Agent.

Once dry apply a second coating of Rejuvenator Oil to all surfaces.

If you have cracked or torn leather now is the time to fill and repair following the instructions in step 4, if not move on to STEP 5, allowing the leather to dry for 6 hours or overnight.

There are several options in filling leather cracks. Very minor cracks can be temporarily filled with clear warmed bee’s wax. For a more permanent fix I used Leatherique’s Crack Filler.

I applied this latex based product in layers allowing at least 20 minutes between each application. The filler is self leveling and remains flexible when dried and dyed.

The objective is to slowly fill the crack (not the surrounding surfaces) with layers of filler.

Your last layer should come even with the surface leather.

Once dry (6 hours or overnight) lightly wet sand with 320 grit sand paper. Our objective here is to ever so lightly, roughen the filler to allow the dye to "bite in" and to even out the surfaces.

If you are faced with a tear or hole, first work a small piece of leather beneath the damaged area and glue all the loose edges together for strength. Once the glue has dried (usually overnight) use the crack filler to fill in the "scar" as described above. If you are faced with a seam tear or torn stitching you should seek the assistance of a leather specialist to join the pieces.

After the prior steps have had time to dry for at least 6 hours or overnight the re-dying process can begin. I used Leatherique dye which is a water based product. It was expertly custom color matched to a leather sample I had provided. The dye needed no thinning and produced no fumes. Years ago I worked with a lacquer based dye, it required thinning and produced an "aroma" that permeated the house. About 6 years ago lacquer based dyes were voluntarily pulled from the primary market when the E.P.A. began scrutinizing them and the advanced water based formula’s were introduced. As there was no formal recall, these supplies found their way into the secondary market for resale. Considering my experience I would recommend that only the water based product be used. If buying dye, "Caveat Emptor", be sure it is not an old product.

There are a number of options to choose from when applying the dye. It can be brushed with a good quality acrylic brush, it can be sponged or it can be sprayed.

Just prior to re-dying I once again used Leatherique’s Prepping Agent on a clean terry cloth towel and wiped down all surfaces.

I selected the brush approach to apply the dye and used a 1" and 1 ½" brush. The smaller one for creases and folds and the larger brush for the remaining areas. Since this is a "painting project" be sure to mask any trim area’s that need to be protected.

I began the painting process with the folds, creases and edges and then filled in the larger areas. I completed each piece prior to moving to the next. I found that transferring all of the dye to a large bowl with a sealable lid (Tupperware type) worked best. During the painting process I continually stirred the dye for color consistency.

Allow the dyed leather to sit, untouched for 48 hours. Then lightly buff with a clean terry cloth towel to bring out a beautiful luster.

Re-install your leather pieces and admire your beautiful new interior!

The dye covers very well, in my case one coat coverage of the entire interior using a little less than 32 oz. of product. The dye dries to the touch within minutes and provided a uniform finish with a very luxurious patina. If you are changing color it is recommended that 2 coats of dye be applied.

These are the easy steps to a "like new" interior, patience and preparation are the keys to your success. I would like to thank George Pavlisko of Leatherique, Ltd. for his help and technical advice in the preparation of this article.

SEE THE PICTURES OF THIS PROJECT

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Copyright © 2006 LEATHERIQUE
Last modified: 06/16/08