Best Conditioner For Leather Furniture? And How To Tell If Leather Is "coated"?

[captain]

Hi guys,

I have a leather couch and armchair that I got a few months ago.

When I bought them, I treated them with pecards (they were pretty old and dry) but the leather stayed sticky for quite a while.

I was curious what your professional opinion would be on the best leather conditioner to use on the furniture moving forward?

How would I tell if the leather is coated?

It's hard, because I did treat it with Pecard's so water beads on it right now (but does sink in and "stain" if left for a few minutes) So the leather does absorb after a bit.

Are there any other ways to know if this leather would take a leather conditioner like Leather Honey or Bick well?

The leather definitely needs a treatment but it doesn't look like Pecard's did much.

Should I try to remove anything that is existing and then apply something else?
If so, how should I remove old wax/the pecards, etc?

Attached are a few pics of the leather in question.

I don't know if you can tell from this photo or not.

Thanks!

Edited June 18, 2015 by captain

[Art]

How old is it, and/or what type of leather is it?

Full Grain -- probably not

Some other aniline or semi-aniline leather -- maybe

Bycast Leather -- likely

Bonded Leather -- could be, maybe, probably is.

The first two will take finish or leather treatment.

The last two not so much, and with Bycast, you could take the finish right off if you use the wrong stuff.

Three or four piece living room suite in bonded leather, $599 on TV, if you drive a hard bargain, $599 with a TV.

Most standard AND economy cars come with leather interior standard or as a low cost option.

My '53 Packard came with a leather interior, and believe me, a lot of cows died for that interior.

When you go to repair, or refinish leather, you must know the type. If you have a zippered cushion, see what the backside looks like.

When you are going to go and refinish something, try a small place on the back at the bottom before you do the whole thing.

Art

[captain]

How old is it, and/or what type of leather is it?

Full Grain -- probably not

Some other aniline or semi-aniline leather -- maybe

Bycast Leather -- likely

Bonded Leather -- could be, maybe, probably is.

The first two will take finish or leather treatment.

The last two not so much, and with Bycast, you could take the finish right off if you use the wrong stuff.

Three or four piece living room suite in bonded leather, $599 on TV, if you drive a hard bargain, $599 with a TV.

Most standard AND economy cars come with leather interior standard or as a low cost option.

My '53 Packard came with a leather interior, and believe me, a lot of cows died for that interior.

When you go to repair, or refinish leather, you must know the type. If you have a zippered cushion, see what the backside looks like.

When you are going to go and refinish something, try a small place on the back at the bottom before you do the whole thing.

Art

I am new to leather, I have no idea how to tell the type of leather.

How would I know if I stripped something off?

It is probably 15-20 years old. It is a pottery barn set, about $5k new. So I'm guessing it's higher end leather.

I posted a while back about a crack it has in it. I just added the photos above. Maybe they will help to be able to tell what kind of leather it is.

Is there a way I can tell?

So if it's bycast or bonded what do you to treat?

The leather is old and is starting some cracking/lines so it definitely needs something whatever it is.

Thanks!

Edited June 18, 2015 by captain

[Art]

There is probably some coating on the leather, it is usually a wax that needs to be removed before the leather treatment can be absorbed, and definitely before any repairs can be made. I suggest you consult a professional refinisher.

Art

[captain]

There is probably some coating on the leather, it is usually a wax that needs to be removed before the leather treatment can be absorbed, and definitely before any repairs can be made. I suggest you consult a professional refinisher.

Art

They were relatively cheap and I'm just trying to learn some things on my own. Not really worth it to me to pay somebody.

There isn't a way for me to tell if it does have a coating? I can easily see and feel the grain, cracks, etc of the leather. Doesn't a leather coating give it a solid color over the leather?

(Again, I am not an expert, just trying to learn!)

Water does bead on the leather (but after a couple minutes does mostly soak in and shows dark on the leather), but again, I recently treated it with pecards which also acts as a water repellent.

And I'm confused...is it good or bad to remove the coating if there is one?

Edited June 18, 2015 by captain

[Art]

This is NOT a course in leather restoration.

That being said, You need to find an area where any experimentation will be unnoticeable. This could be somewhere under a cushion although this is the very place where their might not be any treatment. There are three or four levels of cleaning that can work. The first three will not get wax and all the oil off. A mild cleaner like Superior SVC will clean anything, it is mild and non abrasive. Next level up is Z7, this is a bit stronger, but can be diluted with water. I generally doesn't take the finish off. Next up is S-100 which is alcohol based (the first two were water based) and could easily lift the finish if it is Bycast, but it should really know what you have, and it should be used on aniline and semi-aniline real leather only. SLP is leather prep, and is not used for cleaning or removing anything but for opening up the leather to receive dye/color.

As you can see, it isn't that easy without training. You are fortunate that you have basically a practice piece. I do mainly motorcycle gear (and of course my own stuff, cars, boats, etc) so I don't know everything about furniture. If you are not 100% sure (done one got a t-shirt) TEST.

As a starter, try some Murphy's oil soap and give the area a good cleaning, scrub if you have to with a soft/medium brush, get the soap off and let it dry, if water beads-up then there is something else on there and you will need to use a heavier cleaner. I always go with Murphy's first, it's cheap, and it works. Try Pecard's again and rub it in, don't just slather it on and leave it. Let it dry in a warm (hot even) spot for a day or two, then buff it up. If you want to fix the cracks and scuffs and recolor, that is a big job and will require a lot of stuff and some training, it ain't rocket science, but you have to work at it.

Art

[captain]

This is NOT a course in leather restoration.

That being said, You need to find an area where any experimentation will be unnoticeable. This could be somewhere under a cushion although this is the very place where their might not be any treatment. There are three or four levels of cleaning that can work. The first three will not get wax and all the oil off. A mild cleaner like Superior SVC will clean anything, it is mild and non abrasive. Next level up is Z7, this is a bit stronger, but can be diluted with water. I generally doesn't take the finish off. Next up is S-100 which is alcohol based (the first two were water based) and could easily lift the finish if it is Bycast, but it should really know what you have, and it should be used on aniline and semi-aniline real leather only. SLP is leather prep, and is not used for cleaning or removing anything but for opening up the leather to receive dye/color.

As you can see, it isn't that easy without training. You are fortunate that you have basically a practice piece. I do mainly motorcycle gear (and of course my own stuff, cars, boats, etc) so I don't know everything about furniture. If you are not 100% sure (done one got a t-shirt) TEST.

As a starter, try some Murphy's oil soap and give the area a good cleaning, scrub if you have to with a soft/medium brush, get the soap off and let it dry, if water beads-up then there is something else on there and you will need to use a heavier cleaner. I always go with Murphy's first, it's cheap, and it works. Try Pecard's again and rub it in, don't just slather it on and leave it. Let it dry in a warm (hot even) spot for a day or two, then buff it up. If you want to fix the cracks and scuffs and recolor, that is a big job and will require a lot of stuff and some training, it ain't rocket science, but you have to work at it.

Art

Thank you Art!

Very helpful information.

I definitely just need to keep learning, and ya, this is a good practice piece!

Thanks again

[captain]

And just to see what people think (for the original question) what is a good conditioner for a couch?

I own bick 4 but don't like it. I plan on trying leather honey next.

[Art]

Lets see, you tried Pecard's and that didn't work, then Bick4 and that didn't work. If you add Skidmore's, Dr Jackson's and Montana Pitchblend to that list you would have the top 5 products used on leather Lazarus projects. Leather Honey has been around a while, but I have never used it. I would be very interested in how it performs.

Art

[captain]

Lets see, you tried Pecard's and that didn't work, then Bick4 and that didn't work. If you add Skidmore's, Dr Jackson's and Montana Pitchblend to that list you would have the top 5 products used on leather Lazarus projects. Leather Honey has been around a while, but I have never used it. I would be very interested in how it performs.

Art

I'm not really saying they didn't work, they just didn't do what I was hoping (which again, I don't know if that is possible).

I have a bottle of leather honey on the way.