If well maintained,a good quality top-grain leather should last 20 to 30 years. The biggest enemy of long life for your leather furniture and car interiors is sun damage.
The effect of sun damage varies depending on the grade of your leather. Full aniline leather(unfinished, natural) is most susceptible to fading. It can fade from dark to almost white in color if exposed to direct or indirect sunlight. Sun can also cause the leather to lose moisture, creating a rough, dry surface. Semi-aniline leather (finished surface) is not as susceptible to fading, but sun damage can result in cracking and peeling of the surface and, in extreme cases, the leather can shrink and pull away from the seams.
Thankfully, most of the damage on both types of leather are repairable. The cost of repair varies depending on the severity of the fading, cracking, or peeling. If the leather has shrunken to the point of pulling away from the seam, it is usually not repairable. (We see this a lot in convertible automobiles.) In this case, replacement of leather is your only option.
The bottom line: keep your leather furniture away from any windows with direct sunlight. With both furniture and auto interiors, UV tinting on windows is a good option to help protect your investment.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
REPAIRING HOLES & TEARS IN LEATHER & VINYL
The most common request for repairs is for holes or tears in a customer's leather furniture, leather auto/car/RV interior, leather jacket, leather aircraft upholstery, leather or vinyl restaurant booths, etc. We have been asked to repair holes in leather desktops, leather coffee tables, and leather conference tables.
The decision to either replace or repair the damaged spot is partly determined by the location of the damage. If the hole or tear is on a seat bottom cushion or any other high-wear area, it is not recommended to repair anything larger than a 3-4 inch hole or tear since over time, the weight of a person sitting on the spot could cause it to reopen. (Note: this is assuming that the leather is not missing ie: a dog chewed it completely off).
If a hole or tear is located on a non high-wear area of the leather (ie: seat back, sides, or back) then repairs can be made to larger holes or tears. Clean cuts (ie: razor cuts) up to 12 inches or more can be successfully repaired, though the larger the cut, the more difficult it is to make it cosmetically invisible.
A cut that falls along the seam of the leather may be able to be resewn, forming a new seam. But repairs cannot be successfully done over the top of an existing seam.
The decision to either replace or repair the damaged spot is partly determined by the location of the damage. If the hole or tear is on a seat bottom cushion or any other high-wear area, it is not recommended to repair anything larger than a 3-4 inch hole or tear since over time, the weight of a person sitting on the spot could cause it to reopen. (Note: this is assuming that the leather is not missing ie: a dog chewed it completely off).
If a hole or tear is located on a non high-wear area of the leather (ie: seat back, sides, or back) then repairs can be made to larger holes or tears. Clean cuts (ie: razor cuts) up to 12 inches or more can be successfully repaired, though the larger the cut, the more difficult it is to make it cosmetically invisible.
A cut that falls along the seam of the leather may be able to be resewn, forming a new seam. But repairs cannot be successfully done over the top of an existing seam.
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