Leather furniture sales have increased significantly over the last 5 years and one major problem has now become clear- IGNORANCE.

IGNORANCE in the fact that firstly customers rarely know what kind of leather they have bought and secondly the salespersons ignorance in not advising the correct way to look after it.

There are 6 main types of leather used to make furniture, you need to know which you have.

1. Sealed Leathers, often called Corrected Grain. This leather is top surface coloured then a clear protective sealant is sprayed over the colour, this leather is the most common, to test if you have this leather drip a small amount of water on a hidden area, if it sits there for 15 minutes or more, you have a sealed leather [buy; GT15, GT11, Inkstick, GT12, GT14, GT13.5]

2. Antique Rubbed. These usually have a very shiny finish, in the case of Antique Rubbed a base coat of colour is applied first, dried then a dark shade is applied over the top, areas are then rubbed and the light colour underneath shows through. A protective coating is then sprayed over the top to seal in the colours, PU is as above but without the rubbing process. [buy; GT15, GT11, Inkstick, GT13.5]

3. Semi Aniline. This leather is coloured by dyes which penetrate the leather, a thin clear sealant is sprayed over it, this sealant gives some protection, but not much, to test for Semi Aniline, drip water on a hidden area and if it soaks in within 10 minutes you have Semi Aniline. [buy; GT15, GT13.5]

4. Pure Aniline, dyed as above but without any protective sealant, fades and stains easily, do the water test, water will soak in within 30 seconds. [buy; GT16 for new aniline only]]

5. Waxed pull-up. This is a pure aniline or sometimes Nubuck, waxed or oiled, this treatment gives some protection against spilt liquids, but fades and dries out quickly with heat and clothing, it also shows slight "scratches" if rubbed with a blunt object, this is sometimes done at the factory to give an aged look. Clean with GT15 but colour check first, treat with GT17 Wax Pull-up leather Revivier to rewax, remove scratches and replenish the natural oils.

6. PU Leather or Bicast Leather. This is a leather with a plastic type coating, generally very shiny, it's very similar to Patent leather often used on shoes, keep away from strong heat, clean with a just a damp cloth or GT15 if you have pets, cannot be conditioned becuase of the plastic coating, conditioning could cause the coating to part from the base leather.

DO ALL TESTS ON A HIDDEN AREA

You should now know which leather you have. Now you need advice on what to do and what not to do.

All leather suffers from the same problems, these are:

1. Human body/hair oils and grease [perspiration]

2. Dye transfer from clothing.

3. Drying out from heating and our bodies.

Fabric suites suffer from the first two also, so dont think that you have bought a leather suite on the basis that its easy maintenance and now Ive told you its not, leather is far more durable and we can provide easy remedies.

Signs of number 1 problem: Areas that hair and skin touch start to darken, cleaning has no effect, it may make it worse, colour turns powdery and comes off.
Prevention: If you have greasy hair or perspire heavily it is worth while making a fabric cover for these areas. Otherwise wipe over the areas twice a week with a damp cloth, then once a month clean it with Leather Preserve Gentle Cleaner GT15.
Solution: A leather upholsterer can replace panels, we can provide dyes to recolour.

Signs of number 2 problem: This can be a sudden problem if a person with new clothes that have never been washed or cleaned sits on a pale coloured suite, or a slow build up over weeks.
Prevention: Again if a person sits for hours in the same seat in denim, use a cover, otherwise we have two products which should remove the dye transfer, GT12 Intensive Cleaner for recent transfer, or Safety Solvent cleaner anything over 7 days. Colour test all our products first.
Solution: We can provide the name of a company that will remove the transfer and recolour, UK mainland only.

Signs of number 3 problem: Leather looks dull and lost its lustre, starts to crease and inevitably crack.
Prevention: Clean leather thoroughly with GT15 Gentle Maintenance Cleaner and treat twice with Leather Preserve Conditioner GT11, retreat with conditioner every 4 months, October, February and July are ideal times, more often if you have heating at a high temperature. Antique Rubbed and PU leathers will suffer very quickly from drying out, the polyurethane protective coating will quickly break down and come off revealing the dye which will transfer onto wet cloths and clothing, it will wash out of clothing.
Solution: We can provide dyes to colour in creases and cracks, see our Colourwash paragraph on the Scuffmaster page.

Ink marks:All inks can be effectively removed within a few minutes of the accident on all sealed leathers, if not quickly removed the ink gets deeper into the surface sealant and becomes more difficult to remove, having an Inkstick on the premises in case of accidents is strongly advised. Never rub hard with any Ink removers. Ink cannot be removed from Semi and Aniline leather. We can provide the name of companies that can solve Ink related problems, recolouring will usually be required.

Gliptone market products into all major leather markets, for cars, m/cycle clothing, bags, boots and cases this brand name is Liquid Leather. For furniture its Leather Preserve most of the products are the same, however some of the cleaners are different.

Gliptone products were the original products sold by World of Leather, Kingsbury Interiors, Harveys, Courts, Furnitureland, Pendragon Furniture, Land of Leather, Yarwoods Leather, if you have or had products that smelt of leather they were ours [the only ones in the world!].

Gliptone still supplies more furniture manufacturers than any other company in the UK, including the largest and some of the most specialised, we supply the largest furniture retailer in the UK, in fact companies who put quality before price and want outstanding results.

Gliptone have products, advice and professional contacts to offer you care, answers to problems and solutions for anything leather. Illustrations of the efficiency of our products are on the Auto pages of our site.

5ml leather glue. 1.30. 5ml leather filler. 1.50. Spray defuser, [small mouth operated sprayer for diluted dyes, complete with a 15ml bottle]. 4.85. Hobby Spray gun, pint jar with aerosol top, sprays diluted dyes, 15.50. extra aerosol gas canisters 4.95, this is a reusable sprayer.

To Order these click on Colour Bank Order Form below

GENERAL FURNITURE REPAIR KIT FOR SMALL DAMAGE. 29.95.  Buy telephone order only 

This is a complete kit for small repairs and aimed for people who dont know exactly what they want and cannot send a sample of leather. These kits have 7x15ml bottles of dye, all of a similar range, for example if your suite is cream, there will be 7 different creams in the kit. These are creams used by large furniture manufacturers, 1 will be very close to yours. There are also some toners to adjust them plus cleaners, glue, filler and conditioner etc and full instructions.

To order a range of colours close to yours describe the colour as close as possible, please distinguish between beige and tan, tan to us is an orangey brown, we know in America beige is often described as tan.
The kit contains a form for you to ask us to mix a colour for you to your sample if you cannot match it yourself.

All prices include UK post and packing charges and VAT, prices correct August 2007

We can also send products anywhere in the world, for European countries outside UK add 1.00 per 250ml, everywhere else add 2.00 per 250ml. Kits will be charged the extra post at cost. Your credit card company will automatically transfer into your currency.

THE PRODUCTS BELOW CAN ONLY BE ORDERED BY LETTER WITH A SAMPLE OF LEATHER, it is important that you state in the letter what the sample is off, for example put suite or if from a car, make, model and year, Failure to give this information delays your order. Please include a postal order, cheque or credit/debit card, [a 0.35 card charge is added ]

Scuff Master dye 65ml kit, colours in scratches, scuffs, crease and cracks. 12.75
Scuff Master dyes in larger quantities. 250ml 18.10. 500 ml 26.50, 1 litre 42.00.
Leather samples required, the larger the sample the closer the dye will match.

Furniture "Colourwash kit". Includes ScuffMaster 65ml dye kit, GT15 Cleaner, 250ml Conditioner. 31.50.

Full recolouring kit. To recolour the whole suite in the original colour, enough for a 3 seater and 2 singles. 2 litres of dye plus cleaners etc. 120.00. Dyes can be applied by brush or sponge, spraying is best.

Prices include postage, packing and VAT. Goods despatched same day. Add 1.00 for Eire and Europe per 250 ml bottle; For worldwide add 2.00 per 250ml bottle. Larger amounts vary depending on weight. If paying by credit/debit card add 0.35p
Visa, Access, Mastercard, Delta, Eurocard, American Express, Switch.