DIFFERENT TYPES OF LEATHER
Different types of leather
Every leather starts its life course the same: as a bare skin. After the leather is tanned in the tannery, it is inspected before being processed into upholstery. In one lifetime, a cow gets a lot to endure: fly bites, scratches, scraps, branding. Yet you do not always see this on your couch, how is that possible? After a skin is tanned, it is processed into a final product. This happends in stages and in various ways. The way the leather is finished determines the looks, the feels and also the type of maintenance. The most common types of leather are listed here:
- pigmented leather
- aniline leather
- saddle leather
- vintage leather
- nubuck leather
Frequency of maintenance
Pigmented leather - Keralux® set P
This is the most common leather on the market. After the leather is tanned, it is finished with several layers of color pigments. The advantage of this is that small imperfections, scars and spots can be camouflaged. In addition, this top layer of color pigments protects the leather against sunlight, dirt and moisture. In practice, this is the easiest leather to maintain and most suitable for families with small children.
Maintenance:
- weekly dusting and / or wiping with a slightly damp cloth
- maintain 2x a year with the products from the Keralux® set P
- possibly additional protection with the Keralux® strong protector
Aniline leather - Keralux® set A
After tanning, the aniline leather is dyed throughout in a container and, in contrast to pigmented leather, is not finished with a top layer of color pigments. We also call this a leather an open structured leather. Hides that qualify to be processed into aniline leather are rare because they should not show any scars or other forms of damage. The great advantage of aniline leather is that it looks beautiful, it also feels warm, soft and luxurious. Because the leather is not protected (open structured) it comes with a manual. The most important thing is to protect this leather from day 1 against discoloration and stains. In practice, this is not the most suitable leather for families with small children and / or pets.
Maintenance:
- weekly dusting and / or wiping a slightly damp cloth
- maintain 2x a year with the products from the Keralux® set A
- protect new furniture from day 1 with the Keralux® lotion A
Saddle leather - Keralux® set S
'Saddle' leather is actually a collective name for all leather that is finished with a wax layer. This wax layer is also the only protection for this type of leather. You can easily recognize a saddle leather by gently covering the surface with your nails. You will see that your nails leave small scratches. Do not freak out! Because, if well maintained, these scratches are embedded in the wax layer that protects the leather. The maintenance of this type of leather speaks for itself: replenish the wax layer in time. Typical of this type of leather are discoloration due to dehydration or the lack of maintenance.
Maintenance:
- weekly dusting and / or wiping with a slightly damp cloth
- maintain 2x a year with the products from the Keralux® set S
- protect new furniture from day 1 with the Keralux® lotion S
Vintage leather - Keralux® set Vi
One of the most popular and emerging leather types of the past 5 years is called 'vintage' leather. This leather can best be described as an opposite aniline leather. The imperfections, slight discoloration, possible scars and scratches give this leather its charm. The leather is often partly sanded and provided with a top finish layer. This leather also has an open structure and is therefore sensitive to discoloration due to sunlight.
Maintenance:
- weekly dusting and / or wiping with a slightly damp cloth
- maintain 2x a year with the products from the Keralux® set Vi
- protect new furniture from day 1 with the Keralux® spray N
Nubuck leather - Keralux® set N
Characteristic of a nubuck leather is that it feels soft and warm to the touch. The leather is lightly sanded so that it almost has a velvety appearance. Nubuck leather has a very nice grip and looks stunning but needs to be maintained. Because the leather is partly sanded off, almost a kind of 'fibers' are created that can mix with whirling dust and perspiration. Typical are the black spots that can arise as a result. In addition, nubuck leather is very sensitive to discoloration by sunlight.
Maintenance:
- weekly dusting and / or wiping with a slightly damp cloth
- 2x a year with the products from the Keralux® set N
- protect new furniture from day 1 with the Keralux® spray N
- remove soiling with the Keralux® cleaning cloth for nubuck
Click here for the maintenance advice per Piet Boon leather.