Skin deep: suede and leather

Uncertain times lie ahead for the High Street as inflation now looks as though it will remain high for some considerable time, and no doubt many cleaners will be wanting to add a new profitable income stream to their services. While introducing a Suede and Leather service might, on the surface, hold out the prospect of a much-needed boost to profits, there is a huge potential for serious problems for those who thoughtlessly rush in. If widespread customer dissatisfaction is to be avoided, those contemplating introducing a leather service would be well advised to take things very slowly to gain experience. Bear in mind that many cleaners over the years have found to their cost that even suede/leather sent to a specialist can sometimes fall well short of their customers’ expectations!

To help you understand some of the problems involved in leather cleaning, we are highlighting the areas where we think those with little or no experience should acquire some basic knowledge.

As a general rule and unlike textiles, the higher the value of the suede/leather garment the more likely it is that it will respond well to cleaning. This is because the skins in high value items are far more likely to be of good quality and to have been very carefully matched for the making up of individual garments.

Types of Leather

There are four broad types of leather commonly referred to in the cleaning industry as: ­

• suede leathers, grain leathers, sheepskins and pigskins.

In suede leather items, the flesh side of the animal forms the outer surface of the garment. Provided suede items are cleaned correctly and re-oiled, good quality, well-matched skins will normally respond well to cleaning.

In the case of grain leathers, the skin forms the exterior and (depending on the colour, degree and type of soiling). Provided the surface colour is in good condition, grain leathers often respond very well to surface cleaning techniques.

With sheepskins, the fleece is retained and often used to form the inside of the garment, with the flesh side sueded and forming the exterior.

Pigskin, which is characterised by the prominent follicle structure of the skin, can be difficult to clean when soiling has started to become ingrained, and the results often fail to meet customer expectations.

Basic principles

1. The majority of suede garments are normally made from the skin of more than one animal. Even skins from the same animal may vary in terms of dye fastness. When cleaned, individual panels in the garment may suffer varying degrees of colour loss during cleaning, in some cases making it essential to add colour after cleaning to an individual panel or panels, to establish an even result. Even then it can be very difficult to get a uniform colour, because the suede will vary in porosity and dye uptake.

2. Tick bites and physical injuries cause scarring of the skin tissue. This results in blemishes in the skin that the manufacturer might have masked. However, the effects of wear and/ or cleaning can expose the unsightly damaged areas, which the cleaner is unlikely to be able to correct.

3. Seams and selvages on some garments are stuck with solvent soluble adhesives that may dissolve in cleaning, leaving dark stains in the stuck areas which can prove very difficult or impossible to remove.

4. The skin from one animal will vary considerably from one part of the animal to another, with the skin structure from the butt and shoulder areas being fairly dense and dimensionally stable whereas skin from the belly has a more open structure which can lead to instability and unsightly looseness and stretching, both in wear and cleaning.

5. In the case of sheepskin coats and rugs, smaller damaged areas of the fleece may be replaced during manufacture with a piece of fleece cut to size and stuck to the skin. The patch may come away during cleaning, leaving a very obvious defect. However, provided the missing piece is recovered it can be stuck back in place.

6.Immersion cleaning ( dry or wet ) will, to a varying degree, remove oil from suede/leather garments, in some cases leaving them with a harsh handle and/ or a faded appearance. Drycleaned garments, in particular, will need to have this oil replaced during the cleaning process and/or sprayed with an oil-in-water emulsion following cleaning.

Counter staff must be trained to recognise the various types of leather, poor quality skins and faults such as tick bites which, if made more noticeable by cleaning, can lead to customer dissatisfaction. They must also be capable of discussing with the customer, where appropriate, the limitations imposed by variations in skin panels in terms of colour, skin texture and appearance.

We strongly recommend that, for every suede/leather garment taken in, a written record (together with good photographs of its precise condition) is created, highlighting issues such as skin/colour variations, tick bites and scars, dark areas where adhesive may have penetrated from a seam and areas of ingrained soiling or stains, that may not respond well to cleaning.

Cleaning

In the case of grain leathers, where the soiling is light and where the surface colour coat is in good condition, surface cleaning will often deliver a very good result, avoiding many potential problems associated with an immersion process. This can be done using saddle soap or a mild detergent such as Fairy Liquid diluted with water. After the soiling is removed, finish off with a clean damp cloth. To gain experience and get a feel for cleaning leather in this way, practice on your own garments or second-hand items. If an immersion process is used, any deterioration in the colour coat will have to be corrected, using specialist colour products. This is a highly skilled process, often requiring the blending of colours.

Surface cleaning is not usually applicable to soiled suede garments which, with few exceptions, need to be dry- or wet-cleaned. In particular, good quality sheepskin coats and rugs can be expected to respond well to drycleaning, but the cleaner needs to be aware that vibrant colours applied to some suede items lose their shade intensity, which the cleaner is unlikely to be able to restore. In the case of garments made up from poor quality skins and/or where the skins have been poorly matched, total immersion processes may leave the cleaner with a garment that needs a lot of time and effort (using emulsified oil sprays and/or colour tints to restore the item), to say nothing of the skilled finishing that may then be needed! It has to be said that it will not always be possible to restore a garment to a condition that is acceptable to some customers.

Stain removal

It is often possible to remove stains on some suede and grain leather items, without using an immersion process. On otherwise clean items, removing a small stain or stains may produce a much more satisfactory result for the customer, because the item will not normally require any of the colour matching or spray oiling that is often required following an immersion process. Finishing will also be much easier. The following tips relate to stain removal on different leathers: ­

Grain leather – Small water-based stains can often be easily removed using saddle soap or a solution of Fairy Liquid in water - always test the colour first. Oil based stains can be treated using dry-side post-cleaning kit spotters, but be careful to test every chemical to ensure that the surface colour coat is not damaged. ­

Suede leathers – Some dry-side and wet-side stains on suede can be easily removed using abrasives, such as fine sandpaper or 600 wet and dry paper, which can be used to lightly abrade the stained area, removing a little of the suede surface together with the stain. Spotting chemicals or solvent should be avoided for suede items ( unless stain removal is followed by immersion cleaning ) as there is a high risk of rings and localised colour loss due to the displacement of oil in the skin.

Finishing

While the majority of leathers can be finished on a press, great care is needed to avoid hardening of the skin from excessive heat. Using bottom steam with a hand on the item, heat the lay using bottom steam until it just begins to feel warm; then fill the top buck with steam and tamp gently without steam followed by vacuum. Using this technique, build up your experience based on textile finishing. ­

Not for the inexperienced!

Item: Tan suede leather jacket.

Care Label: d Specialist Clean Only.

Problem: This suede leather jacket was presented for cleaning with light soiling to the right sleeve. There was also a very noticeable variation in skin texture and colour to the sleeve and the rest of the jacket. The cleaner decided that cleaning would only serve to emphasise the faults to the sleeve and declined to accept the jacket.

Our Verdict: A wise decision! The variation in colour would probably have been accentuated after cleaning, leading to a poorer appearance than now.