Cleaning Your Leather 

Most people fail to realize that cleaning their leather products  on a regular basis will add years of service to the product.   There are many different types of cleaners on the market making great claims, but we at Perfection Leather take a different approach to the cleaning process.   The goal of cleaning is to remove any foreign substance that may penetrate and harm your product.   

The best product for that purpose is WATER.   Yes,  WATER.    Most people think that water will damage leather.   This is a misconception passed along by the marketing of cleaners and false notions over the years.    

Our suggestion is to use a textured cloth dampened with warm water to remove any foreign substances from the surfaces of your leather products.   It is also wise to use a dry cloth to dry the object immediately after cleaning. 

Some types of leather will retain water spots if sprinkled with water or rained on.   We do not recommend using a spray of water or submerging.   The damp cloth method is by far the best way to remove dust, dirt, mud, sweat and any other potential damaging substances.    It is very important to remove these foreign substances before conditioning your leather products.

Conditioning Your Leather

Conditioning your leather products is the most important thing you can do to add years of life to leather.   There are many products for this purpose and we at Perfection Leather have our favorites.   There are two conditioning products that we recommend.

Black Rock Leather Conditioner  and Oakwood Leather Conditioner

Both of these products contain natural ingredients that will rejuvinate your leather.   We have both of these products available here on our website.  Be sure to follow the directions of either product and you will get great results.   DO NOT APPLY large amounts and never dip a leather product in OIL.   If you feel that your product is "drying out"  and needs to have an oil treatment,  oil should be applied slowly and by hand using a soft cloth.  

Typically some tack products will definitely need oiling, especially after neglect or use in harsh environments.   We use two different oils at Perfection Leather

Ortho-Flex Leather Treatment and Oakwood Leather Oil  

Both products are very good and contain similar natural ingredients.   Both are avaialable here on our website.

• Vegetable-tanned leather is tanned using tannin (hence the name "tanning") and other ingredients found in vegetable matter, tree bark, and other such sources. It is supple and brown in color, with the exact shade depending on the mix of chemicals and the color of the skin. Vegetable-tanned leather is not stable in water; it tends to discolor, and if left to soak and then dry it will shrink and become less supple and harder. In hot water, it will shrink drastically and partly gelatinize, becoming rigid and eventually brittle. Boiled leather is an example of this where the leather has been hardened by being immersed in hot water, or in boiled wax or similar substances. Historically, it was occasionally used as armour after hardening, and it has also been used for book binding. This is the only form of leather suitable for use in leather carving or stamping. 
   
• Chrome-tanned leather, invented in 1858, is tanned using chromium sulfate and other salts of chromium. It is more supple and pliable than vegetable-tanned leather, and does not discolor or lose shape as drastically in water as vegetable-tanned. It is also known as wet-blue for its color derived from the chromium. More esoteric colors are possible using chrome tanning. 
   
• Aldehyde-tanned leather is tanned using glutaraldehyde or oxazolidine compounds. This is the leather that most tanners refer to as wet-white leather due to its pale cream or white color. It is the main type of leather used in chrome-free leather often seen in infant's shoes and in automobiles that prefer a chrome-free leather. Formaldehyde tanning (being phased out due to its danger to workers and the sensitivity of many people to formaldehyde) is another method of aldehyde tanning. Brain-tanned leathers fall into this category and are exceptionally water absorbent. Brain tanned leathers are made by a labor-intensive process which uses emulsified oils often those of animal brains. They are known for their exceptional softness and their ability to be washed. Chamois leather also falls into the category of aldehyde tanning and like brain tanning produces a highly water absorbent leather. Chamois leather is made by using oils (traditionally cod oil) that oxidise easily to produce the aldehydes that tan the leather. 
   
• Synthetic-tanned leather is tanned using aromatic polymers such as the Novolac or Neradol types. This leather is white in color and was invented when vegetable tannins were in short supply, i.e. during the Second World War. Melamine and other amino-functional resins fall into this category as well and they provide the filling that modern leathers often require. Urea-formaldehyde resins were also used in this tanning method until dissatisfaction about the formation of free formaldehyde was realised. 
   
• Alum-tanned leather is tanned using aluminium salts mixed with a variety of binders and protein sources, such as flour, egg yolk, etc. Purists argue that alum-tanned leather is technically "tawed" and not tanned, as the resulting material will rot in water. Very light shades of leather are possible using this process, but the resulting material is not as supple as vegetable-tanned leather. 
   
• Rawhide is made by scraping the skin thin, soaking it in lime, and then stretching it while it dries. Like alum-tanning, rawhide is not technically "leather", but is usually lumped in with the other forms. Rawhide is stiffer and more brittle than other forms of leather, and is primarily found in uses such as drum heads where it does not need to flex significantly; it is also cut up into cords for use in lacing or stitching, or for making many varieties of dog chews.