Frequently Asked Questions – Leather

Over time body oils, perspiration, skin acids, and soiling will work into the leather if you don’t clean and protect it. Leather is sought after for its beauty, suppleness and longevity and it requires proper care in order to maintain these properties. The Trade Secret^TM Leather Care System provides you with an easy and effective solution in keeping your leather looking beautiful. Use every three to six months and your leather will stay beautiful longer. Use more frequently if someone who uses the leather furniture regularly is on medication for heart disease and/or diabetes.

Once a week, dust your leather furniture as dust can abrade the leather or its finish over time. Fully clean your leather furniture using the Trade Secret Leather Care System 2-4 times a year. For pieces in high use rooms, you should clean them every three to four months using the Trade Secret Soft Cleaner for Leather. It is important that you pay particular attention to clean all high usage and skin contact areas like: seats, arms, front railing and inside backs. Apply the Trade Secret Leather Protection Cream to renew the original protection level. As always focus on high use areas. Always test in an inconspicuous area before using.

Ideally, your salesperson should inform you. However, if they don’t, here are a few of easy ways that you can use to identify aniline leathers:

1. Lightly scratch the surface to see if it leaves a lighter color scratch mark. If it scratches to a lighter color, it is Aniline. This is not the only test because some Nubuck’s will also do this.

2. Wet your finger and lightly rub it into the leather to see if it darkens. It should darken lightly, but dry invisibly

3. Check the cushions for tags bearing the letters A or P. A is for Aniline and P is for Pigmented.

You have over applied the protection cream. Strange as it may sound, apply some more protection cream to a clean cloth and buff. This should completely remove any streaks.

This is difficult to repair and in most cases you should contact a Leather Repair professional.

The presence of natural marks tell the story of the leather’s life, such as healed scars, grain differences, wrinkles, veining, differences in colour shades and any other sign that nature has left on these hides, proves that they are absolutely genuine and bear witness to their great worth and are not to be considered as defects. Good quality leather is soft pliable and slightly heavy.

It depends on the nature of the stain and on the type of leather… Check out our problem solver chart (pdf).

The solution may be unusual but it is fairly easy. Using a blunt instrument (like a spoon) so as not to damage the leather, remove as much of the chewing gum as possible. Using a hair dryer, heat the remaining gum up. With a piece of scotch tape remove the rest of the gum. If any colour comes off, contact a leather repair professional.

We are often asked what makes our Leather Care System better than the competition… even though it is one of the very few that is recommended and approved by leather furniture manufacturers around the world, here are some other worthwhile points. Our Leather Care System contains a Soft Cleaner for Leather and a Leather Protection Cream. Our competitors are often 2 in 1’s and don’t incorporate a protection cream. This is very important because it is scientifically impossible to clean and protect at the same time, as one product negates the effects of the other… like stripper and paint in the same can (a great idea, but not realistically possible). Our competitors are also often conditioners… but what are they conditioning? Certainly not the leather as that is protected by a polyurethane finish. Our system contains a protection cream that protects the aforementioned finish against us as the body oils that come off our skin and hair can seep into the finish (or into an unfinished leather). Our Leather Care System is also delicate enough that it can be used on almost all leather type including unfinished leathers such as Aniline, Semi-Aniline, Pull-Up and more. Our competitor’s products are for “finished leathers only”… and that is a statement that is worrisome since most people (and many experts) can’t correctly identify their leather type.

If you have Pigmented leather (Type P) and the marks are less than 5 days old, use Trade Secret Ink Away to remove the ink with relative ease. You must, however, use the Trade Secret Soft Cleaner (a component in the Leather Care System) to neutralise the Ink Away. Failure to do so could result in further damage.

If you have Aniline leather (Type A) and it is ball point ink, let it be. With time the ink will pass through the leather and disappear.

If you have aniline, yes. If you have pigmented leather, yes but you will have to work for it (isn’t the case for all of the important things in life?).

If you have aniline leather, you need the Trade Secret Scratch Away. This product will displace the aniline dye on your leather filling in the Scratch. Allow to dry and protect with the Leather Protection Cream.

If you have pigmented leather the repair will be more complicated and you may need several products. To start, you will need Trade Secret Water Based Leather Glue. If there is only hangnail type damage, pull back the fibres to expose the underside of the damage, apply the Leather Glue and press down working off the excess glue with your thumb or finger (it’s water-based, don’t worry). If necessary, use the Trade Secret Leather Touch Up Markers or Pro Leather Touch Up to touch up remaining discolouration, if any. Finally, use the Protection Cream to blend and seal the repair.

If the scratch has gone through the leather, it will be necessary to insert a glued backing (cheese or tack cloth) through the scratch so that it adheres to the underside of the leather. Then, use the Leather Glue between the two sides of the split and hold together with masking tape for about 8-12 hours to ensure a strong bond. If necessary, use Leather Filler to level off the repair, the Leather Touch Up Markers or Pro Leather Touch Up to restore colour and, of course, the Protection Cream to blend and seal.

As with all repairs, you must be comfortable with this sort of thing and PATIENT! Don’t rush as that will lead to sloppiness and mistakes (hmmm…sounds like Dad talking to me about my homework when I was younger). If you’re not at ease with this sort of operation, call a professional.

It is possible to recolour small area on your furniture. For larger areas or areas that have been damaged by sun, please contact a leather repair professional. Identify the colour of our Pro Leather Touch-Up that best matches you colour. Colours can be mixed to arrive at the right shade. Lightly sponge onto the affected area and feather outwards. Allow to dry. Reapply if necessary. Seal your repair with Trade Secret Leather Finish or the Trade Secret Protection Cream.

Check out this website: Color Match Guide. You simple upload a picture and it will help guide you to the right colour.

You can download a set here.