leather help!

S

ScheerSpeed

New member
so im detailing this 2006 BMW M5, and on the interior leather, the owner likes to put on some kind of conditioner or i dont know what that is meant for horse saddles...to make a long story short, it is like the consistency of tire gel, but when you rub it with your hand it gums up and wont come off.



basically i have tried EVERY chemical i have that can be used on leather...CG leather Cleaner, Z9, p21s TAW, Z10, 303 cleaner...you name it...i know leatherique would work, but i dont have any.



right after you clean it it looks perfect, but come back 10 minutes later and it looks like it did before. this stuff keeps coming out of the pores of the leather!



so i dont have time to order anything, im leaving out of town friday morning for a week. my question is, is there any around the house concoction i can mix up to get this stuff out? or anything i can get OTC?



thanks for helping!
 
im no expert at this but if i were you, ide order sum leatherique. Its great stuff. And just tell the owner im sorry it isnt taken care of and do it when you get back. Just explain the situation to him.
 
.. -- Just let him know if he wants it to look like it does NOW, keep doing it.. There is nothing you can do about it as it is continuously absorbed by the leather. Your work will undo his with the leatherique.. If he wants it properly taken care of to let you get a 'special order' product for the 'unique' situation. People want it done now,.. and rely on the experts to have whatever it takes to get whatever fixed.. but you just have to explain that it is a unique situation that you do not run across often at all. Though you do know how to fix what he has done to the leather. :)



it could almost be an after charge,.. but that is bad for business, a quote is a quote despite extra effort that you find out after the fact.



I'm sure he can live with his leather another week until you can fix it. Sounds like something you can do in 30minutes when he brings it back,.. like a bring it by and wait if you like, or drop it off and come back in an hour or whenever you can. (Go eat lunch, etc type of deal).
 
Also when youre cleaning keep the seat warmers on or some of your halogens on it to make the product more workable and the leather more workable.



Sounds like neatsfoot oil



And just inform him that the initally board stiff non coated saddle leather is a far cry from the leather used in automobiles today.
 
[quote name='getcha']

Sounds like neatsfoot oil

QUOTE]



Let's just hope it isn't! Any type of saddle soap, neatsfoot oil, mink oil, etc all have negative effects on soft supple leathers. Eventually they will eat away at the leather and leave it cracked and rotten. Automotive seats need very gentle conditioners, and mild cleaners only if needed.



I am pretty familiar with western items such as saddles and boots which are too completely different products. Saddles are thick and tough and are expected to take a beating while most boots while meant to be used can't handle a lot of harsh chemicals because they are so thin. That is why saddles are so thick because they expect the top layer(s) to eventually give way and still leave something underneath. Believe it or not boots actually used in horse/cow lots where they are exposed to manure are eventually eaten away by the ingredients in a horse/cow patty. Leather itself is porous like our skin and needs to breathe so if you clog those pores with waxes, silicones, etc it can't breathe and will dry out. Some items are actually made out of animal fats and will rot and literally become rancid and causes the leather to rot.
 
I don't understand how leatherique would even work since it needs to penetrate the pores of the leather, which apparantly, byt Scheer's description is covered by a layer of gunk.
 
It sounds as though the products the owner has used has damaged the finish on the leather. Products for equestrian leather can do this as they are far too harsh to use on modern finished leathers. Leather does not have pores and nothing comes out of leather the way you describe so the problem you are dealing with is on the surface.



If the finish is damaged no amount of cleaning is going to rectify this. Adding more and more products to the problem will not help and may just make things worse apart from the cost.



You may also find now that refinishing is a problem as new finish may not adhere to wahtever he has used particularly if the products used contained waxes and/or oils.



This really is a restoration job now and should be left to a qualified leather specialist who will have the knowledge to repair it. Either that or replace the leather.



Customers are usually very happy if you can speak to them knowledgably about the problem and refer them to a way of getting the problem fixed rather than making it worse.



Hope this helps
 
Yea so am I, I grew up on an Appaloosa farm. Did you ever bath tub your saddles? Ok anyway I think for the most part he has to keep "working" the product out. The leather is essentially sweating the crap out.



Scheer definitly ask him what stuff he has applied to the leather ask to see it. Then maybe you can contact the company and ask how they would deal with it.



I wonder if JudyB will jump in



EDIT: nice timing Judy:cool:
 
As has been said the use of saddle products is not good as they are a totally different type of leather used for a very different purpose, unfortunately the product manufacturers of the product will I think be of little help!!!



Unfortunately leather cannot 'sweat the crap out' ( it has not absorbed it in the first place) !!!!!!



If you use a 30x microscope you should be able to see what damage has been done to the leather finish. These little tools are invaluable to cleaners and technicians for assessing problems with leather.
 
Yup -- The guy who sold me my car said to get some saddlesoap and go over the leather.. I just smiled. He didn't ever do it, but that was his response to cleaning something off them.



Alot of leather has a clearcoat on it, where some improper product, like saddle soap won't damage it permenantly,.. but over time it can wear through that coat and do the damage. Some isn't coated, and it will go right in. Just depends on how long he's been doing it, what kind of leather it is.. and such.



You can do your best to get what he's done out, and properly address it. If it is perm damaged, a good leather guy can fix the coating pretty easily.. no need to get them releathered or anything ;)
 
Lol sorry Judy I guess then I have no idea where it keeps appearing from. And I suppose i meant to put the word sweat in quotations as obviously an inantimate object cannot do an active process. So what youre saying is that what Scheer is seeing is then damage to the leather. I dont understand how the appearance improves after he has 'cleaned' it but then reverts back to the poor look again
 
This would suggest that the finish is damaged as this would cause the leather to feel sticky. The finish will need to be replaced which would be successfully done by a leather technician who will be able to decide on whether grease is present and act accordingly. Best to do it now before the damage gets so bad that it cannot be restored.
 
I am a leather technician. Done a few thousand repair and/or re-dyes in my day. Something like that though is a different kind of animal (no pun inteneded). If I were called to that job, it would be mere guesswork as well, because nearly everything we repair or restore is either tears requiring repair, wear places requiring re-dyeing, or conditioning jobs requiring rejuvenating and/or protection. If it were me I might be inclined to pass or maybe try rejuvenating. Nearly 30 years ago as part of my training I was taught to know when to say no on some jobs, because a negative result can bring negative advertising.
 
Theres only soo much you as a detailer can do. Try printing this whole thread out to show him your efforts in trying to fix his problem.
 
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