Leather Treatment - Am I taking color off?
- Thread starter cptzippy
- Start date
Accumulator
Well-known member
Roger Koh said:
The Conolly (?sp?) Leather in XJSes is weird stuff...acts like "uncoated" in every possible respect (at least mine does, in the sense of living with it day-to-day) but that stuff that's peeling off looks like it *is* a coating
OK, Roger... school us! I've lived with that leather for over half my life and *I* don't know what the answer is! :nixweiss
Accumulator said:
Me either, it’s still a mystery; especially with history not yet reveal what this leather have gone through.
Below the red question mark may reveal the reasons for the layers which are not supposed to be there, or is there for a cover-up.
Hope that I am wrong.
Roger Koh
[email protected]
Accumulator
Well-known member
Roger Koh- Uh oh, when *you* say something's a mystery *to you*...that's scary :nervous:
I'm not ready to say captzippy's leather has been redone, based on the same sort of issue with the damaged areas of mine (which has absolutely *NEVER* been redone).
It was fear of precipitating this kind of major "might need to refinish that completely!" situation that's kept me from getting *too* involved with mine. Last time I was messing with it (pre-mothballing, back whenI still drove the thing), I just kept conditioning it with Conolly Hide Food, wiping off excess and reapplying over and over. Yeah, yeah...I know, I know...but that's the only thing I had on-hand that made things better instead of worse, and it *DID* work out really well.
The "Conolly Leather" optional-seating-surface stuff in my '93 Audi is also weird...seems for all the world like it's coated (and thickly too) yet it soaked up products and got nice and soft after nearly 20 years of neglect :nixweiss
I'm not ready to say captzippy's leather has been redone, based on the same sort of issue with the damaged areas of mine (which has absolutely *NEVER* been redone).
It was fear of precipitating this kind of major "might need to refinish that completely!" situation that's kept me from getting *too* involved with mine. Last time I was messing with it (pre-mothballing, back whenI still drove the thing), I just kept conditioning it with Conolly Hide Food, wiping off excess and reapplying over and over. Yeah, yeah...I know, I know...but that's the only thing I had on-hand that made things better instead of worse, and it *DID* work out really well.
The "Conolly Leather" optional-seating-surface stuff in my '93 Audi is also weird...seems for all the world like it's coated (and thickly too) yet it soaked up products and got nice and soft after nearly 20 years of neglect :nixweiss
Accumulator said:
“The "Conolly Leather" optional-seating-surface stuff in my '93 Audi is also weird...seems for all the world like it's coated (and thickly too) yet it soaked up products and got nice and soft after nearly 20 years of neglect ”
What’s being soak up may be from those 20 years of “things” you have soak on; that is “conditioning over aged and deteriorated conditioners” refreshing them unknowingly; and may not necessary have reached through the accumulated micron layers onto or into the leather in question – that’s may be the Mystery!
“I just kept conditioning . . . and reapplying over and over.”
Traditionally the care of leather was the emphasis on conditioning the leather, carried over from the horse and buggy era; then about a quarter of a century ago the old school of leather care begins to surface, promoting the concept of clean and protect, especially for indoor leathers away from direct rain and sunshine exposure.
Today, you have seen that, not too many practices have even come close to this stage of progress in leather care of clean and protect concept; many are still resorting to experimentation with a combination of “wholike, APC, Steam, Magic and other Wonders” all hypes without much thought to the science and logic of cleaning. Dismissing the vital importance of pH value in products usage and the need to fatliquor-replenishing leather for continuous suppleness; ignorantly promoting water as a substitute without knowing the true fact that water alone has a detrimental effect on leather – know as the Van der Vaal or London Forces phenomenon
Presently, the clean and protect system is revolutionized with an input of an appearance management concept to meet the demand of lighter colored leathers for newer auto models. When most leathers are in the almost “black” just like the Ford T model, it may have served its purpose. Do they wear blue jeans then and have problem with dye transfer – not sure – blue on black may still look black?
The market tested revolutionize leather-safe system (as seen how safely is to remove those unwanted years of accumulation), takes care of short term appearance cycle in relation to a long term holistic cycle; keeping leather at a higher level of appearance at all times, rather than the traditional drastic appearance of a contrasting clean-look and dirty-look cycle. Moreover, the chemistry integrity of the leather is prominently stress besides aesthetic appearance of up-keeping it in matte luster.
Any leather-safe system should thinks for you with intelligence in science and logic even without you need to know about it – just follow instructions.
■ Initial Protection
■ Routine Care
■ Periodic Care
■ Restorative Care (the on-going work-in-progress you are watching now before your eyes)
“when *you* say something's a mystery *to you*...that's scary ”
It is the unknown that we ritually practice that is scary. . .
“I just kept conditioning . . . and reapplying over and over.”
Without an intelligence questioning of what we do, that’s scary too!
Roger Koh
[email protected]
The section at the front of the bolster where the removal of the mystery stuff has been the most successful definitely feels better and has more of a leather feel whereas the section at the back where the stuff has doggedly persisted is slick hand harder. The entire bolster started that way and I was afraid that despite what I had read that it was in fact vinyl (ambla).
Am I right in assuming that even as late as 1994 that this is connelly leather?
Am I right in assuming that even as late as 1994 that this is connelly leather?
Got this explanation when I asked a question on a jag forum:
It was likely sprayed with a plastic based dye, normally used for
vinyl. If it is glossy, the PO used the wrong dye. If it is a
dull or satin color, then it is the correct dye...but something
else is going on. The vinyl dye will eventually peal off leather,
as the leather ''breathes'' and the dye does not
It was likely sprayed with a plastic based dye, normally used for
vinyl. If it is glossy, the PO used the wrong dye. If it is a
dull or satin color, then it is the correct dye...but something
else is going on. The vinyl dye will eventually peal off leather,
as the leather ''breathes'' and the dye does not
Accumulator
Well-known member
ROger Koh- Sorry, I gave the wrong impression. I only did the "condition over and over" after the damage occured, for most of its life the leather was merely kept clean. There was virtually zero build up of the Hide Food, not what one might expect at all (anything that wasn't absorbed was wiped away). Note that it did come out fine. Not slimy, right luster, no problems at all and the Club's chief judge declared it concours-OK. Only problem was that it needed redone every now and then whereas previously it only needed wiped clean for years at a time.
Heh heh, in this case it was indeed an "intelligent questioning of what we do". Not like I didn't spend a few days trying different things on test-spots, I spent a lot of time on it.
And, heh heh, a dozen years ago I didn't know about *you*
Heh heh, in this case it was indeed an "intelligent questioning of what we do". Not like I didn't spend a few days trying different things on test-spots, I spent a lot of time on it.
And, heh heh, a dozen years ago I didn't know about *you*
cptzippy said:Well, another twist. I've been told by somebody that has a one year later XJS (1995) that the seats are all Ambla vinyl. I guess mine is leather?
In reality, we need to examine the pictures as the mystery coating is unveiled gradually.
Perhaps some care history background will give us some clue why the peeling coating was there, and is it supposes to be there originally – that’s the question.
Roger Koh
[email protected]
cptzippy said:
With Prep-7.7 under film cling wrapping and effective dwelling, has proven to be the safest method so far; and patience may pays off handsomely.
Unless it stops to move, we can move forward using a pH 2.3 leather stripper.
It appears to be more of a v... than a l...
Roger Koh
[email protected]