[colin thomas]

customer has a brown leather suite and the hubby wears hair gel which of course has darkened the area he rests his head on, will it clean off or is it a repair job, anyone know?

colin

[Roger Koh]

If it darkens, this is an absorbent leather suite.

It is a degreasing job for sure!

What you see may be just the top 15% the remaining may have penetrated into the leather structure.

The finishing may have already been rubbed off by those hair gels.

Depending on how long the hair gel had contaminated the leather structure.

The ageing gel may give a yellowing effect if it has hydrolyzed or oxidized.

So be prepared for a restoration job.

Here the restoration means to both strata of the leather (structure & finishes).

1st strata is the leather structure itself - to use the latest technology that can degrease “from” the structure rather than “off” the surface of the leather only.
The leather structure is to be further hydrate and fatliquor to restore the leather integrity - flexibility, softness and strength.

2nd strata is the leather finishes to be restored for its aesthetic sight, feel and scent.

Post a picture, the severity of the darkening and the finish-type will determine the product system for this specific problem.

Roger Koh
Leather Doctor®

[colin thomas]

thanks roger, will post a pic when i see the suite,

colin

[Roger Koh]

I will help you out!

Training is not a pre-requisite.

We are just a finger touch away!

[LTT Leathercare]

The method of repair/restoration etc will depend on the type of leather that this is.  If the grease is leaving a dark patch it sounds as though it may be an aniline style leather ( a photo will show this).  Any grease problem needs degreasing products rather than cleaning ones as you cannot 'clean' grease out of leather.  Once the grease has been removed the leather can be restored using the appropriate repair system.

Hope this helps
Send us a photo for analysis if you get one.
Cheers
Judy