[vangaurd]

custy spilt nail varnish on the cushion.
i can recolor, but cannot of f hand remember,
do i need to take all the finish of the cushion and respray?
or just were the stain is , ps she has tried to remove the stain
so she would have taken some finish off already
it has left a pink stain size of a 10 pence piece
any ideas chaps?

[Mike Roper]

You will need to remove the nail varnish with remover/acetone. this will obviously remove some finish which will need to be fixed. I would only remove what colour you have to as it will be easier to loose your mixed colour when refinishing with the airbrush.The hardest part as always is getting the colour right.Make sure its not a two tone or anything tricky that may catch you out.
This only applies to pigmented finish - if its aniline thats a different story.
MIke

[Ben Staerck]

Tony,


Its not so much about removing the finish as it is cleaning the leather. Things like mr sheen and other silicone products settle on leather and you need to use cleaners to remove these - this is done to guarantee adhesion of colour. Cleaning with a strong solvent might also remove the finish, it doesn't matter wether it does or doesn't.

I have found its best to clean with two strong cleaners before applying colour.

1. Leather Prep: this is a storng solvent that will remove any silicones/waxes etc that are solvent soluable. It can also rmeove the leathers finish.

2. Alcohol Cleaner: this is an alcohol that will rmeove any water or alcohol soluable silicones. These are soemthing that a solvent may struggle to shift and vice versa.

Using a combination of the two products will make sure that the colour has the best chance of adhesion.

Now to address your question. You don't need to clean the full cushion, just the area surrounding the stain, and of course the sgtain itself. Its more than likely that the leather has a two tone finish with this type of damage, you'll need to clarify this. But assuming that it does, the best way to repair is.

1. Using the prep on a cloth wipe the colour from around the stain over the stain. This transfers some of the colour over the stained area blenidng it in better, and it rmeoves the edge from the stain.

2. Mix up a close colour or exact. Two tones are very forgiving and you don't always need to get the colour 100%. Then gently mist it over the stain to restore the colour.

You can look at duplicating the exact two tone appearance with colour application by sponge, but most of the time that isn't necessary.

[vangaurd]

cheer's ben how was scotland?
will call in nxt week for some leather prep.

[Ben Staerck]

Ok mate. No problem.

Its a slow drive up to Scotland on the A68 when you get caught behind a convoy of caravans in the pouring rain!

[LTT Leathercare]

It is always advisable to colour as small an area as possible when doing repairs like this, however depending on the type of leather and finish this will vary. 

If you do have a two tone they can be very difficult to replicate, whereas antique stlye finishes can be very easy.  The random patterns that they use on two tones, if not replicated and blended in can look very obvious as can using the wrong colour for the top coat.

It is unnecessary to remove the finish before recolouring but using Maxi cleaner and alcohol cleaner will ensure that the surface is surgically clean before applying the BRIT system of pigments which is the most advanced water based system of its kind with fantastic adhesion.
This can then be refinished to ensure the repair does not peel off.

The colour mixing on this repair will be the crucial element (fairly straight forward on a single colour pigment) but not as I have expalined on a two tone.

Any help needed just give us a call.

Judy