[Mike Halliday]

quoted on this suite yesturday

you can see the problem, the top colour came off with just a gentle rub of cleaner;

i told the customer that the suite was beyond normal cleaning, and they had 3 choices, not have it cleaned, have it cleaned and the topcolour re-appliad or they have it cleaned  and total removal of the top colour.

they chose the last one

what would you use to remove the top colour? or perhaps another option

[Mike Halliday]

more photos

[*paul_moss]

Mike I thought your last post had generated lots of interest   well here we go again  

I thought you were talking about a chesterfield antique finish, from the pictures this looks like a rub off or a two tone, either way straight forward  

[Mike Halliday]

you're right Paul I did say it was an antique effect but on the second visit I realised my mistake.

mike

[*paul_moss]

Mike, these are called bucket seats and lift off the wooden frame with ease, so you could take it away to do over night.

[Ben Staerck]

It looks like a world of leather suite.

I would fix the damage area by spraying the top colour on. You could then sell the cusomter the option to have the rest of the suite re-sealed using a leather finish. Rather than strip the colour off and recolour.

Its best to keep things simple, re-spraying that with colour wouldn't be the easiest thing to do insitu.

[Mike Halliday]

Ben she wants the suite cleaning, I think there is a heavy deposit of nicotine sat on it, the cloth was dark brown

perhaps I should use the mild cleaner see if this effects the top coat, but I only rubbed the ultra in with just my finger and it took off the top colour.

the perfect option would be too clean it without removing the top colour but I need to remove the dirt and Nicotine with some thing that is so mild it doesn't harm the top colour, I have quoted a high price so time isn't an issue

[Tony Gill Carpet Smart]

Hi Mike you can pick em mate
Tony

[Ben Staerck]

Mike,

The difficult thing is, if you wiped the leather with a damp cloth, you run the risk of removing colour. Its not so much down to the chemicals used but more with the rubbing action created as you clean it.

Since the suite needs cleaning. I would very gently clean the sofa, and then go over and touch in any areas that lose colour. Just lightly mist the area with an airbrush to re-instate the two tone effect.

[Derek_Walker]

I have also come across this type of problem suite. A two tone which came off if you used just a damp cloth without any cleaning agent. The suite was about six years old and the customer had taken most of the top coat off on the main seating area's. Even the area's that do not get any use were not cleanable. Would this be a fault from the manufacturer or something that happens over a period of time with the use of the wrong product?

[Buster Ingram]

Brilliant pictures Mick for marketing. With the heading this too could happen to your furniture if not properly maintained.

[Mike Roper]

Looking at the photos you have 2 colours to put ontop off the base colour on the worn arm- brown then black ( roughly speaking) which doesnt look too difficult. Why is the back of the back cushion so worn?  Its surprising that the colour comes off with cleaning on the rest of the chair / suite , it must be more worn than it looks.
#How about just colour the bad areas to tone in then top finish it all to lock it in.
Would this work or would there be adhesion problems?
Mike

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Could be that the customer wants it cleaning because it smells of tobacco, cleaning would reduce the smell but take the colour which means a full redye.

Shaun

PS looks like there wasn't any finish on it anyway, I think Paul mentioned this on his leather day that these could be buggers!

 

[LTT Leathercare]

In this instance we would agree with Ben.

In this case it was obvious that this was a 2 tone leather and that the  top coat was coming off but a pre clean survey is always imperative as some 2 tone leathers are very difficult to spot and starting to clean even with a damp cloth can cause problems.  A weak top coat may be removed simply with water. 

Very gentle clean which will probably remove more colour then recolour and blend in (colour mixng will be difficult) and seal the whole suite with a clear coat top finish.

The brown stain coming off which you assume is nicotine is probably top coat.

There will be numerous problems if you atempt to strip off the whole top coat.
Seeing as the suite is so easy to remove I would take it away and do the work in your workshop to give you space and time.

Just confirm that the finish is wearing off rather than peeling off as these are two distinctly different problems.



Derek on this type of leather at that sort of age it is difficult to tell exactly what has caused the problem, it could be wear and dirt, it could be poor finish or incorrect cleaning products or a combination.
If the problem occured within 12 months it should always be referred back to the retailer.

[*paul_moss]

Mike did not get a lot of time on this as I was going out. Having looked at the pictures in more detail,I think it has been given a two tonr effect by covering a red/brown pigment over the original green colour. This is highlighted in the picture of the arm,if you look at the stitching it is reddy brown the same colour as the top coat and prob the same colour as what is coming off on to the cloth.On this suite of which I have cleaned a few I have not seen red stiching yarn used before, so I think it has been sprayed over and either no finish applied or a poor finish applied.

[Mike Halliday]

I'm attending to this suite on Wednesday with a view to cleaning it, I've already discussed with the client about the removal of the top coat to give a uniformed appearance and she agreed to this, but after what has been said by Ben & Judy I'm not not willing to attempt a full removal, so will try and  a 'gentle' clean without harming the top coat,

Ben has said  the rubbing action  might remove the top coat so I'm going to massage a mild cleaner onto the surface then either dab it off with soft towels or vacuum it off with a wet vac.

I'm hoping to remove the dirt without any harsh rubbing. I'm not confident with my colour matching to make up the colour to re-apply so its going to be a tricky job.

to be truthful I'd rather walk away from this job but now its too late, I'm going to make it perfectly clear to the client that in my opinion it should be left as it is, but if she wants me to work on it I will, but I'll get a disclaimer signed

any suggestion will be gratefully received.

[LTT Leathercare]

Mike you do right to get a disclaimer signed as if the finish is this weak then water on its own would probably strip it.  If you want anyone to do the full job then just get in touch and we will help.

I don't think the vacuum method will be of any benefit, just use towels or paper towles to absorb the mositure and this will remove surface dirt.

We saw a similar one to this on Saturday and restoraiton is a very viable option if you can do the work.  It would be a good idea to have it restored as the problem will only get worse now that the top finish has worn off. It leaves the leather very vulnerable.

[Ben Staerck]

fingers crossed, but if you clean all the top coat off..........she my like the colour beneath better!

If it goes wrong, you are welcome to bring it up to us and we can help you with the restoration of it.

[LTT Leathercare]

All the top coat will not clean off as areas are worn at a different rate. This is always the problem with removing the whole of a second colour on a two tone suite..  There are 3 different areas of wear on a suite and these will be reflected dutring the clean.
Restoration is fairly straight forward and should be on offer to the customer. 

[Ben Staerck]

All the top coat will not clean off as areas are worn at a different rate.

i was joking