[Ian Gourlay]

Thought you could create miracles with them Ian, at least that's the impression given...............I actually thought you were referring to a fabric suite !

Rob they take 10 hours and usually fall to  bits where the head and arm grase has rotted  the fabric for the past ten years then you have the babies sick to deal with  so they say
 

[JandS]

Hats off to you Roger that suite looks brilliant.
You obviously aim for the top end of the market judging by the cost of materials and time taken.
You've learnt your trade well and are now reaping the rewards.
How much training did you do before you were let loose on the world of leather.
Believe it's just a 2 day course at LTT over here.

John

[Darren O]

For the last 2 years ive been using Ultra Clean from furniture clinic great stuff then about 6 weeks ago got another order 1 litre of ultra clean and 1 litre of protecter both are totally different from the previous ones i bought.The ultra clean was nowere near as strong and i used 3/4 litre on 1 suite and there was hardly any foam also the strong smell wasnt there either to me it looked if it had been watered down.I phoned furniture clinic and they sent me out a foaming bottle and must say it was a lot better but still no way as good as the old stuff so i phoned LTT and ordered  some strong cleaner from them so will wait and see how good there stuff is.

[LTT Leathercare]

Our basic course at LTT is 4 x 1 day courses to cover information from leather ID to complete restoration, however, the real work begins when you have the knowledge.  Training gives you the groundwork and then you need to do the practice. You cannot expect any training course to be the only thing you need.   Working closely with a training company (as we do with many of our best technicians) after training will give you the best basis for ongoing learning and technicians (once trained) continue to come to us for on going training and updates on new products and techniques.
 
Andy Alcock (our technical Director) has had over 20 years experience in the leather restoration industry including 3 years in the USA troubleshooting for one of the biggest warranty companies in the USA which is how he built up his expert knowledge but even he is continually learning and experimenting with products and new techniques and talking to tanners and chemical manufacturers, ...........the process never stops.

Many of the delegates we have trained have progressed to a very high level of expertise in restoration work and are now reaping the rewards of the training they have done but it takes time and commitment as with any work you want to do to the best level there is.

[Tony Gill Carpet Smart]

GOOD job Roger before and after pictures nice one.

CHEERS TONY

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Judy/Andy LTT

Did that cleaner from Sheffield ever come back to finish his training?

I keep bumping into his well actual my new customers because of his bad attitude.

Shaun

[LTT Leathercare]

Which one was that Shaun?

[Roger Koh]

Thank you guys that you can appreciate good work done.

This work was instructed by me but carried out by someone else like you.

Would you like to know the details from enquiry to delivery?

Roger Koh
Leather Doctor®

[Ryan Smyth]

yes

[LTT Leathercare]

The process is to:

Clean  (Maxi Cleaner)
Degrease (Professional Degreaser)
Alcohol wash (Alcohol Cleaner)
Pigment coat  (BRIT Restoration)
Refinish  (Satin Gloss followed by Matt or Semi Matt to adjust sheen)
Protect (Ultra Protect)

 
Fairly straight forward, the biggest job being the degreasing as there is always far more in the back of the leather than at the front and it is crucial to remove all the grease and body oils before pigmenting and finishing as adhesion would be a problem if there are any left in the leather.  This may take a couple of coats.
Degreasing takes time to do the job properly and generally speaking is best left overnight although heat can be used to speed up the process.

[Roger Koh]

Thank you for your interest!

This is the entire Cut & Paste from another forum, a total of 17 posts:

How to Repair and Refinish to Save a 13 yrs old worn out Pigmented Armrest?
________________________________________
Post #1 by Chet:

A picture of a protected cream colored leather sectional with a lot of wear and damage to only one arm.

The rest of the sofa needs a good cleaning and some repair to the bottom cushions.

Roger do you think we can save this arm and do you think your finish will last, it's now about 13 years old.

Damaged Arm


Entire sofa

[Roger Koh]

Post #2 by Roger:


This looks like a pigmented leather, however it could be a semi-aniline leather too (semi-absorbent pigmented).

Besides the finished damaged areas the coarse breaks suggest that the original fatliquor has diminished too!

The leather has stiffen and resulted in these coarse breaks, that when soften and removed will avert potential uneven wear from rubbing.

So this attempt is not just to refinish it to look good for a while but also to restore the leather structure strength and softness.

If the leather structure is rejuvenated as a priority it will last for the next 13 years, for sure.

I believe this is more of a “pillow” to whomever that lies there and may have absorbed hair oils that caused the damage.

A “green” and effective degreasing is mandatory too (degreasing without conventional solvent products that affects health and the environment besides a fire hazard).

So the priority is not only safe and effective degreasing alone but strengthening and softening this weak area with fatliquor5.0™ as well.

It’s to be followed by a protein blend impregnator26™ to tighten surface grains.

Thereafter seal coated with adhesion73™ before either pigColor63™ or semiColor74™ color coat.

And to be tested with a 2” Scotch Tape Rip Test to pass the “Adhesion Test” even before the top coat.

Any questions so far?

And do you want me to continue with the relevant sequence of steps to achieve the desired result?

Roger Koh
Leather Doctor® System

[Roger Koh]

Post #3 by Chet:


If he decides to go ahead with repair what will be my steps in order so I can give an accurate appraisal.

[Roger Koh]

Post #4 by Roger:


You have to restore the cushion back to its original through the recommended steps that may include softening and strengthening and removing the crease and wrinkles too!

That may include a refinishing that may make the rest looks old, worn and tired unless they are equally refinished too!

I would suggest that if they like the way the armrest is been done, would they also consider to do the rest as well.

Then you can come up with a pricing for the cushion alone and also a price for the entire set as well.

It’s a win-win situation; you have your practice and your customer have the best sequence of process done accordingly to the universal tannery standard.

It’s time to get work done and build your reputation with renewed confidence too!

And work may flow in sooner than you think!

The “word of mouth” is a very powerful tool.

Who knows he might be your cheer leader too!

Bringing you a customer or two!

What do you think?

Roger Koh
Leather Doctor® System

[Roger Koh]

Post #5 by Roger:


This is the armrest proposed sequence of steps for your appraisal.

Step 1: d’Ink7.7™ as grease and oil removal double up as prep cleaner with leatherBrush1™ or nubuckBrush2™ without resorting to solvent.
Let dwell 30 minutes thereafter extract until towel shows clean.
Solvent deteriorates the partial removed finish and more likely to fail on adhesion.
Solvent dries the finish plasticizers thus making it brittle and diminishes the fatliquor in the leather structure thus stiffen the leather too!

Step 2: Use clean3.8™ to remove sticky residue with agitation using either brush to fit situation and extract until towel shows clean.

Step 3: Use rinse3.0™ to acidifier rinse, agitate and extract until towel shows clean.

Step 4: Use relaxer3.3™ to hydrate the thickness of the leather structure and best to seal it up for at least 4 to 8 hours.

Step 5: Extract as dry as possible, the worn areas with light hand scudding to squeeze out suspended foreign soil particulates without causing further damages.

Step 6: Use fatliquor5.0™ to fatliquor into the moist leather structure.

Step 7: Plastic wrapped up for another 4 to 8 hours.

Step 8: Remove the plastic and let dry another 4 to 8 hours.

Step 9: When leather is dry (must be dry like normal) use an iron without steam (small travel iron) and iron over new printing paper (on wool to cotton setting) to remove all these creases.

Step 10: If the surface feels oily from the non penetrated fatliquor clean with clean3.8™ follows with rinse3.0™.

Step 11: Use impregnator26™ and brush with a 3” foam brush to saturate all the weak and absorbent areas.

Step 12: Use a blow dryer helps the drying process.

Step 13: Now use 1000 grit to 1500 grit sandpaper and smoothen all rough spots.

Step 14: Reapply impregnator26™ to satisfaction to weak absorbent areas only.

Step 15: Use a damp lint free towel and wipe off non worn areas - avoiding unnecessary build-up.

Step 16: Use adhesion73™ and apply with a clean foam brush concentrating on worn areas and feather out avoiding streaks.

Step 17: Either color coat with semiColor74™ or pigColor64™ to match existing leather type using padding or foam brush as the first light coat without streaks, follows with air spraying.

Step 18: Follows with either semiTop57™ or pigTop56™ by air spraying.

Step 19: leatherScent’B™ can be brush on with a 3 to 4 inch foam brush.

Need further explanation?

Roger Koh
Leather Doctor® System

[Roger Koh]

Post #6 by Pioneer:
clarification of process
________________________________________
Roger,

Could you please clarify what the protein blend impregnator 26 does.
I understand all the other steps but wonder what the function of the impregnator is?

Thanks!!

[Roger Koh]

Post #7 by Roger:


The function of impregnator26™ is for strengthening leather inter-fibrillary structure weakness.


impregnator26™ is an aqueous protein compact resin blend compound impregnator.

For: Worn leather grains and micro cracks.

To: Restore, seal and strengthen worn leather structure area and leveling out uneven absorption for further coating process.

Fill and tighten leather structure with good leveling properties that is film forming for improve abrasion resistance.

Instruction:

Shake well; apply by brushing with foam brush to saturate into all weak and absorbent areas.

Concentrating only on needed areas otherwise wipe off excess to surrounding area to reduce buildup.

Use 1000, 1200 or 1500 sand paper to smoothen for in between coating.

[Roger Koh]

Post #8 by Pioneer:


When would it be used?
________________________________________

Roger,

I noticed you recommended the use of impregnator26™ when refinishing the armrest with a semi-color and also as a possibility if the leather needed repair when Chet was asking how to refinish the aniline wax pull-up, is this a product that would be used regardless of whether you are dying or coloring a piece of leather?

Would it be used anytime the corium has been nakedly exposed?

[Roger Koh]

 

Post #9 by Roger:


I noticed you recommended the use of impregnator26™ when refinishing the armrest with a semi-color and also as a possibility if the leather needed repair when Chet was asking how to refinish the aniline wax pull-up, is this a product that would be used regardless of whether you are dying or coloring a piece of leather?

Yes! On either situation we are repairing the strength of the leather structure.

For the armrest it is important that this weak structure be re-strengthened so that any flex or pressure will be re-distributed and shared evenly throughout the entire leather panel.

As the impregnator26™ works by penetrating and saturating the weak structure, it will react and combine with the leather fiber to become part of the leather structure to reduce looseness.

The tightening effect will make this area less absorbent for the next adhesion coating.

The coating is for the surface rather than to be absorbed into the leather structure as it does not help to strengthen the leather at all.

As for the aniline wax pull-up repairs, it is recommend that 25 to 50% of anilineDye21™ be added into the impregnator26™ and applied at the same time.

More skill is involved as dyes saturation is accumulative and no room for error because it is difficult to hide or cover-up darkening effect.

Would it be used anytime the corium has been nakedly exposed?
Yes!

[Roger Koh]

Post #10 by Chet:


Roger, the sofa in question was dropped off today.

I have the products to start the process of cleaning and replenishing the fat liquor.

I will need the impregnator26™ and adhesion73™ to proceed further.

There are definitely course breaks on the section with the deteriorated arm, however the rest of the sofa looks good.

How much of the above products will i need?

How much pigColor64™ will I need for the entire sectional?

And how much pigTop56™ will I need for the entire sectional?

Is pigTop56™ a clear coat? or are they both pigmented to match?

Do you custom match dye?