What type of leather do I have?
In order to correctly determine which type of leather you have there are a few tests that can be done.
- The Magnifying Glass Test: Look at leather under a magnifying glass it will show you in detail the finish of the leather, or if there is a finish on the leather.
- The Water Absorption Test: This test helps us to find out how easily your leather will be to clean, and how effective the finish on it is.
- The Visual Test: Look at leather can you see any natural markings visible? What colour is it? etc
- The Touch Test: Feel the leather for softness, smoothness, grain pattern also helps find out the leather type you have.
To make things easier for you, we have put the different types of leather into categories, each containing a group of leathers with similar characteristics and so similar care procedures.
Unfinished Leather (full grain leather)
In this group are the leathers with no lacquered finish applied, there might be a few exceptions but the finish on these is so light the same identification procedures apply. Also not included in this group are suede and nubuck, this is because the surfaces on them have been buffed to create a nap which make them unsuitable for cleaning.
These types of leathers can be called.
- Aniline
- Pull Up
- Oily / Waxy Pull Up
What is the difference between these leathers? They have either a very thin or no applied finish which makes them very absorbent. Being absorbent means they stain and mark very easily. They also fade very easily, the majority of aniline is just dyed with no lacquered finish and so the leather doesn’t have the greatest colour fastness. Pull up leathers are a bit better than aniline but still need careful maintenance.
Finished Leather (corrected grain leather)
In this group we will include all leathers with a lacquered finish.
Semi-Aniline (this is an exception as it is a full grain leather)
Pigmented (also known as top coated or corrected grain)
Bi-cast/Rub Off (also known as Antique Finish)
All the above have a lacquered finish and so are very easy to clean and maintain, bi-cast has a plastic coating bonded to the finish and so falls in this category. Rub off leather has been starred, (Because the top coat lacquer is very weak, when you clean it the black top coat may easily wear away exposing the brighter colour beneath. Be careful when dealing with this leather type)
Nubuck & Suede
These leathers have a nap texture and no finish applied. This makes them stain very easily and because these stains are absorbed, very difficult to clean.