Attention to Details
Dependent upon your
detailing goals and the areas of concern you would like to work on. You do need to understand some of the basic
chemistry behind the materials and finishes used for automobiles to understand
how to care for it.
Diagnosis is
the key, not guess work; the most important thing to find out before you
attempt to clean or care for something is to ascertain what the material finish
is made from.
Much the same is true if you’re trying to remove a stain, what
caused the stain (Organic stains, Inorganic stains or
Petroleum soils) and what is the material ( Finished or Synthetic Leather, Fabrics, Wool or Synthetic
fibres) you are trying to remove the stain from.
Formulate a
detailing plan, then utilize proper detailing techniques, combined with quality
products is what makes a details outcome, successful.
How your leather feels (its Patina – literally ‘hand’) tells you more about its condition than anything; it should feel like something between velvet and satin. Supple, inviting and luxurious. Leather care starts with maintaining factory fresh feeling leather from the beginning. Keeping it clean is important, and hydration is the key; preserving the life, flexibility, appearance and longevity of your leather.
·
Leather Master™ Leather Degreaser (A-Aniline / Non-Coated) (P-Protected / Coated) an aerosol product
for cleaning oily stains; it dissolves and removes oil and grease from finished
leather surfaces. This cleaner can be applied for cleaning all types of leather
(check for colour fastness) this aerosol product is ideal for cleaning this
type of stain as it dissolves the oils and transforms them into a powder that
is more absorbent than the leather. This powder is what is wiped off, cleaning
and degreasing the leather. Allow the white powder to
dry fully. If the powder is drying to a yellow colour, it means that there are
still a lot of oils in the leather.
When a grease or oil stain has
built up gradually over several years, it cannot be removed in a few
minutes; patience is necessary and you
may have to use more than one application to complete the job. Using a Medium /
hard horse hair brush, or a soft sponge, spray and work the cleaner into a
foam, lightly scrub surface and immediately wipe with a terry towel to remove
excess moisture, especially around stitching (you may need to repeat this
process).
1.
Burns
or torn vinyl / leather –scrape away any burned edges and cut off
any rough and / or frayed particles. Obtain a piece of vinyl leather and trim
it slightly larger than the tear, apply a suitable adhesive (Pro
Stick 65™ Hi-Strength) allowing it to become ‘tacky’. Place this sub-patch under the
vinyl / leather and allow to fully dry. If necessary use (Leather Magic!) filler to level the surface; use several light coats of
filler and allow to dry between coats.
You
can use a hair dryer to assist in drying. Remember to hold hair dry at a 300
angle. After the leather repair is level, apply a colour dye to match if
required
2.
Bolster
abrasions - it will depend on how badly the leather is abraded. Most
bolsters have sections where the leather is more worn than others. If it is
heavily worn, the leather can be very thin. You can tell by pinching the
leather to see if it is paper thin. Too much sanding will result in burning
through the leather. Lightly sand the finish and then apply a filler
3.
Cracking
– keeping leather clean is the key to finished leathers
durability, it is the combination of dirt and abrasion that causes the finish
to crack and deteriorate over time. It is the pigment/finish coating that cracks and not the
leather itself so keeping the leather clean will help prevent dirt from causing
a problem.
Urethane upholstery fibre structure will stretch in all
directions with no particular grain or stress pattern. The urethane surface
coating will not withstand multi
directional stress, however, and when
it’s flexed or stretched continuously in the same place the surface coating
develops minute cracks.
Repeated flexing and stretching eventually causes what appears
to be a ‘cracks’ in the surface coating, but
is usually the pigmentation taking on wear pattern or directional
creasing
If
the finished leathers urethane pigment coating has begun to fail (micro
cracking) which cannot be seen with the naked eye but will make the leather
appear dirty especially on light coloured leather. Steam or cleaning products
may permeate the between the hide and the pigmentation coating causing it to
delaminate (separate)
Leather Repair Compound (DT-152 Leather
Magic) this is a water base filler material which is air dried
requiring no heat to cure. When cured, this material remains totally flexible
and natural feeling just like the original leather. It is a thick, paste
compound which may be easily worked into crevices and cracks in order to bond
the separated leather together permanently and fill crevices completely flush
with the surrounding surface areas.
Cracked and / or faded surfaces need to be correctly prepped and
then re-dyed. By using an aqueous (water-based) pigmentation product like this
kit from Leather Magic; wipe the leather down with the solution, using the 220
grit sand paper; this will remove most of the minor creases and provide a 'key'
for the pigmentation. Apply 3-4 thin coats of colour (allow to dry between
coats) you have the option to spray the final coat with a sprayer (all included
in kit) – Leather Magic
Repair. And then add a clear
topcoat for surface abrasion protection
4.
Creasing
- automotive finished leather is a multi-strata material, it
comprises; a water-based urethane pigmentation (colour) to provide both an even
colour and protection from wear when getting in and out of the vehicle and a
thin water-based urethane (Ethyl carbamate) used for protecting automobile
upholstery.
If
dirt and / or abrasive grit are allowed to remain in these creases it will
abrade the surface, eventually causing the leather to split along the crease
lines, dirt in these crease lines also makes the surface appearance appear
worse than it is, especially on light coloured finished leather.
So
keeping the finished leather surface clean is very important. If the finished
leather creases have become excessive the pigmentation and / or the urethane
can be renovated. (See also Wrinkle’s)
5.
Wrinkle’s
- similar to a paints clear coat,
upholstery urethane is classified as a semi-solid permeable membrane,
being a thermosetting polymer (elastomers) it remains flexible while retaining
its tensile strength, to enable it to expand and contract, following the temperature fluctuations (elasticity) of the
substrate and is therefore subject to show wrinkle’s.
These
can be lessened by using a damp (microwave heated) towel, which will cause the
urethane to contract slightly. The foam, leather hide and its urethane covering
are subjected to compression (the weight applied by people sitting on them)
which causes them the stretch, which in turn produces creases (wrinkles). If
they become excessive it may mean that the foam is compressed to the point it
will no longer ‘rebound’ and should therefore be replaced (See
also Creasing)
6.
Dry
leather - it is the moisture level that has altered and re-hydration is
needed to restore balance. Keeping leather clean and hydrated is the key to
maintaining leather and although commercial 'conditioners' may 'feel good it's
not the leather itself that feels softer, but merely the product sitting on the
surface.(See also Moisture
Content)
7.
Damaged
or Torn Stitching - an oil-based product will attract abrasive dirt and permeated
the leather via the stitching, the oil will soften the leather, and the
abrasive dirt plus friction will caused the leather and stitches to tear.
To stitch leather properly, you need specialist tools, its s not like stitching
fabric as the leather is thick and resists piercing.
8.
There are a host of problems unique to
stitching leather, and there is an array of specialized tools just for this
process. The needles tend to be much larger than needles that are meant for
sewing cloth, these have triangular points which cut through the leather.
Waxed polyurethane, linen or canvas thread is
usually used for stitching. The use of an awls and a pinwheel requires that the
leather to be resting against a firm surface, usually a small wooden block, so
you need to remove the hide from the foam underneath to re-stitch leather.
9.
Deformed
leather surface – similar to a paints
clear coat, upholstery urethane is classified as a semi-solid permeable
membrane, being a thermosetting polymer (elastomers) it remains flexible while
retaining its tensile strength, to enable it to expand and contract, following
the temperature fluctuations (elasticity) of the substrate. The foam is
subjected to compression, while the leather hide and urethane are under
tension. Compression of the taught urethane / leather hide causes stretch
marks.
The
application of low pressure / dry vapour steam will help restore the shape,
used in conjunction with hand pressure. Steaming is what the factory does to
mould the leather around all the curves of seats and interior panels, and
upholsters use to stretch or reshape leather.
Place
a damp micro fibre towel in the microwave and heat for a few minutes - until
they are really hot but not so hot that you can't touch them. Place on the
seats and leave for a few minutes - great at removing ingrained dirt too.
10.
Delamination
–occurs when the pigmented urethane protection separates from the
leather substrate. If oil is allowed to permeate any micro fissures in the
leather or via the stitching it will compromise the resin binder system and
delaminate from the hide releasing its adhesive bond, and it will be able to
move in a different direction from the hide, which will result in surface
fissures and cracking, further compounding the problem eventually leading to
the subsequent replacement of the protective (urethane) covering
11.
Holes
or Tears can be repaired by cleaning any rough or frayed edges and then
placing a sub-patch of backing material that is larger than the hole must then
be secured in place by means of a sub-patch and adhesive to give the leather
patch something to anchor to. Before you insert the backing piece cover it with
adhesive, allow the adhesive to become tacky.
Take
a piece of circular leather cut to a half inch larger all round than hole and hold it in place with adhesive
applied to the sub-patch backing piece. Pro Stick 65™ Hi-Strength-
spray adhesive for bonding foams, carpet and upholstery
12.
Leather
pigment restoration – kits available that allows you to recolour
worn and faded leather easily. The colour coat provided is a water- based
material, colour matched, that is designed to be highly compatible with
leather, and provides a long lasting finish– Leather Magic
13.
Loose
covers- the urethane pigmentation upholstery fibre structure of
finished leather is designed to stretch along with its substrate, however
sometimes it becomes over-stretched and in some instances can be rectified by
dampening the surface and then applying heat it’s possible that the surface
will tighten up.. Dampen the surface (do not soak) with distilled water and
then position the end of a hair dryer eight to 10 inches away from the wrinkled
leather surface. Move the end back and forth so that the hot air is not
concentrated on one section of the leather for too long. This prevents the
dryer from burning the leather.
The
heat from the hot air in the dryer will gradually shrink the finished leather,
tightening its surface (this is the way leather is fitted in upholstery shops,
i.e. shrink to fit) and effectively removing the wrinkles.
Hair
dryers operate at a lower temperature than professional heat guns that are
typically used to shrink fit leather. As a result, it might be several minutes
before the wrinkles are completely gone.
Loose
covers could be caused by foam padding compression, which will require
replacement. Also be cognizant that if oils have permeated between the hide and
the pigmentation coating it may have become delaminated, which means the two
surfaces are moving independently
14.
Pigmentation
(Colour) Replacement - Certain
areas of your vehicles leather interior like seats, upholstery, side mouldings
and steering wheels inevitably start to show signs of wear, even if well taken
care of, that spoil its overall impression. Often these imperfections are not
serious and are simply colour that has worn off or light scratches in the
leather surface which can be removed and will disappear with the right
application technique and leather pigmentation. Swisswax Leather Refurbishing Pigmentation
15.
Scuffed
(Covered) leather -
use a hair drier (not a heat gun) at a 300 angle to heat the area while
massaging it, this will lift the scuff out. Then apply LM Leather Protection.
If it is still noticeable then treat it like a leather repair.
16.
Stiff
leather surface – Soft Touch will soften leather that has become dried out, stiff or is
squeaking. It is also excellent for improving the tactile feel of leathers.
17.
1z Plastic Cleaner (Plastik-Reiniger)
was originally developed to protect vinyl tops from oxidation and embedded dirt
build-up. Clear-Cote is also a protective coating for newly refinished leather
or vinyl. It provides a durable,
washable surface for any leather or vinyl upholstery; available in original
gloss or matte finish. Use a fast-drying lacquer thinner to remove the old
colour coating. Apply colour, allow drying thoroughly and then applying
Color-Plus
18.
Squeaky
leather – see Leather Soft Touch
19.
Urethane
surface scratches - for light slightly scuffed finished leather upholstery; use a
2000 grit finishing paper, with light pressure sand the area until the marks
have faded. Then use a very thin application of Leather Master’s
Leather Filler, water- based acrylic paste that fills out scratches in leather
or any part of that grain that is missing.
20.
Scratched
leather – Removing Scratches
Leather
will age from abrasion (scuffs) and collect light scratches from keys, boxes,
and just about any item you place on its surface.
1.
Leather Master™ Scratch Away –
(A-Aniline/Non-Coated only) a professional formula
designed to erase these light surface scratches and scuffs. It performs this
amazing feat by moving the surrounding dye to cover the area where the colour
is missing.
Application:
·
Apply a small amount to your
fingertip (we suggest using a plastic glove).
·
Dab over the surrounding area, slowly
working toward the damaged area until the scratch or scuff disappears.
·
DO NOT
wipe with a towel while this product is still damp!
·
Allow to completely dry and then
apply Leather Master™ Protection Cream.
Finished
leather suffers from abrasion wear over time or can be scratched from items you
place on its surface.
2.
Magic Mender - (P-Protected / Coated) most scratches to finished leather or vinyl
can be repaired with just a few simple products. All it requires is a properly
clean and prepared surface, a professional quality repair compound and a
correctly colour-matched finish top coating
Application:
·
Clean the surface you're going to
repair
·
Apply Magic
Mender leather repair compound and allow to dry
·
Brush-on or spray Color-Flex final colour finish for a
flexible, long lasting repair - http://www.leatherrepairkits.com/
21.
Urethane
covered hides - the oils secreted from your skin are slightly acidic and may
compromise the urethane covering. Removing these oils is paramount to leather
care, but limiting the amount of bare skin you expose to your seats and
interior is a great way to prevent discoloration.
Once damage to the extent of cracking is
apparent on urethane covered upholstery, there is no way to restore them to
original factory condition without re-finishing them.
22.
Shiny
Surface – OEM leather upholstery should have a matte look. If dirt and /
or grit are allowed to remain on the surface it will abrade the surface and
make it ‘shiny’, eventually causing the leather to split along the crease
lines, dirt in these crease lines also makes the surface appearance appear
worse than it is, especially on light coloured finished leather. So keeping the
finished leather surface clean is very important. If the finished leather has
become excessive the pigmentation and / or the urethane can be renovated.
Vacuum
to remove any loose dust / dirt and then wipe with a damp 100% cotton micro
fibre towel. Periodically clean using Iz einszett 'Plastik-Reiniger' is an
intensive, non-corrosive, non-acidic two-phase deep cleaner that contains
anti-static and produces a matte satin finish. Spray surfaces with 1z einszett
Plastik Reiniger. Work the cleaning solution into seams, edges and seat backs
using a medium soft bristle upholstery brush. If necessary, use an old
toothbrush to get into the small crevices.
23.
Tree
Sap / Resin- use an aerosol compressed air computer cleaner (alternatively
use an ice cube) the refrigerant it contains will ‘freeze’ the resin and it can
then be carefully scraped off with a plastic razor blade
Sauna Towel Method
If your leather is really grubby the hot
sauna terry weave towel method is extremely effective at lifting dirt.
1.
Using a damp terry weave
towel, fold and place in a microwave suitable container
2.
Remove when towel becomes steaming
hot
3.
Using tongs remove towel and
place over soiled area(s)
4.
Allow to cool
5.
Wipe surface(s) with a damp
towel
6.
Once surfaces are treated
use a suitable cleaner1z einszett Vinyl Deep
Cleaner (Plastik Reiniger) an intensive, non-corrosive, non-acidic
two-phase deep cleaner for that removes build-up thoroughly and effortlessly,
these chemicals restore the original texture, tactile feel and resiliency or Leather Master™ Strong Cleaner,
using very little applied pressure
Always be willing to learn; because the more you learn, the more you’ll realize what you don’t know.
It is said that knowledge is power, with the caveat that
it includes access to a reliable information sources.
I would like to think that these articles become an asset to
anyone who is new to detailing and to professional’s alike, as well as industry
experts who seek to advance their knowledge.
I hope the
article are informative. By having some understanding of the ‘What’ and ‘Why’
as well as the ‘How’ along with a little science to help you understand how the
chemicals we use react, you can achieve the results you desire.
I would appreciate it if you would share
these articles as it helps other detailers further their knowledge.
As always if you have questions, I’ll do
my best to answer; bear in mind the only stupid questions is the one that was
unasked. Questions and/ or constructive comments are always appreciated
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© 2002 - 2015 TOGWT® (Established 1980) all rights reserved
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