Do you have products in leather that are dry and damaged, where the leather has cracked? Do you need to repair or recolour an old leather case or similar? Here you will learn the basics of cleaning, conditioning, protecting, repairing and recolouring your products in leather.
Most people know they should take care of their leather shoes, and many also do in one way or another. On the other hand, it's very rare for people to take care of their other products in leather, such as bags, wallets, belts, gloves, leather sofas or similar. Leather is a living material - that's why it's so amazing - and all leather products need be cared for to be well and look nice, and to last longer. In the following guide, we will walk you through how to take care of your leather goods in the best way.
Cleaning
When dirt accumulates on the leather, it not only makes the product look a little daft, it also causes wear. The dirt often contains different types of substances that wear on the leather, while it can clog the natural pores of the leather and prevent it from breathing properly. Therefore, it's good to clean the leather goods sometimes, if they get dirty. Shoes are, of course, extra exposed, but many other leather products are also subject to continuous stress and wear and tear. Gloves are a given example, bags placed on the ground and dirty bus floors another, the black leather jacket a third. Leather products that you sit in, such as the sofa, armchair or car interior, also always get dirty after a while.
We have several different types of leather cleaners in our range, both for different types of leather, such as for regular smooth leather or suede and nubuck. Then there is various heavy cleaning, sometimes there's just a bit of surface dirt you need to get rid of, while in other situations there are large amounts of properly ingrown dirt. In this separate guide you will get an excellent overview of all our leather cleaning products, how they are used and for what purposes.
Care and protection
What all leather will always need is some occasional nourishing and moisturising substances. All leather dries over time, the more it's subjected to stress, sun, etc. the more hits it takes, but even if you would have a decorative ornament in leather that just stands on a shelf far from a window, it needs to be moisturised from time to time. Leather that becomes dry breaks and more easily gets damage and marks. The great thing about leather is that, since it's a living material, even if it's in a really harsh condition you can often save it and regain a great deal of life by nourishing the leather and give it a bit of TLC.
What's needed is a type of conditioner / lotion that, above all, contains plenty of the natural oils and waxes that the leather needs. A truly universal product is the Saphir Medaille d'Or Leather Lotion, a very easy-to-work liquid cream that you apply a bit of on a cloth and work into the leather, then allow to dry before removing the excess with a cloth or brush. Very nourishing and moisturising, while providing good protection and some shine. Works on virtually all types of smooth or embossed leather, it doesn't smudge and doesn't cause the leather to darken.
Other options for a nurturing leather conditioner is Saphir Medaille d'Or Dubbin Grease which is really deep caring for very dry leather, and various specialised products such as Saphir Medaille d'Or Crème Nappa conditioner without any wax, good if you want to retain a natural patina and for sensitive leather types such as goat, deer, pigskin etc, or Saphir Cream waxed leather which nourishes and contributes with protection for waxed and oiled leather. If the leather has solidified and dried, and needs to be softened properly, Saphir Etalon Noir leather softener is a good alternative.
Suede and nubuck are leathers with a different character and partly different needs, here for example you do not have cracks as the same problem, but also these can do good from getting supplementation of nourishing substances. A good alternative then is the Saphir Medaille d’Or Renovatour Spray in neutral color, which does not colour off. It both cleans, nourishes and protects suede and nubuck.
Repair
Did you get deeper scratcher or had a piece of the leather coming loose to expose the lighter core? Often you can save this too. With Saphir Renovating Cream, tear marks, notches or similar can be refilled and the damage hidden, without it staining afterwards. Clean the leather product and put some of the cream on your finger tip to apply on the damaged area, and wipe off excess immediately. Then allow to dry. Renovating Cream is available in several colours, in order to find the exact shade you may need to mix different colors (if you just adjust the shade a bit you can use pigmented Saphir Juvacuir or pigmented shoe cream). If you need to make the colour smoother in general, Saphir Juvacuir works fine, then you cover the repaired part and the surrounding area to get a uniform color.
For more severe and complicated damages we recommend that you go to a leather workshop or cobbler.
Recolouring and dying
Over time, leather gets a natural patina and the colour changes. Sometimes, however, especially if not properly cared for, you may find that it becomes pale and dull in color, and looks quite bad. Then you can recolour the leather and make it look like new again. For that it is recommended to used Saphir Juvacuir recolouring cream, a liquid cream which, in addition to caring and protective substances, contains a lot of pigment that recolour the material, and also gives some shine afterwards. Works on both small and large products, and when dried it colour doesn't come off (do try on a hidden area first). Here you need to clean the leather properly first, for example with Saphir Renomat which also dissolves grease and old wax residue, and if necessary moisturise first with, for example, Saphir Medaille d'Or Dubbin Grease conditioner. Juvacuir is then applied out in a thin layer with a damp cloth. Allow to dry for 15 minutes before wiping with a dry part of the cloth. For best care and protection, it's good to lubricate the leather with a lotion / conditioner afterwards, and if you want to be absolutely sure that the color does not colour off, you can also spray with Saphir Stop Colour.
If you want paint the leather product in a new colour it's also possible, especially if't is about going from a lighter shade to a darker one. Then you use a special leather dye called Saphir Teinture Francais. It's a bit more complicated procedure, in this guide (which is focused on shoes but also works for other leather products, with the addition that you should always use Saphir Stop Colour afterwards) we teach how to paint and recolour leather products.
Because leather is a natural material, it's always difficult to know on beforehand exactly how a particular leather reacts to a particular treatment. Therefore, always test on a smaller surface first (preferably a hidden surface that does not show as much) so you see that the result will be what you are looking for, before proceeding with the treatment on the entire product.
If you have more specific questions about leather and leather care, please contact ktj@skolyx.se and we will be happy to help you.