Buying Leather Furniture: The Difference Between Top Coats

About a year ago, I consulted for a client for whom I recommended an orange-red, leather sofa.  When we met, she had a couple of swatches from a furniture store.  She asked me what I thought of the one she was leaning towards.  The color was perfect.  Then, I ran my fingernail across it.  Uh-oh. 

My client's sample finish was much like the sofa above.

 "I can't have a sofa that scratches like that!" she gasped.  Her reaction told me everything I needed to know about which direction to point her in.  Do you know enough about leather to have scratched a sample piece?

If you do, you know how many headaches you've avoided.  If you don't, now you will.  First, some basics.

1.  Leather is most often either analine or semi-analine.  It's the dying and top coat (in semi-analine) that helps determine the look of the leather.  Analine is how it is dyed -- it enhances the natural markings and beauty of a hide, no matter the dye color.  Here are two examples of analine leather (analine has no protective top coat)...

 I sometimes call this the "Ralph Lauren look."  You can see the hyde's wrinkles, the uneven "complexion", sometimes even bug bite scars or healed scratches from the cow rubbing against a fence, perhaps.  Without a top coat, analine leather will eventually take on a patina of body oils and stains, which can enhance the look of a piece of furniture as it ages and is used.  After many years, it may even crack, because there has been no moisture-protecting barrier.  (Think of your own skin after years without any lotion.  Hello!  Dry.  Hence the expression "leather skin" when we talk about people who've spent too much time in the sun!!)  You cannot wipe up spills on a leather with no top coat.

2.  So what does semi-analine get you?   Family friendliness.  The protective top coat gives you time to wipe up spills.  Some top coats more than others.  For example, the images above and below most likely, from the looks of them, have a "wax pull up" top coat on it.  While you can wipe off a spill, you better hurry, because I believe this to be a minimal protectant against stains.  I have a small sofa with a wax top coat.  The sheen and feel are very rich, like the one below, but it is definitely not scratch-proof or completely spill-proof. 

Most semi-analine have a synthetic topcoat that works really well at tolerating spills and giving you enough time for a successful clean up.  One trade-off is that they tend to be more cold to the touch, because the natural hyde can't adapt to the room temperature as well as an analine hyde.  They also can look less rich (depth of color) if the hyde has been highly corrected (explained in the next post) and has a top coat applied, like the image below. 

 This all said, semi-analine can be beautiful, but much of it depends on how "corrected" the leather is (again, next post...).

 Are you learning anything valuable?  I hope so.  As I've said before, I am by no means an expert, and I'm sure there's lots more info.  Always read the labels when you look at leather, and always ask the salesperson for guidance.

Talk to you soon,
Carol

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If you missed the Basic Tips of this series, click here.  Differences in Grain, click here.