How to Clean & Protect Leather Furniture

Most furniture leathers are coated with a colour pigment and protected with a matt top coat. There are also high-quality porous leathers (called aniline or semi-aniline), suede or nubuck and cheap coated PU leather. On aniline leather, a drop of water rubbed in an undamaged area, will darken the leather. It is porous and therefore standard water based cleaning products can leave a stain. They need to be treated with care - please refer to How to clean, care & protect Aniline leather  

The following instructions are for pigmented, matt top-coated leather (non-porous). Please contact a specialist if you have one of the other mentioned types.

HOW TO LOOK AFTER NEW LEATHER (PIGMENTED NAPA)

In case of soiling and dirt, the leather should be treated with COLOURLOCK Mild Leather Cleaner. Depending on the amount of use, the leather should be treated sparingly with our care cream, COLOURLOCK Leather Protector, every three to six months. This product is ideal for pigmented leather. It maintains softness and flexibility while preventing shrinkage and fading.

Dye transfer from jeans and other dark clothing is a common problem on new, light-coloured leather. To avoid these stains, we recommend protecting contact areas (hand, head and leg areas) with COLOURLOCK Leather Shield. It prevents dye migration and friction damage. Always best to clean the leather first.  

HOW TO LOOK AFTER OLDER LEATHER

Soiling and other surface dirt should be cleaned with COLOURLOCK Mild Leather Cleaner. The COLOURLOCK Leather Cleaning Brush is an ideal tool to remove soiling from the leather grain.

Leathers that show light fading or wear and tear caused by friction and extensive use can be refreshed with COLOURLOCK Leather Fresh, a leather toner which is available in 46 standard colours or mixed according to your sample. Leather Fresh also re-seals the damaged surface. Degrease damaged areas with COLOURLOCK Degreaser before applying the colour.

To rejuvenate and maintain older leathers, we recommend using COLOURLOCK Leather Protector. Is anti-oxidants slow down the degradation process and prevents shrinkage and cracking. It also has UV filters that protect against fading and, more importantly, against UV rays which reduce tear strength of the leather resulting in cracks and tears. The conditioning oil-emulsion maintains softness.

In severe cases, we recommend emailing photos and detailed description. We can estimate better whether our products are able to solve the problem or not. Rough or cracked areas should be smoothed with the COLOURLOCK Leather Sanding Pad before toning. Deeper cracks and smaller rips can be filled with COLOURLOCK Fluid Leather.

Some heavily damaged or delicate aniline or nubuck leathers need professional treatment. Contact us in such cases. We will be happy to check if we can recommend someone close to you.

Not too heavily worn leather, light fading or scratches etc.: cleaning, refreshing, care

In such cases, please contact us first or email photos for advice:

Grease stains on aniline leather	Water marks on aniline leather	Heavy faded aniline leather or suede	Deep cracks and worn areas

PRODUCT APPLICATION VIDEOS