Caring For Today’s Leather
By Michael Mankarious
© 2006 einszett® North America


Featured Product: Leather Care 'Lederpflege'

Today, many new vehicle buyers check off the box ‘leather’ on their options list. Leather is luxurious, durable, feels good, smells great, and is simple to clean compared to upholstery.  Despite these features, especially the easy maintenance aspect, many customers are still not sure which product is the best for taking care of their leather.

For many, finding the best leather care product is as simple as “Google-ing” on the Internet and seeing what is most popular. While popularity can sometimes be a reliable barometer, it isn’t always the correct choice. Some customers even make their decision based on fragrance alone! With so many choices, how do you choose? The key to making effective choices is going beyond popularity and fragrances.

Proper vehicle surface care is about knowing the properties of the surface you want to treat and what product contains the correct formulation of chemicals best suited for that surface.

For example, someone might suggest a degreaser for removing soap scum, but it’s not just as simple as that. A degreaser is a generic term for a cleaner that can be acid or alkaline base. A degreaser that is alkaline based will react poorly to soap scum, which is also an alkaline. But if a degreaser that is acid based is used, it will effectively remove the soap scum. Further complicating the issue is knowing the surface that the soap scum is affecting. Is it porous or smooth? Some strong acids can harm highly pourous surfaces such as stone and concrete. As you can see, it’s not only important to be able to decide between an acid or alkaline based cleaner, but to also know the surface properties so a decision can be made on how acidic or alkaline the cleaner should be.

Choosing the correct chemical for a surface makes every job easier. Unfortunately, not everyone is an expert at chemicals and surface types so we rely on car care product manufacturers to tell us that Product X is effective on Surface Y and not Surface Z.

With this in mind, my hope is to help you become more familiar with the properties of leather and leather care products so you can make a more informed decision that will yield in lasting enjoyment of your leather interior. In addition, I will show you how einszett can assist you in making the right choice for your leather care needs.

Today’s Leather

Somehow, massaging leather conditioning oils and hide food into leather feels like you are going back to basics – to a time when everything was less technical.

Leather feels good and you want to take care of it the best way you can. This may seem overdramatic, but let’s face it, it’s true! Many choose a leather care product based on a label stating words such as soft, supple, rich, warm, natural, etc. They also choose based on fragrance.

If we looked beyond the words and looked at the leather, then we’d see there is something to be discovered. Many years ago, applying conditioning oils or hide food on leather would have been the only way to maintain its richness and life. However, that was many years ago and leather has changed and so has the proper way of caring for it.

Let’s look at the different types of leather offered in the automotive industry today.

Types of Leather

Aniline Leather

This type of leather is the finest quality available, sourced from the best part of the hide. It has a rich and very soft texture, has practically no surface defects (scars), and is even in color. These features make it the most expensive leather, which is why it is primarily reserved for high-end luxury vehicles. The leather is aniline dyed in a vat process and has no color coating applied to the surface, which is why it’s referred to as “unfinished leather.” Since the leather does not have any coating, it breathes better, staying cool in the summer and warm in the summer. It does absorb liquids easily so to test whether you have full aniline leather, place a drop of water on the surface of the leather – it should absorb into the hide and darken the surface.

Semi-Aniline

Semi-aniline leather is dyed and has a coating applied to the surface of the leather. The dyeing process, followed by the thin coating, allows for soft and supple feeling leather while offering the protective benefits of a surface finish. Semi-aniline, or “finished leather,” is the second most common leather installed in vehicles today. Because of the finish coat, the leather does not breathe and can become very hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Unlike aniline leather, the surface finish does not allow liquids to be absorbed into the surface. To determine if you have semi-aniline leather, place a drop of water on the surface of the leather – it should remain on the surface and not absorb into the hide.

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