How to Restore Semi-Aniline Leather

Semi-Aniline leather can be problematic to restore, if our domestic customers contact us in regard to restoring this type of leather we always tell them it's a job for the professionals.
But even us professionals can find this leather frustrating, it absorbs well in some areas that have received more wear but doesn't grab colour on the other areas that haven't been worn .. This can lead to a very uneven colour result, or dye transferring from the surface.

Semi-Aniline Facts
The leather is dyed (as an aniline leather) but a protective top coat is applied, this may be clear or a colour tinted sealant.
It is semi-absorbent, it absorbs liquids usually around 20 seconds
Tends to be problematic during the colour restoration process in attaining a consistent colour tone.

Guide To Restoring Semi-Aniline Leather

• Clean all areas using water based leather cleaner and soft cloth.
• Repeat using the solvent prep leather cleaner.
• A strong dye gel is required to restore the base colour, the strong version gives extra penetration into the leather. This is applied using a cloth, only one application can be applied to the surface, as you apply the extra strong dye gel have a dry cloth in your other hand to remove the surples and even out the colour.
• Do not over apply as this will result in excess dye sitting on the surface, dye cannot adhere to leather surfaces, excess dye may cause colour removal resulting in a faded area of colour tone.
• When the leather has dried use a dry cloth to remove any accidental surples dye from the leather surface.
• A sealant can now be applied, a clear sealant is suitable if you are happy with the depth of colour, but some semi-anilines have an obvious 2 tone appearance so a tinted coloured sealant should be applied to re-create the effect and add an extra depth of colour ... We can provide the tinted sealants for you.
• The leather sealant will seal the leather and lock in the dye.

Tips:
Contaminated areas such as grease may cause adhesion problems to the sealant, remove as much as possible before the cleaning process, never guarantee a restoration if a grease problem is on the leather
Compared to pigments dyes are not colour fast to light, it will be inevitable that over time the leather will begin to fade again.
Compared to pigments which do not transfer colour when wet, dyes are not colour fast and can become soluble when in contact to water (Think about the amount of dye a dark pair of jeans will lose in water when wet) it can be quite normal to see transfer on a damp cloth when cleaning an aniline or semi-aniline leather.