Have you been thinking of purchasing a leather coach? Well, having the assurance of the durability of the leather coach is inevitable. This is necessary to ensure that you gain the full satisfaction you need before you make this decision.
Leather coaches are quite expensive. Therefore, there is no room for compromising the quality of the furniture. This is to ensure that you enjoy a long-lasting service from your hardly-gained cash.
Leather coaches are believed to be one of the most luxurious sofas you can have. In addition, it is believed to be one of the long-lasting coaches to put in your living room. However, not all leather lasts as expected. This, therefore, creates a suspense of whether leather coaches do peel.
Nevertheless, when great care is taken on quality leather, your leather coach can last for ages, decades through which generations will enjoy using it. Keep reading as we move deeper on knowing whether leather coaches peel.
What is Real Leather Made Of?
Normally, real leather (usually natural), is made of animal skin with the most common animal skin being the cattle hide. In addition to this, other animal skins are also used which include buffalo, goat and sheep skins are also used.
Furthermore, exotic leathers extracted from alligators and snakes can be used as well. The main thing leading to cattles being the main sources or real leather is due to the available supply. Cattle leather is hugely produced from dairy and meat industries as a byproduct.
Leather is made through a process known as tanning. Though leather tanning is a lengthy as well as a complex process, mechanization in the modern market makes it less complex. T
he tanning process alters the protein structure in the skin which as a result enhance its appearance, texture as well as the durability of the leather material. After tanning is done, re-tanning of the skin is done and then finishing done to extract a ready to use leather material.
Are all real Leather made from animals?
Yes, all real leather are made from animals. A great percentage of the production of leather is from cattle hides. In addition to this, goats, sheep, pig and buffalos are as well used in production of the leather material.
Another alternative in production of leather is through the production of exotic leathers through which extraction of leather material is done from alligators such as snakes.
More importantly, there are some people who highly regard animals. In this regard, one can opt in using leather made from plants such as pineapple or mushrooms.
Is Leather Furniture better than Fabric?
Leather has been known for its durability not only to furniture but also to other petty things such as shoes, belts, saddles, clothing and many more. There are several things that you might consider while making a decision of whether to purchase leather or fabric furniture.
When it comes to the durability of the furniture, leather furniture takes the day. This is so as fabric furniture will have less durability. The sofa color of fabric furniture will fade easily within a short period of time. This is so as fabric furniture will require frequent cleaning unlike leather furniture.
On the maintenance of your furniture, leather furniture is better than fabric furniture as it is easy to maintain. Though leather furniture might be vulnerable to humidity and scratches, they require light vacuuming and dusting on their maintenance.
For easy maintenance, you can opt to go for polishing and softening products which will prevent your leather furniture from having cracks. If you have pets, you will have to choose between having unsightly scratch marks on your leather furniture or fur getting stuck on your fabric furniture. With this, leather furniture would be much better compared to fabric furniture.
Do Leather Coaches Peel?
As long as you are taking the full care of a leather coach, peeling should never be a topic to discuss on your issues. Simply, real and high-quality leather should not peel in any case. However, the cracking and peeling of leather comes from the colorant or the finish applied on the leather furniture. The peeling result from cheap polyurethane (PU) synthetic on faux or bonded leather.
Nevertheless, there has been a rising cases of people having complaints on leather coaches peeling. One of key points to note is that no all leather products are 100% leather despite having the label to indicate that they are fully leather.
Most likely, in cases where peeling complaints arise, it is usually due to having a bonding substance on the leather furniture in subject. Synthetic coating on furniture surfaces are responsible for leather peeling.
With this, therefore, it is essential to know what type of leather furniture you have gone for.
Types of Leather Furniture
If you ever purchased a leather furniture, you must have realized that not all pieces are made with an equal leather material. This is so as there are different textures, quality, sophistication, as well as sturdiness on leather furniture options.
The different types of leather furniture come with different pricing. The more authentic a leather furniture is, the more expensive the furniture piece will be. However, to reduce on the pricing, other types of leather furniture with reduced quality are used to ensure the piece of furniture is low-priced.
Below are some of the types of leather furniture in the market.
Full-Grain Leather
This is the most authentic type of leather used in furniture making. This type of leather only goes through the process of hair removal from the animal hide and soaking in a natural dye.
The key point to note on full-grain leather is that there are no additional treatment done on the leather. As a result, the leather retains the texture and the look of the original hide.
As a result of this, it is the most expensive leather furniture. Coaches with full-grain leather will be the most expensive as they use fully pure leather material.
Top-Grain Leather
If you have been looking for a softer look with highest durability, top-grain leather will be the perfect choice. Compared to full-grain leather, this leather material contains a more polishing. However, it is much similar on the purity of the full-grain leather.
To make it softer than the full-grain leather, top-grain leather goes through the buffing process. This process softens the leather material but retains the durability for a long-lasting service.
Top-Grain leather is still quite expensive though less expensive compared to full-grain leather.
Split-Grain Leather
This type of leather material involves using leather material whose top, outer layer of leather is removed. Coaches made by use of split-grain leather involve using the hide section that remains after removing the top layer of the leather material.
This type of leather contains a harder texture. In addition to this, it is one of the most difficult leather materials to maintain in comparison to other type of higher-quality leather types.
Bi-Cast Leather
This is a type of split-grain leather which contains a coating of color polyurethane. As a result of this, its look is similar to that of the top-grain leather. It lacks the proper treatment and as a result, it cracks and peels.
Bi-Cast is less expensive compared to top-grain leather. This is due to its low quality that could crack or peel in the future. Ensure you take a close look at your furniture before purchasing it to ensure that you differentiate between top-grain and bi-cast leather material.
Bonded Leather
If you have a low budget yet looking for a high-quality leather look, bonded leather will be the best choice to go for. This type of leather material contains a small percentage of the real leather with just 10% to 20% real leather.
Nevertheless, it provides the leather smell as well as the exact look of real leather material. Bonded leather material is made through rolling up scraps and wastes from other leather projects. The scraps are swept from the floors where leather productions are done.
After this, the scraps are then chopped into small tiny particles and then rolled up together. The rolling up of these leather scraps is done using adhesive materials.
Faux Leather
This is a material used in making furniture and coaches creating a leather look without actually using animal hides. Though it is not yet possible to create man-made leather material, faux leather material has been improved to create the leather look and high durability as well.
This will definitely go to the animal lovers who are looking for an attractive and smart alternative of leather furniture.
How do you fix a peeling leather couch?
If you got your leather coach peeling, do not worry, there is a solution for you. Proper vinyl and leather repairs are done with the use of a flexible compound such as a soft filler which is then responsible in creating a new surface that is leather-like.
This makes the coach to be more repellent to water while at the same reflecting light as the original leather material. After the repairs have been done, a color as well as a clear finish are applied to perfect the repair returning the leather coach to its original state.
To fix your peeling leather coach, you will require a Vinyl and leather repair kit. Though the vinyl and leather repair kits could be quite different, the kits will give you everything you need in dying the peeling areas and sealing them.
Materials Needed:
- Water
- Leather Cleaner
- Scrub Brush
- Microfiber Cloth or other Leather Cleaning cloth
- Tweezers
- Hair Dryer
- Sand Paper (200/400-grit)
- Rubber Gloves
- Leather Dye
- Damp Cloth
- Leather Sealer
Step by Step on Fixing a Peeling Leather Coach
Step 1: Coach Inspection
Before commencing your DIY solution on your peeling leather coach, inspect all areas on your coach to notice all areas that are peeling to make it easy while fixing the peeling problem. You need to check also the cushions to note areas that are peeling.
Step 2: Cleaning the Coach
To ensure that you see the real leather color, cleaning is essential. This is to ensure that you get a perfect color match of the leather coach and the leather dye you use.
Consider using a high-quality cleaner with no wax or oil additives. Do the cleaning with the use of a microfiber cloth of high quality or a leather cleaning cloth. This will ensure that the cloth pulls the soil to itself that a low quality cloth cannot do.
Allow the coach to dry completely. You can use a hair dryer to hasten the drying process.
Step 3: Removal of Loose Finish
Use the pair of tweezers in cleaning and picking off the loose finish. After you pick off the loose finish, softly sand the surface using a light sandpaper of 200 or 400-grit. This will be essential in removing the damaged leather from the coach.
Ensure you are soft while carrying out this step to ensure you do not do further damage on the leather coach. Lastly, remove the debris after sanding with a soft towel and a leather spryer to fully wipe of the dust.
Step 4: Repair Solution Preparation
As the coach is now ready to be repaired, it is high time to prepare the solution to be used in repairing the coach. Commence this step by mixing up the repair solution. You will do with the use of the right leather dye.
Mix the solutions with more colors to come up with the perfect color match of your coach. You can commence on testing an unnoticeable area such as the back of the coach to see whether it satisfies you. By this, you will ensure you match the coach color with that of the solution you use.
After confirming that the colors of the solution and the leather coach match, shake the container with the repair solution. Apply this solution to the cracked and worn surfaces.
By use of the rubber gloves, push the leather dyes into the leather material for an optimal absorption of the solution. Allow the repaired areas to dry. Otherwise, you can use a hair dryer to speed up the drying process.
Step 5: Coating the Repaired Coach
After all the damaged areas have been filled fully, wipe off the excess solution with the use of a damp cloth. To get the original look of your leather coach, you will need to do final coating on the repaired coach.
Use the leather dye on the surface to get the new look. On the application of the final coat, you might opt for applying a second or even a third coat depending on how satisfied you are. However, before applying for another coat, ensure the previous coat dries completely first. This will ensure that the final coat is fully intact to the coach.
Conclusion
When it comes to furniture, quality is usually not a topic of discussion. This is so as quality is inevitable to enjoy a long-lasting service. The more your piece of furniture is cheap, the more maintenance you will require to do on it.
Real leather coaches do not peel or crack. However, the cracking and peeling on leather furniture comes as a result of finishes done on leather materials. This could mean that the leather material used on the coaches was of a lower quality or the maintenance done wasn’t appropriate.
To ensure that you get the leather coaches that do not peel, ensure you take your time in assuring the materials used in the coaches. If the leather material doesn’t meet the bare minimum, then opt going for the best despite the high pricing. You better opt for an expensive coach rather than having it last for a short period.