Leather cleaning
The starting point for every restoration. On dirty leather no colour or protector will hold.
Services Leather treatments
Leather repair
Tears, cracks and mechanical damage — from a single cut to rebuilding a whole section.
This heading covers everything that is mechanical damage rather than wear: a tear, a cut, a crack, a rip at the seam, a cigarette burn. The scale varies — from a single nick to rebuilding a whole section of the cover.
The rule is simple: the sooner, the better and the cheaper. A tear whose edges haven't yet frayed and curled closes up almost invisibly. One that has been driven around for six months already needs filling and re-colouring over a larger area.
How we do it
- Assessing whether the material around the damage is strong enough to hold the repair.
- Backing and reinforcing from underneath.
- Stitching or filling with compound — depending on the type of damage and where it is.
- Recreating the grain, re-colouring and protection.
When repair doesn't make sense
When the leather is dried out and brittle all over, the repaired section will hold and it will crack next to it. When there are a dozen or more areas of damage, the total cost of the repairs approaches that of a new cover. In both cases we say so plainly when quoting — we'd rather lose the job than hand back work that will come back in six months.
Send one close-up photo of the damage and another from further away, so we can see the condition of the surrounding area.
Leather treatments — other services
Leather softening
Leather exposed to the sun goes stiff — fastest of all in a car. Softening brings back its suppleness before it starts to crack.
Painting and dyeing
Colours matched to the type of leather: one kind for pigmented car upholstery, another for aniline and semi-aniline furniture leather.
Pigmentation and colour correction
Evening out the shade on worn areas, or changing the colour of the whole thing.
Impregnation and protection
Products that protect against UV, water and denim dye transfer — the most common cause of stains on light-coloured seats.
Leather de-glossing
With long use, leather turns shiny where it is touched. De-glossing brings back its factory matt look.