Leather cleaning
The starting point for every restoration. On dirty leather no colour or protector will hold.
Services Leather treatments
Leather de-glossing
With long use, leather turns shiny where it is touched. De-glossing brings back its factory matt look.
Leather that gets touched turns shiny over time. The shine comes from fabrics and hands polishing the grain — fastest on the seat bolsters, armrests and headrest. The effect is distinctive: shiny patches against a matt background, which make the interior look worn even when the colour is still good.
The second case is leather after a failed restoration, finished with too glossy a coating. It then looks artificial, however well the rest was done.
How we do it
- Cleaning to remove the layer of grease and cosmetics, which on its own creates a shine.
- Assessing whether the shine is in the coating or in the polished grain.
- Removing excess old coating where that is what's shining.
- Applying a matt finish with a gloss level matched to the rest of the part.
Good to know
Polished grain can't always be brought back by de-glossing alone — if the grain has been worn smooth, it has to be recreated, and that is a job involving filling and re-colouring.
We match the level of matt to the original. Factory interiors are rarely completely matt; overdone matt looks just as unnatural as overdone gloss.
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.
Gluing and stitching
Split seams, lifting edges, cracks at the folds.