Suede and porous leather garments made of
naked skin or cuir savage skin will normally show spots when
exposed to rain or snow.
On suede, if the rain is clean, the spots
are the result of the moisture causing the nap to mat down.
This garment should be allowed to air dry at room temperature.
No heat should be used to help it to dry or the skin may be
adversely affected. After the suede is dry, the nap should be
brushed using an appropriate suede brush like the Royaltone
block brush.
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Some brushes come in the form of a mitt
that fits over the hand to facilitate brushing. These are
normally used to brush up suede nap when the suede is finished
on a form finisher. Brushing will raise the nap that was matted
down by the water. Once this is done, the spots will disappear.
However, if the rain or snow is combined
with dirt, brushing may not be
enough to remove the spots on suede
garments. In this case, the garments will have to be leather
cleaned.
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The worst case occurs when the rain or
show contains chemical contaminants which soak into the skin
and damage it by an etching action. In this case, neither
brushing nor cleaning can restore the damaged areas on suedes
and naked leathers. Refinishing with pigmented leather finish
or paint can cover these areas on painted leathers.
The customer should be made aware of the
above possibilities when a rain spotted garment is brought in
for cleaning. It should be noted that most water spotting
problems could be eliminated if the suede or porous leather
were treated with a suede and leather water repellent like
royal Shield protective coating before it is worn for the first
time.
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Suede and leather repellent spray
Spray evenly and generously full strength
on any clean, dry suede, leather or cloth trimmed item. If
using an air gun to apply, be sure the air supply is free of
moisture and impurities.
After spraying, allow item to dry
thoroughly before contacting any kind of water or water vapor.
Use gallon containers for spraying with an air gun. Use
12-ounce aerosol spray cans if an air gun is not available.
Royal Shield will provide lasting protection from staining and
soiling between each cleaning.
Frank Lucenta is president of Royaltone
Co., Inc., a firm that manufacturers the products he developed
to make it possible for any cleaner to safely AND profitably
dryclean, wetclean and finish any suede, leather, fur and
trimmed cloth garment. He also wrote related instruction books
that document the process, entitled “Handling Leather and
Suede” and “Cleaning and Finishing Leather and
Suede.” He also teaches small groups of plant owners and
managers how to identify, accept, spot, dryclean and wetclean,
press and recolor suedes, leathers, and furs using his
Royaltone procedures and products. The next royaltone Leather
training sessions are scheduled for April 11-12, June 6-7, and
Sept. 12-13 at the Royaltone Suedemate Leather Cleaning Center
in Tulsa, OK. For more information on training sessions or on
spotting charts in either English or Korean, call (800)
331-5506, (918) 622-6677, fax (918) 665-6017, or e-mail frank@royaltone.com
Infofmation is also availbale
on the Royaltone web site, www.royaltone.com.
