National Clothesline

Let’s start off with buttons (usually back-up buttons) that melt in drycleaning fluid. These buttons can completely dissolve in the cleaning so that all that is left is the thread that once held a button. If this is the case, you are lucky and all you have to do is replace the melted buttons that are drycleanable. If you warned the customer that the buttons might melt (and got a release on the buttons), you can replace them and charge the customer for it. If you didn’t, you will have to replace them — free of charge — and wish you had told the customer.

Back up buttons that can melt

Some buttons will partially melt and the residue can stick to the surface of the suede or leather. They will stick either where the button was sewn or elsewhere on the garment if the partially melted button pulls loose from its stitching or flops over and comes in contact with another part of the garment.

The problem is compounded if the partially melted button is dark colored and the suede or leather is a light color.

The procedure to follow is first reclean the item. This further exposure of the buttons to the drycleaning fluid during the rerun should completely dissolve the partially melted buttons and dissolve their stains from the surface of the suede or leather.

The problem will be corrected except for replacing the buttons. Use the same leather drycleaning solution on the rerun as was used initially.

If button residue or pigment from the colored buttons persists, the areas must be reworked with both abrasive and special leather spotting agents like Royaltone Spot Wiz Wet, Dry and VDS to safely remove the residues and/or pigments without adversely affecting the texture, color or the integrity of the garment. These spot removal products work well in this application.

Other button problems

In addition to buttons that melt, there are other potential problems that pertain to buttons used on suede and leather articles.

One of my favorites is leather buttons glued together with solvent soluble glue. When cleaned by acceptable professional leather cleaning methods, the solvent dissolves the adhesive and the tops of the buttons come off and float around in the cleaning, sometimes adhering to the surface of suede or leather garments being cleaned.

Glued together buttons

If you can find the top of the buttons that came off, they can easily be reglued to the button with a leather glue that is resistant to drycleaning fluid, like the Royaltone Perma Hold Permanent Solvent Resistant Glue.

If the tops of the buttons come off and stick to the surface of the suede or leather, the best procedure would be to rerun the garment.

The glue should again dissolve and the buttons should come loose from the surface of the garment. They can then be retrieved and reglued to the button top.

Another favorite button is the hollow metal button. This is a rather large button, usually the size of a quarter, that is covered with the same leather or suede as the coat itself. This button is made up of two concave pieces of thin metal which are pressed together after the leather is placed over the top of each.

These sometimes come apart in the cleaning, but if each of the two pieces is retrieved, they can be put back together.

Hollow metal button

These buttons also present a challenge in the pressing operation. If the head of the press is brought down on the area containing the button, chances are good that the button will be smashed and become somewhat concave instead of convex, much to the customer’s displeasure. These buttons should either be bypassed in the pressing and the area around them hand finished or the buttons removed and replaced again after pressing.

Another favorite is woven leather buttons. These sometimes tend to chip, peel and abrade in cleaning.

When this occurs, the surface finish will have to be replaced and their color replaced to make them presentable. You can use products like the Royaltone Brit-N Dye or Leather Pro Leather Finish for that purpose.

However, they may be so badly worn that they will have to be replaced. If the wear is detected at the counter they can be replaced and the customer will pay for the replacement. If the wear is not detected at the counter, chances are you will have to replace the buttons at no charge.

Woven leather buttons

All of these buttons may also have elongated eyelets with which they are fastened to the garment.

If these buttons are pressed, the eyelets will probably be pushed through the skin of the garment causing damage and a claim, or at best the eyelet will bend and the button will look peculiar and the customer will be dissatisfied.

When finishing the area of the garment where the eyelet is attached, it should be hand finished or the buttons should be removed and the garment pressed. Then the buttons can be sewn back.

Sewing buttons

Speaking of removing and sewing buttons on leather and suede, a regular sewing needle just won’t go through the skin, especially if it is a cowhide or pig skin.

The reason is that the skin is made up of a network of dense interlocking fibers that resist penetration by a round shaped needle like you use to hand sew cloth.

You may recall that to sew buttons or anything else onto suede or leather, you must use a special leather needle.

Remember that the leather needle differs from the conventional cloth needle in that the point is not round but triangular in shape and each edge of the triangle is razor sharp so that when the needle is inserted into the skin the three edges of the point will actually slit the skin allowing the needle to penetrate like a hot knife through butter.

These leather needles are called glovers needles, or leather craft needles, and they are readily available at any local leather craft shop.

Of course, a heavy thread should be used with this needle to fasten buttons or other hardware to suede and leather.

An alternate method to fasten buttons is a device that inserts plastic loops through the skin to hold the buttons in place. These devices are available through your drycleaning and laundry supply distributor.

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 Dec. 5- 6, Feb 6-7 and April 3-4 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. Information is also available on the Royaltone web site, www.royaltone.com.