Using dryside liquid spotters
here are liquid spot
and stain removers that are formulated for removing paint, oil,
grease, cosmetics and glue stains in drycleaning suedes and
leathers just as there are for use in drycleaning cloth items.
The spot removers made for use on cloth
items are never to be used on suede and leather as they will
have a harmful effect that can result in color loss and
hardening of the skins. Use only spot removers designed
specifically for use on suedes and leathers.
Prespotting greasy and oily spots and
stains
Dryside leather spot removers like
Royaltone’s Spot Wiz-Dry, are used to dissolve and break
up oily and greasy spots, stains and soil on suede, leather,
fur and trimmed cloth items before cleaning. They must be
specifically formulated for use on suede and leather so that
they will not remove color or harden the skins. They are also
effective on the cloth portions of suedes, leathers and furs,
such as linings, waist bands, collars, cuffs and cloth trimmed
with suede or leather.
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One is an oily-type leather dry spot
remover, like Spot Wiz-Dry. It is an amber colored liquid that
is formulated for removing oil-based paint, oil, grease, ink,
dye, shoe polish, tar, lipstick or wax stains.
The other is a volatile-type leather dry
spot remover like Royaltone’s Spot Wiz-VDS. It is a clear
colorless liquid that is formulated for removing glue, glue
bleed, latex paint, oxidized oils and cosmetics stains.
Both the oily-type and the volatile-type
leather spot removers are to be used full strength and can be
applied directly to the spot using spotting bottles with
adjustable spouts.
Prespotting oily-type spots
The suede and leather oily type spotter
may be applied to small spots full strength with a spotting
bottle.
If the spot or stained area is large, then
the oily type spot remover may be sprayed on with a hand held
trigger sprayer, a pressure tank sprayer or a spray gun.
Spraying speeds up the application to large areas that are
covered with oily, ground-in soil. These areas are commonly
found in the bends of the arms, elbows, cuffs, collars, hems,
seats, fronts and pocket areas of suedes and leathers.
Mechanical action can then be applied to
enhance the effectiveness of the oily type leather spot
remover. This can be accomplished by using the nylon bristle
suede and leather spotting brush or the wire bristle suede
spotting brush and a bone or metal spatula or scraper.
For more mechanical action on suedes only,
the abrasive strip and abrasive block may be used after the
spot or stain has been wet with the oily type leather spot
remover.
Caution: Be careful not to rub the finish
off the painted leather.
Under normal conditions, the suede,
leather or trimmed cloth item can be cleaned immediately after
it is spotted. However, if the item is excessively soiled or
stained, the oily type leather spot remover should be left on
the item for at least one-half hour before cleaning to allow it
to continue to loosen the soil and stains prior to cleaning.
Ground-in soil almost always contains both
water soluble and solvent soluble components.
Therefore, these soiled and stained areas
on suedes and leathers are most effectively prespotted by
applying both the oily type leather spot remover and the
wetside leather prespotter.
Normally, a dry spotter is applied first.
However, since the Spot Wiz products are specially formulated
for use on suede and leather, the wetside leather spotter may
be applied first with no harmful side effects. This greatly
increases the flexibility of the spotting procedure.
If the item is excessively soiled, it
should not be cleaned immediately. After prespotting, wait at
least one-half hour before cleaning to allow the wetside and
the dryside spotters additional time to act on and to loosen
the soil and stains.
Prespotting with the volatile dry spotter
The specially formulated volatile-type
spot remover, like Spot Wiz-VDS, is normally applied full
strength directly to the spot with a spotting bottle.
Apply mechanical action as needed with the
special nylon bristle suede and leather spotting brush or the
wire bristle suede spotting brush and the metal or bone spatula
or scraper.
Caution: Be careful not to rub the finish
off painted leather!
For more mechanical action on suedes only,
the abrasive strip or the abrasive block may also be used. The
item may be cleaned immediately after spotting.
Caution: be careful not to cut through the
stitching on suedes when using the abrasive strip or block!
When spotting glue bleed in double
stitched seams and other areas, apply the volatile-type leather
spot remover liberally and use mechanical action.
Repeat two or three times. Then wait
several minutes for the volatile leather spotter to dissolve
and loosen the glue bleed before cleaning.
Surface smudges that occur after cleaning
can be removed by moistening a soft cloth with the volatile
type leather spot remover and lightly brushing it across the
surface smudge until removed.
Caution: Do not use steam or spot removers
other than those made for use on suedes and leathers or color
loss and skin damage will occur.
Spotting agents other than those mentioned
above may not work the same and those made for use on cloth
should never to be used on suede, leather or fur as they will
cause color loss, color bleed and will stiffen or otherwise
damage the skin.
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 session is scheduled for June 10-11 and Sept. 9-10 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.
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