What is Peeling Leather?
Bonded Leather Surface Breaking Down
Peeling Leather is where the surface coating on the leather is peeling off and breaking down, this is a very common fact with items like bonded leather.
This happens because they are not genuine leathers and have a surface coating that’s normally like a plastic embossed finish to represent grain in leather. They are basically a vinyl finish when they are fake.
Peeling leather also happens when something has been used on the surface of pigmented leather that has reacted with the top coating.
Peeling Leather Top Coating
Peeling leather can be a daunting thing to happen to your expensive leather items, there are many reasons why leather peels, this could be due to the items not being genuine leather or that the top coating has worn away and the painted surface has become weak and this starts to peel off as moisture has got below the painted surface and caused this to separate.
Some cars have peeling interiors and so do some furniture in some of these cases it’s caused by lack of adhesion, it’s very common on leathers made in countries where quality control is not so strict.
Peeling leather on fake materials is impossible to repair like a pigmented leather can be repaired very easily as normally it’s just the surface paint that’s peeling and the grain is still all in tact on the surface of the leather.
Surface Coming Away on This Leather
Peeling leather happens a great deal when head grease has got into the leather and this causes the painted coating to separate and peel as the grease acts as a barrier to stop the painted surface bonding to the leather grain.
Leather Chair Head Grease Causing Issues
Repairing leather where the surface coating is coming off on pigmented leather is very simple in comparison to fake leathers, with a pigmented leather it’s a matter of applying some leather prep to the surface to feather out the the damaged areas and then re painting with pigment paints, if grease or sweat is the cause, this has to be removed fist with a gel degreaser, once that step has been carried out the surface can be lightly sanded and then re painted and the top clear coat lacquer re applied to seal in the new painted areas.
Repairing peeling leather on fake leathers is never as successful as other types of natural leather as once it has started to peel it means the embossed grain pattern has been removed as well, replicating the grain pattern is impossible on such large areas, all you can do in these instances is to sand the areas down, apply a fibre binder and fillers and colour, it’s going to be better than before but you will be left with a noticeable repair.
Bonded Leather Chair