The pH of Leather - Or, How to Ruin Leather by Following Bad Advice

In the September, 2010 issue of the popular magazine Martha Stewart Living there is an article that talks about how to clean various household items.   One of the categories discussed is leather.  In the article it is recommended to use household cleaners on leather.  This is a serious mistake that can easily discolor or worse permanently damage fine leather furniture.

A minor lesson in basic chemistry will make this problem clear.  It has to do with a not well known leather attribute – the pH of leather.

What is pH anyway? 

pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity (basicity) of a substance.  It is measured on a scale that runs from 1 to 14 where the center point --- 7 --- is neutral as determined by pure water.  Any measure below 7 is acidic and any measure above 7 is alkaline.  This scale is logarithmic.  This means that a substance with a pH of 6 is 10 times more acidic than water (pH of 7) and continuing down the scale, a pH of 5 is 100 times more acidic than water.  The same differential applies going up the scale as well.

When you bring two substances into contact with each other where their pH differ, a chemical reaction occurs as the pH of both substances come into balance by neutralizing each other creating a salt like substance in the process.  The severity of the chemical reaction is determined by the degree of differential.  Mix baking soda (a Base) with vinegar (an acid) and a somewhat explosive chemical reaction will occur.  There are several videos on YouTube that clearly demonstrate this reaction.

How does this apply to leather?

Leather is acidic.  Its pH is measured at between 4.5 and 5.0.  Household cleaners are alkaline.  Windex, 409, Mr. Clean are all common household cleaners with a pH of exceeding 9.0 and topping out at 11.45 (Windex).  Given the logarithmic nature of the scale, that represents a huge differential compared to leather.

Like in the vinegar and baking soda demonstrations, a reaction within the fiber structure of leather occurs when you clean leather furniture with a household cleaner. Leather is a very absorbent material.  It may not be as immediate or as explosive but the reaction nonetheless will slowly but permanently damage the leather’s fiber structure, weakening it in the process.  As the household cleaner is absorbed into the leather fibers the reaction breaks down those fibers.  With enough exposure, the fiber bundles lose their integrity, turning to mush.  Bottom-line: household cleaners accelerate the demise of fine leather furniture.

The other negative is the effect these harsh cleaners can have on the color coating of “finished” leather.  It acts like a stripping agent, pulling the protective clear coating and subsequently color coating as well.

As a leather repair and restoration specialist with Advanced Leather Solutions, Inc., I receive the frantic phone calls and e-mails from people who have discovered on their own the damage household cleaners can do to the color coating or worse the actual integrity of their leather.  In most cases it’s correctable, but sometimes the damage is so severe that the cost of correction exceeds the value of the furniture.  You can learn more about the attributes of leather from our web-site www.ADVLeather.com.

In the Martha Stewart Living article, the author also referred to saddle soap as a possible material to use on upholstery grade leather.  Saddle soap is a generic term that is applied to a number of different products.  However, the same pH issue applies.  In most cases saddle soap has a pH exceeding 10, thus highly alkaline.

Despite the best intentions sometimes advice can be far more dangerous than good.  The lesson here is to be sure that any time you apply a chemistry to leather, identify  its pH so that you are actually helping solve a problem correctly, not executing a “seek and destroy” mission.

The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) of a product usually defines its pH. These can generally be found on-line.

Copyright 2010, Kevin Gillan                

Advanced Leather Solutions SG Series Marketing Info

The following is marketing information for those who wish to become resellers of the proven SG Series of leather performance products made by Advanced Leather Solutions, Inc.  Here at ADVLeather.com we chemically engineer the best performance  for leather care products.  Those who use the products praise the results.  Those who distribute the products to their customers report back to us that their customers are also praising the merits of SG - 5, our leather cleaner and SG - 25 our leather conditioner.  As a reader of my blog, you too can take advantage these superb products, either under your own private label or take advantage of the brand awareness Advanced Leather Solutions has already created.  Here are the details...

Advanced Leather Solutions --- The SG Series of Leather Performance products

Intensive cleaning and moisturizing for automobile, leather garments and furniture

Chemically engineered specifically for leather

Safe and easy cleaning action --- SG - 5 cleans automotive and upholstery grade leather.  The cleaning action is safe for leather, surrounding and lifting dirt away from the leather, even if deeply embedded in the grain pattern.  Because it is safe for leather, frequent repeated application will not damage the leather.  The cleaning action brightens the leather without the use of harsh bleaching agents. 

Intensive moisture replenishment ---   SG - 25 is an intensive moisturizer for automobile and upholstery.  These replenishing oils and other softening agents are absorbed deep into the leather, where they restore the leather’s vitality. 

Improves suppleness --- As leather dries, it loses its soft, supple feel.  The intensive moisturizing agents in SG – 25 bring back lost suppleness, prolonging the life of the leather even if exposed to harsh heat and intense sun.  

Restructures top layer --- SG – 25 actually restructures the protective top layer (top-coat) to your leather.  Through use and sun exposure, this top layer loses its effectiveness.  It can even feel rough or chaffed to the touch.  The SG Series restructures this protective layer improving the long term wear characteristics.  Repeated use of the SG products builds this protective layer adding durability to your leather.  It leaves even old, dried leather feeling silky smooth.

pH balance --  The SG Series  is pH balanced.  Leather is acidic at 4.5 to 5.0.  Most leather cleaners are alkaline. This means they are actually harming the leather. When Leather’s pH is out of balance, it accelerates the breakdown its internal fibrous structure. The SG Series of Leather Performance products brings the leather back to its appropriate pH, reducing the long term damage to the leather caused by inappropriate pH leather care products.

Anti-bacteria and virus Agent Added – Pets and kids are germ factories.  SG – 25 not only conditions and protects your leather, it also adds anti-bacteria and virus protection.  With the system, when we say clean, we mean hospital clean.

Easy wipe on and rub --- Easy to apply with a simple, cleaning and conditioning wipe and rub technique.  No more cleaners that dull leather.  No more conditioners that make the leather feel sticky or oily.

 Long term effectiveness --- The SG Series of Leather Performance ingredients have staying power, reducing the frequency of application required.  Even after a single application your leather will feel better, last longer and give you the overall performance expected from leather in high-end automobiles.

The warmer the better --- The warmer the environment, the better SG – 25 performs.  When leather is warm, the moisturizing agents quickly revitalize the leather.  Even old, dried, tired looking leather can be brought back to life.

Suggested Marketing Channels

SG – Series of Leather Performance Products is an after-market product targeted to automobile and furniture owners who want to protect their investment in leather.  It will also work on a wide variety of other leather goods like jackets, motorcycle leather seats, saddlebags, briefcases, shoes, etc.

Example channels should include the following:

1. Auto Dealerships (new and used)
2. Aftermarket auto supply stores (Pep boys, etc.)
3. Auto paint shops (Earl Schibb, etc.)
4. Auto detailer
5. Car washers
6. Auto clubs
7. Large chain stores
8. Furniture retailers
9. Direct sales via advertising in auto trader, etc.
10. Direct sales via internet
11. Flea market booths

Additional considerations:

It can be used for horse tack leather as well.

Targeted demographic markets include middle to high income households and auto owners who care about their leather.

Suggested Sales and General Awareness Tactics

1. Create an article for publication in a trade journal.  Focus on uniqueness.  Examples available for ADVleather.com
2. Make up 1 or 2 oz samples and distribute through above channels – try it, you’ll like it approach.
3. Create point-of-sale displays again emphasizing uniqueness of product offering.
4. Direct sales to each of the above listed sales channels.

Bottle and Label Considerations

We recommend HDPE cylinder rounds, natural. These are semi-clear plastic bottles so you can see the contents.  Use a poly-tops white closure with a flip top for ease of use.  Make sure the ink on the label is not susceptible to having the ink run when it gets wet.

Copyright 2010, Kevin Gillan

What Makes a Good Leather Cleaner

There are dozens of leather cleaners available on the market. How do you choose which one is right for your leather?

The short answer is to ask a professional leather technician who understands the chemistry of leather and who professionally cleans leather for a demanding clientele.

Our leather technicians of Advanced Leather Solutions have been cleaning leather for more than 20 years. They have tested all kinds of leather cleaners. In the end, to control quality and improve effectiveness, led them to work with our chemists to develop the best possible leather cleaner.

A performance wish list was created:

--- effective cleaner that would gently lift ground-in soil from the leather.
--- degreasing agent to resolve topical greasy residue.
--- pH balanced to the leather so as to not damage the leather.
--- creamy consistency so you can see it's application.
--- pleasant odor.
--- non-darkening formula for application to delicate leather.

Our chemists determined that the cleaner should be surfactant based for the best gentle, yet effective cleaning power. A surfactant will lift soil particles off the leather's surface for easy removal when you wipe away the soapy residue.

They also determined that is should contain a degreasing agent to resolve surface grease and oils. That presented a serious problem. Surfactants and degreasers are incompatible with each other. Like oil and water, they separate from each other in a bottle. So, our cleaver chemists came up with a way to allow them to co-exist through a trade secret combination of high-speed mixing and emulsifiers. That is a significant break-through.

The resulting mixture was too alkaline for leather as leather is acidic (4.5 - 5.0). So the pH was adjusted. You see, a leather cleaner that is not pH balanced to leather will do permanent damage as a cleaner's alkalinity will accelerate the breakdown of leather. So a cleaner with the wrong pH does far more damage than good. I bet you didn't know that.

Thickeners and other chemistry's were then added to make it creamy, and easy to manipulate or control on the surface and not soak into the leather.

Thus, SG - 5 was born.

The next break through was in application. We needed a cleaning tool that will gently agitate the leather's surface and allow the cleaning properties of SG - 5 work most effectively. After testing dozens of applicators, we've determined the best to be an exfoliating glove. We call it a "Leather Lather Glove." It's a wonderful tool, allowing excellent finger dexterity to get into the crevices and creases. It's gentle abrasive action won't scratch the leather yet it helps to gently scrub away soil and grease.

Finally, a micro-fiber towel is the best tool for removing the soapy residue as it's lint free and very absorbent. So you are not just pushing the soil around the leather, rather picking it up off the leather's surface.

SG - 5, with an exfoliating glove and micro-fiber towel works wonders in cleaning leather. As my father used to say, if you're going to do something, you may as well do it right. If you are going to clean your leather, use the best, safest cleaner that was developed and tested in the most rigorous laboratory --- in the hands of professional leather technicians. Simply put, use what the pros use.

Here is a brief video that shows the cleaning power of SG - 5.

From SG - 5 demonstration

To learn more, go to our web site: www.advleather.com

Copyright 2009, Kevin Gillan

Why Not Use Saddle Soap on my Leather Sofa?

Over the years we've heard countless times that consumers have been using saddle soap on their leather furniture. After all, it seems like the right thing to use as certainly saddles are made from leather.

Despite what it seems like, it’s a mistake! You see, leather intended for saddles and leather intended for furniture are processed very differently.

Saddles are made from heavy-duty belt grade leather which is processed using vegetable tanning. The hide is "veg-tanned" so the leather can tolerate the harsh environment of the outdoors. Vegetable tanning produces toughness and durability. To a rider, this means the saddle is hard and uncomfortable. Saddle soap was originally chemically engineered to help soften saddles. It accomplishes that goal because of its alkaline nature.

The significance is that leather is acidic on the pH scale. Its pH is 4.5 to 5.0. (Water is neutral at 7.0. Any pH higher than 7 is alkaline and lower than 7 is acidic.) Saddle soap is up around 9 or 10 on the pH scale. When you apply it to a saddle, a chemical reaction occurs within the leather that breaks down the fiber structure, softening the leather. Because vegetable tanned leather is so durable, it can withstand the chemical reaction without turning the leather to mush.

Upholstery leather is processed differently. Using chromium chemistry, this tanning process imparts soft and supple characteristics and not the same toughness as veg-tanned leather. However, the leather's pH is still around 4.5 - 5.0. Saddle soap introduces alkalinity causing a chemical reaction with the acidic nature of leather which weakens the fiber structure and reduces durability. Your leather furniture will not hold up like a saddle. Saddle soap is chemical warfare attacking the leather's structural integrity, shortening the life of your fine leather goods.

Think about your own skin. Would you wash your face with a strong alkaline household cleaner like 409? Certainly it would clean your face, however the effect it would have on your skin is not desirable, particularly with repeated use. The same is true for upholstery leather.

To prolong the life of your leather (furniture or automobile) it’s important to use leather cleaners that are chemically engineered (pH balanced) specifically for upholstery leather. If you would like more information about appropriate upholstery leather cleaners and conditioners, visit the Leather Care page at www.advleather.com.

Just remember, as the name implies, saddle soap is for saddles, not furniture. Keep it in the barn where it belongs.

Copyright 2009, Kevin Gillan

Leather Care for Automobile Grade Leather

I'm often asked: "What can I do to prolong the life of my automobile leather?"

To understand the effectiveness of leather care products, you should first get a solid grounding on the properties of automobile grade leather.

Here are the issues that must be considered.

1. Automobile grade leather is typically low to mid grade. (I use the word 'grade' here to define the long term durability characteristics.) This is true across the board regardless of brand name. The few exceptions are custom installs, and very high end like Rolls, Ferrari or Lamborghini.

2. The leather is generally a 'corrected' top grain where the word corrected means sanded. At a tannery hides are sorted based on a variety of characteristics. Commonly, hides that are heavily marked with range marks (barb wire scars, bug bites, brand scars, urine burns - a cow will lay in its own urine, etc.), are not fit for high end application due to the unsightly nature of these anomalies. These hides have the epidermis sanded down to eliminate or significantly minimize the scaring.

3. As a skin grows from the flesh side to the out side, it develops layers, gradually building very tight and tough fiber bundles that end up as the epidermis. The epidermis is what classically provides leather's durability and ranges in thickness and toughness based on where on the animal you measure. For example across the top shoulders and down the backbone ridge you'll find the thickest and most durable epidermal tissue. (Natures way of protecting the animal from predators). So the epidermis ranges from 0.2 mm to 1.5 mm in thickness.

4. When you 'correct' the hide by sanding the epidermis you are removing the unsightly characteristics but you are also compromising durability to the degree that you sand away epidermal toughness.

5. To counter this reduction in durability, the corrected top grain hide destined for an automobile application is processed with a coloring strategy that uses a tough resin as the binding agent of the pigment color coating, and an even tougher resin for the clear top-coat. Both the color and top-coat are applied heavily, covering over and concealing any remaining hide scars. The resin is typically a urethane derivative of some kind. While the resin imparts toughness, it also stiffens the feel. So you compromise tactile presentation for the benefit of wear resistance. In an automobile, the feel of the leather is not as important as in home furnishings.

6. Please note that leather is acidic on the pH scale. It runs between 4.5 and 5.0. If you expose automobile leather to harsh cleaners or conditioners that are not pH balanced, you are accelerating the demise of the leather. You may think you are helping prolong the life of the leather, but if you expose leather to inappropriate chemicals you are in fact accelerating the demise of leather.

7. When leather is processed at a tannery, it is infused with moisture (natural oils) that promote flexibility and suppleness. This moisture represents about 25% of the mass of leather. When exposed to heat, the moisture content gradually evaporates, stiffening and shrinking the leather. Examine the headrest in the backseat. This leather is exposed to intense sun through the back window. If the car has any age on it, generally you can detect a significant stiffening due to moisture loss.

8. Finally the wear patterns in a car are different than in a home. The driver slides across the seat as they enter and exit creating abrasion wear, gradually eroding the top-coat, and eventually wearing through and into the color coat. Once the top coat is compromised, the color coat will erode quickly, exposing raw leather. Additionally, look at the wear pattern of the driver's seat. Notice the crease lines in the seat bolster panel (driver's side door). These are created by the "torqueing" action on the leather of entry into the vehicle. The leather is being pulled and stretched by the weight and movement of the person entering and dragging their body weight across that panel, thus creating the creasing. These crease lines eventually develop into cracks which means the demise of the leather.

All of this is important background information to understand the characteristics of the best leather care products for an automobile application. The chemical construct of http://www.advleather.com/ products take all of this into consideration. For example, SG - 5 is an excellent cleaner that has been pH balanced for leather, thus is safe to use. It actually helps correct pH which then avoids fiber brake down. SG - 25 and SG - 50 are conditioners to which resins have been added. This is a combination of moisturizing agents (conditioner) and protection. While the conditioner component instills lost moisture, the resin re-builds lost top-coat, therefore prolonging the life of the leather by increasing its wear resistance. The combination of conditioner and resin also imparts a silky hand or feel to the leather and tends to brighten dull leather by boosting its reflective value.

With the right products and a little bit of care, you can dramatically improve the life of your automobile leather. The SG series of leather care are all chemically engineered with these facts in mind.

copyright 2009, Kevin Gillan

How to clean leather furniture

“How should I clean my leather furniture?” It’s a common question from our clients.

Often, we hear that they have been using saddle soap. After all, it seems like the right thing to use, as certainly saddles are made from leather.

Despite what it seems like, it’s a mistake! You see, leather intended for saddles and leather intended for furniture are processed very differently.

Saddles are made from heavy-duty belt leather which is vegetable tanned to withstand the harsh environment of the out doors. It’s tough, highly durable leather and can stand up to the use of chemically harsh leather cleaners, like saddle soap.

Upholstery leather is processed differently. Using chromium tanning chemistry, the end result is soft, supple leather that is much more sensitive to harsh cleaners like saddle soap.
Think about your own skin. Would you wash your face with a strong household cleaner like 409? Certainly it would clean your face, however the drying and chaffing effect it would have on your skin is not desirable, particularly with repeated use. The same is true for upholstery leather.

The fact is that upholstery leather is acidic. It has a pH of 4.5 – 5. Harsh cleaners are highly alkaline. Consequently a chemical reaction occurs in the leather that breaks down its fibrous structure and stiffens the leather. Therefore it’s important to use leather cleaners that are chemically engineered (pH balanced) specifically for upholstery leather. If you would like more information about appropriate upholstery leather cleaners and conditioners, visit our http://www.advleather.com/ under our consumer products button. Watch this video to see how a quality leather cleaner that is pH balanced to leather works: http://picasaweb.google.com/kpgillan/SG5Demonstration#5050767770458259346

Copyright 2009 Kevin Gillan