[justin 88]

hi,

i am going to clean a red leather sofa with heavy grease marks in the normal areas. i have done the LTA training a few years back but have definetly forgotten some things. I do have a general idea but if anyone could suggest how they clean it this would help!!

[LTT Leathercare]

You do not say whether this is a pigment coated leather or an aniline style but most red leather would be a pigment coated. Cleaning methods will vary slightly for aniline style leather.  
The grease is unlikely to be cleanable with regular leather cleaning products as the grease will have soaked into the leather.  There is always more in the leather than can be seen on the surface.
You will need to degrease the affected area first with professional degreaser which may take several applications to fully remove it.   Once fully degreased you will then need to restore the colour if necessary as the degreasing process iften pulls colour out with it.
Degreasing is a very simple process with simple to use degreasers that are sprayed on to the area and left to do their job (easier to use than the paste versions) The biggest problem is the time element as degreasers work by slowly drawing out the grease from the leather so does take time to do this - it is also impossible to judge exactly what the results are going to be before you start.  On some leather it will pull colour out and on others it won't

For the rest of the furniture the usual method applies.
Pre clean (for some areas this may be all that is necessary - ie outside back and arms)
Deep clean with foam cleaner panel at a time
Protect with Leather Protect

If you are only going to clean the leather make sure you qualify with your customer first that the grease will not be removed.

Hope this helps
Give me a ring if you need any more advice
Cheers
Judyb

[Steve Gunn]

Some helpful info here

http://furnitureclinic.co.uk/Leather_Guides.php

[justin 88]

thanks so much for this..............obviously i have a lot to learn!!!
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