[derek west]

think i'll turn it down, unless i can charge enough to take it to ltt and get a few guys in on it.

[markpowell]

Looks like analine, sponges and dye n off you go.
Mark

[derek west]

yeah but its got leather breakdown

[Jonny F]

 You will uncover a host of damage under that soil. That sofa  needs a good cleaning and the a good even top coat of color (convert to protected). Nothing that can be done in the home. I cant believe the customer would have that ugly thing in their home?  Must have sentimental value. Do you do alot of this work? I clean leather and do minor touch ups, but nothing that severe.

FYI That is not a rip, that is the leather breaking down and coming apart to due to a lack of care (lack of hydration), be very careful as I'm sure in the process of cleaning, it will disolve and break down in other areas as well, often near the seams.

             

[mark_roberts]

Id know what Id do








rrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn  far far away.


If even it could be done it looks a cheap sofa so their unlikely to pay the £200+ youd need to take it away and work on it.

Mark

[2cleanright]

Dont know how you can tell it is aniline from those photos mark - looks more like a knackered two tone pigment to me!

Do loads of these. Take it away, get upholsterer to fit new panel where damaged with good grain pattern match (colour is irrelevant), clean, degrease hand head and other areas as required. Mix colour match for base coat and top coat. Pad and roller base coat all over, air brush top coat to match original mottled pattern, lacquer and protect. 3 seat sofa takes a day.

Mind you, it costs, £170/seat plus upholsterer + - £ 100.

Dont think I'd spend that much on this one!

Heres one I did last week chair + 3 seater (just as bad) to match

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I'd agree with it being a 2 tone pigment as I've restored a simular one before but to restore this I want £400-500.

Shaun

[Neil Williams]

Heres one I did last week chair + 3 seater (just as bad) to match

Now that looks like job satisfaction and the reason why I'm going down that route, starting with the LTT course next week.

[derek west]

i was guessing semi analine. purely because of the way the leather looks in the faded areas. probably wrong though hence the thread,

i was thinking £600. (especially as it need a replacement panel) in which case he may as well go to dfs, theyve got a sale on at the mo if he's quick



derek

[Shaun_Ashmore]

2 cleanrite I restored a chair like that they are so satisfying to do, I keep saying I'm going to ring Judy at LTT but I just don't get around to it as it's so bloody busy atm.

Shaun

[chrisjohn]

Derek,i agree with you.For the amount of time and the cost to the customer,they may as well go and buy another sofa.Nobody in their right mind would pay £600 for that bag of crud to be restored.DFS and quick!!

[Jonny F]

   "bag of crud"    I have not had a good laugh like that in a long time!!

  http://bleedingnut.ytmnd.com/

[2cleanright]

Only thing about DFS is they are designed to last the 4 years they let you take to pay for it!

If it lasts that long you will need another one by the time you have finished paying for it.

The photos I posted are of a 20 year old suite and it has now got another 20 years in it (I hope!)

[LTT Leathercare]

Hi Derek
This is either an aniline style leather or a micropigment. 
The level of absorption would indicate what products you use to restore, however, due to the weak area where the leather has given up the panel will need to be replaced - aniline leathers and micropigments are notoriously difficult to match and 'any old leather' will not do unless you are going to change the whole thing completely. 
There does not appear to be too much dirt damage rather that they have not looked after it properly.  If it is an aniline cleaning would be a waste of time.
If you were going to change the whole suite to a pigment the panel of leather would still need to be carefully selected as a mismatched panel would look very different to the rest of the suite.
The picture of the restored red two tone is an old 'antique style' leather. These are much easier to restore and replicate than a modern two tones as you may have here.
The cost of restoring this suite would probably prohibit the work from being done as the repairs are going to cost much more than the suite is worth.  Good practice though if they are going to get rid of it!!!!! bring it up for a workshop training day with some others and it would be a valuable experience.


Hope this helps

[chrisjohn]

Jonny F

Love that little website!

Cheers Chris

[derek west]

quoted £600 to £700. guy said yes.

going to look at it for a fee on wednesday.

derek

[clinton]

Thats a decent job if you get it mate..

Itl be the best earner if you get it derek.

[2cleanright]

LTT - the red chair is a two tone pigment not a rub off. The top coat is a dark maroon not black, and took Remover 3 / Leather Prep and agitation to cause colour to come off. In my experience, alcohol cleaner is sufficient to get rub off black top coat moving in most cases.

Derek, I bet if you look at the green sofa with a microscope on the back / sides there are no hair follicle holes showing like there would be on a micropigment or aniline, and I bet it doesnt absorb moisture on the undamaged areas either. Two tone pigment.

The damaged panel will need a good grain pattern match to the adjacent panels - often difficult as the grain pattern has probably worn away in the damaged areas. A fairly flat replacement panel with a soft "hand" to mimic the softness of the damage on the adjacent panels may be best. But as I said earlier, colour is not important as you will repigment it to match the rest. Any old bit of leather will not do as it would stand out a mile if a poor match.

£600 to £700 is a good price to do this sofa - the client may have paid 3 to 5 times this originally, (although I doubt it from the pictures!) but make sure if there are matching chairs the client will accept shade / pattern differences between the restored piece and the rest, as you will never get it perfect. I prefer to do all the pieces of a suite if possible, as then I know they WILL all match at the end!

Good luck with ther survey

[LTT Leathercare]

I know the red leather is not a rub off - but it is an antique style pigment which is much easier to replicate as the top coat is usually black or a very dark version of the base coat.  Rub off hides can easily be removed whereas two tone antiques will vary according to the strength of the finish used.  Replicating two tones as the one in the original picture (having seen more photos of the suite) are much harder to replicate as the top coat is an unknown colour and can be hard to define. 

Testing as you rightly say should always done with a microscope as this will give a true indication of what the leather is and take away the guesswork.  Some pigmented hides will be full grain which will aslo show hair follicles.  Generally speaking you would not get that level of fading on anything other than an aniline or a micropigment so it will be intereting to see exactly what it is.