[Graham Airey]

Anyone used Leather cleaner from Solution ? Opinons please.

[AshWhite]

Tried it, wasn't particularly impressed - it's a cream a bit like the prochem stuff. The stuff from elsewhere is better.

[derek west]

no offence to solutions or any other carpet cleaning supplies company, but if i want leather cleaning products i would go to a leather cleaning supply specialist like LTT, other leather cleaning specialist available. better advice and better products.

[creighton foyle]

Anyone used Leather cleaner from Solution ? Opinons please.

buying solutions solutions is not the solution 

[Phil @ Extreme Clean]

Used it on pigmented doe's a good job 

[LTT Leathercare]

The problem with a cream cleaner is that you would need to clean it off after you have used it.  The dirt has no where to go so all you are doing is moving it around.
Far better to use products that have been specifically tested on leather.
Hope this helps
Judyb

[Phil @ Extreme Clean]

It's not a cream it's a spray I've use furniture clinic and solution I spray on clean then clean towel off is that correct ?

[Simon Gerrard]

It isn't a cream, it is a white liquid and having tried loads of products over the years it does as good a job as any.
The dirt on cloths tells its own story.
Simon

[LTT Leathercare]

Liquid cleaners have their own problems as they can run and cause streaks which can be difficult to fix on pigmented leather.

Specific products should be used for Aniline Leather as they are cleaned in a different way to pigment coated.

Results for cleaning pigment coated leather will depend on products and method used together with colour of the leather and level of dirt, dye transfer etc.
I am always amazed by pictures of 'dirt' on cloths which is actually pigment coming off (not saying this is the case of yours Simon but I do see it so many times)

Cheers
Judy

[Simon Gerrard]

White pigment onto a white towel?


Simon

[Carl sands]

I've seen car valeters use diluted APC (all purpose cleaner) on leather car seats and proudly declare pigment to be dirt on numerous occasions. APC is caustic soda. . .

Solutions leather cleaner is on par with Prochems offering, but much much cheaper. I would regard it as a maintenance rather than a restorative product. But my experience with leather care is rather limited.

[AshWhite]

I've seen car valeters use diluted APC (all purpose cleaner) on leather car seats and proudly declare pigment to be dirt on numerous occasions. APC is caustic soda. . .

Solutions leather cleaner is on par with Prochems offering, but much much cheaper. I would regard it as a maintenance rather than a restorative product. But my experience with leather care is rather limited.

I'd agree with that.

[Simon Gerrard]

Most leather cleaners don't restore, do they?

Simon

[Carl sands]

A restoration clean, Simon. Not a restoration process. I mean to say that the product is designed as a maintenance cleaning agent, not a heavy weight product for badly soiled leather. Was I unclear?

[Simon Gerrard]

No, not unclear, just clarifying.
So what kind of products are more heavy weight? The reason I ask is because the dirt you can't get out with a leather cleaner isn't because it hasn't worked but because the soil has tarnished the colour, just as it does on fabric upholstery, or a traffic lane on a carpet. So surely if you've got the leather as clean as it can be got, but isn't perfect, where chemically do you go next, because I thought restoration of the colour would be the only solution.

Simon

[LTT Leathercare]

Cleaning leather is a process and understanding what level of soiling is present is key.
Deep cleaning - best done with a foam as it can be given dwell time will clean deep into the grain pattern of the leather gently lifting the dirt.
Dirt is the biggest enemy of pigment finishes as it acts as a fine sandpaper which with abrasion causes deterioration of the finish.
Once the finish has begun to deteriorate you will get micro cracking in the finish.  This will always appear as dirt on pale coloured leather and no amount of cleaning will get it clean because it is damaged.  This level of damage can be seen with a microscope but not with the naked eye. 
Beyond this stage the pigment/ finish will need replacing to fully rectify.

The idea if maintenance cleaners is to keep the leather free from damaging dirt in between deep cleaning.this should be done by the consumer and will make your job easier - easy add on sale too

The process should be
Protect from new
Maintenance clean
Deep clean
Reprotect

Good maintenance cleaners will also contain a level of protection as they should not remove the protector as is the case with detergent cleaners.

Any 'dirt' remaining after deep cleaning may not be dirt at all (as described above) or it could be dye transfer.  Dye transfer does not damage the pigment as with dirt and there is a process of cleaners/removers for removing it before we resort to recolouring.

Aniline cleaning can be viewed as restorative cleaning particularly with the new specialist Aniline cleaners - these remove stains and will redistribute the dyes so that the leather will be much improved after cleaning.  Detergent cleaners hound never be used to clean Aniline leather - it does not work and will simply soak into the leather and not do any cleaning.  It is also far more likely to leave a water mark.

Hope this helps
Judyb

[Paul Moss]

Simon there is a couple of things that can be done but you would have to be shown these as this is where the skill comes in.

[Simon Gerrard]

Judy,
So what's a good foam cleaner for deep cleaning and is there a conditioner that can go on it afterwards.

Paul,
We don't clean a lot of leather and I certainly don't have the skills to do restoration, but have had cases where there has been discolouration because of that. Having said that we've never had an unhappy customer but then we do a sample patch first to show them how it will look.

Simon

[LTT Leathercare]

Hello Simon
Strong Cleaner is our regular technicians foam cleaner for deep cleaning.
We also do Maxi Cleaner which is stronger and used on areas that have heavily ingrained dirt or dye transfer (first step) this should not be used as a regular cleaner as it is too strong.
No conditioners Simon. These are old hat and used when leather was not tanned or finished the way it is now.  All water based products are conditioning the leather as you use them as moisture is what is needed to rehydrate the leather.  Conditioners will only sit on the surface and collect more dirt so are counter productive.
We use protectors which protect the finish fom dirt and make cleaning easier.  They also guard against dye transfer.
Hope this helps
Judyb

[Simon Gerrard]

Hi just,
So if I got some strong cleaner and some maxi cleaner that would help us better deal with the dirtier suites?

Simon