[Neil Grainger]

HI all

does anybody use Prochems Leather Cleaner and Conditioner and are they any good.

Cheers

Neil

[jeff1966]

I used to use prochem leather cleaner,didn't think they were anything better until I tried the furniture clinic leather cleaner.
        regards Jeff

[LTT Leathercare]

Prochems cleaners and 'conditioners' are amongst the many we have tested during our years in the business.  There are many cleaners on the market and whilst many of them do an ok job there are very few that can tackle the full range of problems that you will find ie. dye transfer and well ingrained dirt. 
The safest way to clean leather is with a foam cleaner, not a liquid and ones that do foam clean much more efficiently than liquid ones and also take less time.  Cleaning leather should not be hard work if you are using effective products that do the work for you.

Conditioning leather is totally unnecessary and in most cases the products do nothing, at worst they can do damage to the leather so it is a waste of money to apply a product that does not work or at worst is harmful.  A lot of conditioners contain waxes and oils which in the long term when used on finished leathers will damage the finish by attracting more dirt and oils onto the surface (the 2 things which ultimately do a lot of harm to leather).
You really need to be using a leather protector which will inhibit dirt and oils and the product should not contain oils, waxes or silicones.

Prochem are not a specialist producer of leather chemicals (something they accept when we have had discussions with them) and will not be able to give technical advice if it were needed.  Much better to go to a company who can fully support their products with technical back up.

[Glynn]

well according to connolly leather does need feeding and conditioning...

[Matt Lindus]

Glynn,

He also used to say... "Dont Live A Little, Live A Loto"

[LTT Leathercare]

Connolly's do not exist anymore.  When they were in their heyday leather was tanned in a different way to the method that is used today and did need a certain amount of 'conditioning'.  Todays methods are much more chemically controlled and all the oils that are introduced are sealed into the leather so do not need replacing in the same way.  Connolly's did not produce the best leather in the world the only reason they made a name for themselves was because their tannery was next door to Rolls Royce and so was used on their cars.  Things have moved on a great deal and changed considerably since those days.  The people who bought the name Connolly certainly don't represent the market with any authority these days.

[Graeme@Access]

Neil,

We use LTT products for leather cleaning and use prochems conditioner.  I have never tried prochems cleaner, but the conditioner definitely makes the leather softer and gives it a lovely shine.

Not really sure if it adds to resoiling, i did my leather suite as described and it didnt add to the resoiling rate (did 3 conditioners on 3 diff seats that all got manky at the same rate).  Even Alltecs fluorochemical bottle of solvent resoiled at the same rate and i think this must be an inappropriate product from what i have studied on leather.

People think that you need to condition and you must address the needs of the market.  Just my 2 cents.

Mabe Judy/Andy sells something that is £6 a bottle, does about 50 seats of leather and address the needs for a conditioner?

Graeme
Access Cleaning Solutions.

[lands]

Never used anything other tham prochems leather stuff and have heard there is better but seems to do an ok job.

[Ben Staerck]

There are a few things to think about when it comes to cleaning/conditioning leather.

1. For a cleaner, just sample the ones available and use what you find best. Use one specific for leather or otherwise test what you use to see that it doesn't cause damage. You can call us for a sample of leather cleaner if you want.

2. Conditioning. Modern leather that has a pigmented finish doesn't mainly need it , but there are instances where it does. REMEMBER THOUGH: not all leather out there is modern!!! especially in old cars! and so conditioning will do some good.

Also, applying a conditioner to a leather that has a pigmented finish won't cause any damage. It just wipes on and then off again. Any residue left will just come off as the leather is used. Advantages of some conditioners (although they might not do anything good to the leather) is that they could make the leather shine, or smell nice.At the end of the day its all about pleasing the customer. 

3. Protecting. Applying a protection cream to leather obviously has better benefits than using a conditioner.

The one we supply conditions and protects. When pigmented leather cracks or hardens applying a cnditioner will soften and revive the leather, as well as offering a protective coating.

[will01]

For what it's worth I used prochem leather cleaner and found it to be nigh on useless. Due to it's low ph I actually use Dove

Will

[*paul_moss]

For past couple of years I have used Furniture clinics stuff for 90% of my work and LTT for the other 10%.
Furniture  Clinic chems are very good quality and about 50% cheaper than some of  the others 

Just wish Furniture clinic would do an aerosol solvent base  finish as LTT do but it  is really good but also very costly

[LTT Leathercare]

The aerosol finishes do tend to work out more expensive but are very handy for using on site.  The finishes are a lot cheaper when bought in bulk for use with an airbrush.  All our products come down in price when bought in quantity.

Our cleaners and protectors may be more expensive but go much further than most other products and also work more effectively so in the long run work out no more expensive.

The cost of product for cleaning and protecting a 3 piece suite is minimal and our products do the job in half the time so as cleaners you win all round.

[Neil Grainger]

Paul,

Thats what I found with the LTT products, sorry Judy but the 1 day course I came on was good but the cost of the product is very high compared to others so thought that I would try cheaper options before making my mind up.

I know cheap is not good but overpriced I think some of the products are.

Cheers

Neil

[*paul_moss]

Neil
Ltt are expensive and the products are good, I found through trial and error that the products from le prevo and especially Furniture clinic that I cut my costs by half.Not only that but most of the products were actually up to 50 % cheaper as they are made on site and not bought through a middle agent. Also found there service and help second to none 

[Ben Staerck]

Just wish Furniture clinic would do an aerosol solvent base  finish as LTT do but it  is really good but also very costly

I made some up the other week and was very happy with the results. Im just debating now weather to make them up in quanitity in water or solvent based. I can quite easily do both but was considering water based with the obvious health and safety benefits!

[Mike Osbourne]

What % of the clean of a leather suite is cleaner/protector?

Personally I'd just use the best product even if it was twice the price. Backup would be my next deciding factor.

[LTT Leathercare]

You can only compare prices on like for like products.  You cannot compare a conditioner with a protector as they are 2 very different things.

A conditioner can be produced very cheaply, but as I have said does nothing at best or at worst leaves residues which in the long run cause damage so it is a waste of time and product, something I'm sure your customers would not be happy about.  It can also take a long time to apply as they are generally creamy in consistency and need to be buffed (apparently).

A protector is doing a good service to the leather by protecting it from oils from the body and the build up of dirt.  Protectors are more expensive to produce but should be very effective, this cannot be achieved by a conditioner/protector as the protective element has been diluted and makes it a completely different product.

The only comparisons to our product on the market are Fenice and Leather Master both of which are creams and take longer and much more product to apply.  Therefore in comparison (they are about the same price as ours) ours is much more cost effective only taking 20 mins to apply and only needing 100ml as opposed to 250ml (approx.).

The cost involved on product for leather cleaning is minimal whosever product you use but the time saved by using the best products can be enormous as those cleaners who have come over to our products have discovered.  As Mike says the back up support you get is all important on whatever product you use.

Just a few points on other comments.

Leather should be left in the normal state of the leather ie. if it was shiny it should be shiny if it was matt it should be matt.  A product should not leave it shiny otherwise it is leaving another finish on the surface.  Shine is usually caused by the use of incorrect cleaning products and/or the build up of dirt (they are usually related) so needs to be addressed not added to.

Cracked leather does not need conditioning it needs fixing and the addition of waxes or oils may make this impossible.

LTT do both water based and solvent finishes and have stood the test of time as we have had no finish failures in the time they have been used (when used correctly)  we also do 80 colours of finish for use on anilines and pigments.

[Ben Staerck]

What % of the clean of a leather suite is cleaner/protector?

On an average size suite, you would use between 250ml - 500ml cleaner and about only 100ml protector.

[LTT Leathercare]

The problem now is that suppliers are changing the name of their product from a conditioner to a protector (because we have been saying for so long that this is what leather needs) without changing the product, so you have to be sure that when it is called a protector it does actually do that otherwise you still have the same problems.

Most ones we have tested do not protect at all or if they do, do not last for very long, the only ones that stand up in tests are Fenice, LeatherMaster and LTT.

Always make sure it is inhibiting the absorption of body oils and dirt by testing it  yourself.  All good protectors are made from fluorochemicals similar to the system used by scotchgard.

[*paul_moss]

Judy i noted when using your protector that it had a plastic like coating.