Caring for Wax or Oil Pull-Up Leathers

A regular routine of protection and cleaning will not only help protected your furniture from stains and damage, it will also add years to its life. Some types of soiling only affect the way your furniture looks, others can actually damage the leather. Dust and perspiration are both particularly damaging. Dust is abrasive: it acts like sandpaper. Over time dust can cause serious damage to the furniture’s topcoat. Perspiration and body oils contain salts, enzymes and fatty acids, all of which can stain and damage leather and its topcoat. It is important to prevent perspiration and body oils from building up. Particular care needs to be taken if you regularly take medications, as they can increase the damage caused by perspiration and body oils.

Pull-up leathers are aniline leathers that have been treated with a wax or oil finish. Their properties are similar to aniline leather: they are made from high quality hides, their natural markings are visible, and they are soft and supple to the touch. However, because of the added protection provided by the wax or oil, pull-up leathers are more robust and easier to maintain. To maintain this protection, the wax or oil finish will need to be occasionally reapplied.

Note: please be aware that pull-up leathers are designed to develop a distressed look. They naturally develop variations in colour as the leather stretches with use.

Protect your furniture

Before you use your new furniture, protect it with the appropriate protection product.

Oil Pull-Ups: either Leather Protection Cream or Oleosa. Oleosa is a revitalising product for oil pull-up leather. It also contains protective agents that improve the leather`s resistance to oil, water and alcohol based stains.

Wax Pull-Ups Leather Protection Cream. The wax coating does provide wax pull-up leather with some additional protection, however, because waxes tend to crack, this protection is not uniform or complete. We recommend an application of Leather Protection Cream for added protection.

When applying protection products, focus on the contact areas – arm rests, head rests, seats etc. It is only necessary to protect areas that do not come into contact with the body if there is a risk that something will be spilled on them. For example, if the back of your lounge is facing the wall, it probably doesn't need protection. Why does leather need protection?

Clean regularly, but not excessively

Every Week: Dust and Light Clean. The best way to dust your furniture is using a vacuum cleaner. Use a soft brush head or upholstery attachment and set the vacuum cleaner to low suction. After vacuuming, use a cloth dampened with a little water to wipe over the areas that come in contact with the body (headrests, armrests and seats). You don’t need to use a leather cleaner every time you clean your furniture, a soft cloth dampened with a little water will do the trick.

Every 3-6 Months: Thorough Clean. Clean your furniture with Leather Soft Cleaner to remove built up dirt and grime. How often you need to clean your furniture will depend on its colour and how quickly it becomes soiled. If you have light coloured furniture, or if your furniture is heavily used (particularly by pets and small children) you will need to clean your furniture more often. Do not clean your lounge more than necessary, excess cleaning causes unnecessary wear, and even the gentlest cleaning products can cause leather to dry out if they are over used.

Re-protect

After every thorough cleaning (every time you use Leather Soft Cleaner) re-apply the appropriate protection product. It is important to re-apply protection. Every time you clean your leather with a leather cleaner, such as Leather Soft Cleaner, the protective layer is removed.

Revitalise

The wax or oil finish will occasionally need to be revitalised. If your furniture is starting to look scratched, scuffed or faded, then it is time to revitalise.

Oil Pull-Ups: Oleosa. Oleosa will restore the to the restore the look of the finish and camouflage areas of light scratching an discolouration. Before applying Oleosa, you will need to thoroughly clean the area with Leather Soft Cleaner.

Wax Pull-Ups: Wax-On. Wax On is a leather revitalising product designed to restore the look and feel of wax leathers. Wax On is also excellent for removing mild scratch marks and light fading due to wear and tear. Before applying Wax-On, you will need to thoroughly clean the area with Leather Soft Cleaner. After applying Wax-On, you will need to re-protect your furniture with Leather Protection Cream.

Attend to spills immediately

The fresher a stain is, the easier it is to remove. You can follow the same care regime for aniline and pigmented leather, but not all stain removal products are suitable for aniline leather. Consult the Product Selection Guide for information on which stain removal products are suitable for your leather type.