GOT LEATHER? 3 ways to determine what kind of leather you have

Leather properly maintained will last four or even five times longer than fabric or man-made fibers.In order to properly maintain it, however, you hanve to know truly what kind of leather you have - speculation is not an option as there are different products and procedures to take care of each kind of leather.

These are a few of the basic guidelines as shared by the certified leather specialists at Atlanta Leather Care and Repair, proving Atlanta leather cleaning services.

Fun Fact: DID YOU KNOW that all Leather Starts as Aniline Leather?
* 15% remain as Aniline leather
* 5% are turned into Nubuck leather
* 80% are turned into Pigmented leather

How to Recognize Various Types of Leather

Step 1 - Inspect the piece of furniture for a deck label or "hang tag" that identifies the leather type. Many manufacturers place the deck label on the decking of the seating area near a piece of extra leather that has been sewn in.

Step 2 - Scratch Test - A "Scratch Test" is the easiest way to determine if a leather is a Type P (pigmented) or not. Lightly scratching the leather surface with your fingernail will either yield a light mark or no mark. If there IS a mark, you have aniline leather. If you don't, you have pigmented.

Step 3 - Tactile Test - Feeling the leather surface and visually determining whether a "nap" exists will help to determine if a leather has been sanded/brushed or not. Nubuck leathers have been sanded or brushed leaving a slight to heavy velvet-like nap.

These are just a few easy guidelines to determine what kind of leather you have. Only a certified leather specialist can know for sure, but this should help guide you when contacting professional or buying products.