How to treat old, scaly and brittle leather

Ideal for cleaning leather car and furniture upholstery, bags, suitcases or garments.The Leather Cleaner is provided in a foam dispenser bottle. Foams clean the leather more efficiently than liquid agents, the consumption is considerably smaller, and the leather does not become wet, which could otherwise become hard after drying.Firstly, clean the leather thoroughly before refreshing the colour or applying care products. Use COLOURLOCK Mild Leather Cleaner against normal soiling. Cleaning before treatment prevents the dirt sticking to the leather's surface. Our COLOURLOCK Leather Cleaning Brush effectively removes ingrained dirt (use circular motions and work from seam to seam). After cleaning, it is always best to apply a care product to protect it against general wear and future staining.Amount: 200 ml Mild Leather Cleaner. This is usually sufficient for the cleaning of a whole car interior or set of furniture.Amount: 1 litre Application of Leather CleanerAlways test any products first on a hidden area in case they affect the colour.Dispense some foam on a sponge or brush. Do not apply to the leather directly! Clean the leather from seam to seam using the foam; repeat several times, if necessary. Remove dirty foam residue with a slightly moistened piece of cloth, then allow to dry.On older leathers, stains might sink into the surface, or perceived dirt might actually be colour damage. Such stains cannot always be removed by cleaning, in which case, use COLOURLOCK Leather Fresh for refreshing the colour, or ask us for advice.These products are also suitable for "Cool Leather/SRT (SunReflective Technology) Leather"!

To maintain the surface, we recommend our Leather Protector. It contains antioxidants, which stops the leather's decay, and its UV filters protect the surfaces from colour fading and will make them supple once more.Amount: 150 ml. This is usually sufficient for the one-time treatment (minimum) of a complete car interior or a set of furniture.; 1litreApplication: Always test any products first on a hidden area in case they affect the colour!Use COLOURLOCK Leather Protector when the leather has dried completely from cleaning or colour refreshment, ideally on the following day. Apply with a soft cloth and let dry without polishing. One application is sufficient. Strained surfaces (heavy use or in sunlit areas) should be treated every three months. Clean before use to prevent dirt sticking to the surface.These products are also suitable for "Cool Leather/SRT (SunReflective Technology) Leather"!

The Leather Sanding Pad is ideal for:  Smoothing rough areas before applying COLOURLOCK Leather Fresh or COLOURLOCK Liquid Leather. Cleaning greasy areas on nubuck and suede. Careful sanding during professional colouring in the workshop. Amount: Pack of 5 Application Rub the leather gently with the pad in a circular motion. Avoid gouging and deep scratches. Both faces of the pad can be used. It can be washed out with water.  Before colouring nappa leather, the surfaces should be sanded carefully. Our Leather Sanding Pad is ideal for this step.

Degreaser is used in various situations for degreasing. The degreaser is a solvent-free product, yet powerful and gentle to the surface. It does not dissolve the color and is therefore excellent for degreasing all types of leather. Areas of application: for degreasing smooth leather and removing care product residues before repair for the professional and end user. for degreasing grease spots in the headrest and armrest areas of furniture, steering wheels, handles and gear knobs on vehicles, handles on handbags and suitcases, etc.for cleaning/degreasing of "spackled" rough leathers in the furniture tradefor degreasing greasy collars on jackets before washing with leather detergentfor degreasing greasy areas before professional dyeing in the workshop   Amounts of COLOURLOCK Degreaser: 30 ml is enough for steering wheels or handbag handles. 150 ml is sufficient for a furniture set or car interior. 250 ml and 1 liter for more extensive degreasing work or for several objects. APPLICATION Always test all products first on a concealed area for changes! Although COLOURLOCK Degreaser does not dissolve colors, it may cause a lightening of colors in open-pored leathers or if too much was used on smooth leather. Therefore, pre-testing is always advisable. Dampen a clean, soft cloth with the degreaser and go over the greasy areas. Plain smooth leathers can be degreased thoroughly after a test. For open-pored leather (suede, aniline leather, etc.), only briefly dart over the leather with the cloth in order to avoid edging and stains caused by the cleaning attempt. Allow the leather to dry between all treatments. Do not blow dry. Not all grease spots can be removed completely. Areas of contact with skin or hair and areas greased over long periods of time are particularly difficult. In some cases, grease remover spray might help. For large areas, deeply absorbed oils, or heavy greasing, seek professional advice. After cleaning with the COLOURLOCK Degreaser, re-condition and protect the leather with a care product suitable for the type of leather.

Leather Fresh is a colour refresher (dye) for scratches, worn, or faded leather. Leather Fresh is ideal to refresh colour damages on car leather, furniture leather, leather garments and handbags. Do not use on porous leathers unless colouring the entire surface - it can make the surface appear patchy. It can be sponged on or sprayed using an airbrush.  Application Always test any products first on a hidden area to test for colour match!Firstly, clean the leather thoroughly and prepare the surface. Use Mild Leather Cleaner for normal degrees of soiling or Strong Leather Cleaner to remove heavier dirt (where the leather has been neglected for many years). Cleaning prior to treatment ensures the paint bonds to the surface well and ensures durability. Use Leather Cleaning Brush to effectively remove all ingrained dirt. Cleaning removes dirt but for long lasting results you should also de-grease using Degreaser.Use a sponge to apply the colour evenly, working from seam to seam. Dry afterwards with a hair dryer. On small spots, a one application is sufficient. Apply multiple thin layers and dry each layer using a hair dryer.A day later, after it dries, apply Leather Protector. It gives the leather a good sheen and helps blend the repair. It contains antioxidants, which stops the leather's decay, and its UV filters protect the surfaces of old and valuable leathers from bleaching and fading. Also keeps the leather supple.  46 standard colours and prepared special colours according to sample or manufacturer name.Find car leather colours for Leather Fresh Dye in our Car Leather Repair category.

Fluid Leather is only recommended for damage where a filling is necessary. For scratches and general wear-and-tear on the colour surface we recommend smoothing the surface with the COLOURLOCK Leather Sanding Pad and refreshing the colour with COLOURLOCK Leather Fresh. The surface of COLOURLOCK Fluid Leather is smooth and shiny after drying. To hide the repair, apply COLOURLOCK Leather Fresh in the respective colour to the area. This covers the gloss of the COLOURLOCK Fluid Leather. Lightly dab the COLOURLOCK Leather Fresh several times with a sponge on the repair and dry with a hair dryer between layers until the desired covering is achieved. Degrease the repair area with COLOURLOCK Degreaser in order to remove care product residue. Before starting any repairs with COLOURLOCK Fluid Leather, smooth rough areas and scratches with the COLOURLOCK Leather Sanding Pad  For hardened leathers, use COLOURLOCK Fluid Leather before any treatment with COLOURLOCK Old Leather Softener. This oily treatment would reduce the adhesion of the COLOURLOCK Fluid Leather. PROCEDURE Fill the damaged areas with COLOURLOCK Fluid Leather and spread evenly with a spatula. Leave to dry for 1-2 hours, depending on the amount used. Repeat the procedure until the repaired area is as full and smooth as possible. COLOURLOCK Fluid Leather cannot be sanded dry. This would damage the repair.We recommend using the COLOURLOCK GLD Solvent ND Pen to smooth the repair. The GLD Solvent slightly dissolves the surface of the COLOURLOCK Fluid Leather and provides a smoother finish.Open the lid of the COLOURLOCK GLD Solvent ND Pen and press down the felt tip several times until it is moistened. If the felt tip gets too moist, remove the excess quantity by cleaning it with a cloth. Smooth the repair area carefully with the moistened felt tip. When the repair area is wet with GLD, an additional treatment with the COLOURLOCK Leather Sanding Pad can be done to smooth the repair area. Always work with a small amount of GLD to prevent the repair area from becoming too dissolved. Using GLD, a repair can be adjusted to achieve the best possible result.Professionals can repair the graining on a work area using a Repair Grain. Usually, old leathers are smooth and do not need a new graining.The tip of the GLD Solvent ND Pen can be removed and reversed when worn. Especially when working on a new colour, it is necessary to change or turn the felt tip upside down.Finally, repairs with COLOURLOCK Fluid Leather must be recoloured with COLOURLOCK Leather Fresh to balance differences in colour and gloss. In order to cover the COLOURLOCK Fluid Leather sufficiently, the COLOURLOCK Leather Fresh should be dabbed onto the area several times and dried between the layers with a hair dryer. After 24 hours treat the leather with Leather Protector.  A HOLE WITH MISSING LEATHER Holes should be reinforced before repairing by gluing a thin piece of cloth underneath the hole with COLOURLOCK Leather Glue. Cut out a small piece of the original leather from a hidden area and adjust its shape according to the hole. Use the COLOURLOCK Leather Glue to glue it onto the piece of cloth and the edges of the hole. Close the visible rims with COLOURLOCK Fluid Leather. Leathers with big tears must first be examined in order to decide whether it would be better to replace the weak leather. Especially long tears in old and rough leathers, or in areas of high use, are often irreparable or not durable enough after a repair. We recommend the repair of tears only on stable leathers and only if the tear is no larger than a few centimetres.Procedure: Minor tears which are not under tension should be provisionally glued with COLOURLOCK Leather Glue from edge to edge. Then close the tear with COLOURLOCK Fluid Leather, as explained.Tears under high tension should be backed by thin cloth. In the case of very large tears and/or very rough leathers, it is advisable to sew the leather with a thin but strong thread. Place a seam every 3-4 centimetres with the starting knot on the leather's reverse. Cover the thread with COLOURLOCK Fluid Leather.If the leather is not too rough, drill a small hole to the right and the left of the tear (approximately 2-3 millimetres) and sew with a round needle. Lay the knot underneath and pull the tear together. Tears in areas of frequent use should always be replaced by new leather when they are too large; the same is true for weak or hardened leathers. In cases like these, it is more advisable to replace the leather.

Neutral Binder is a strong binder which stabilises the surface of the leather without making it too stiff. It is used for damages to the leather surface where it has become brittle and needs smoothing down prior to repair.Amount: 250 ml bottle, 1 litreSome old pigmented, smooth leathers get brittle surfaces which cannot be repaired with COLOURLOCK Leather Fresh and COLOURLOCK Fluid Leather alone. Leather Fresh is perfect on scratches, rubbed off colour and slight fading, whereas Liquid Leather is optimal for filling deeper cracks and rips. It is however not suitable if an entire surface needs to be repaired.To find out whether the damage affects just the colour or the leather, simply brush your hand over the area. If you feel resistance in one direction, that means that the leather is damaged. In which case you will need COLOURLOCK Neutral Binder.Application areas: Car Leather, Furniture LeatherFor: Pigmented leather, PU leather, Semi-aniline leatherFirst remove any grease from the repair area with COLOURLOCK Degreaser. Don’t use Mild or Strong Leather Cleaner in damaged areas! The damaged area would only soak the liquid and the leather will get stiffer. The regular cleaning products are only recommended for undamaged surfaces.After degreasing, apply Neutral Binder with a sponge in the direction of the fibre structure and allow to dry naturally between applications (do not use a hairdryer). If necessary, repeat the process and smooth rough areas with the COLOURLOCK Sanding Pad. Neutral Binder is a strong binder which stabilises the surface of the leather without making it too stiff. Rougher areas can also be processed with a brush. Deeper cracks and rips can be filled with Liquid Leather. Finally, smooth down rough areas with the Sanding Pad.Recolour the repaired area with COLOURLOCK Leather Fresh. Use a hairdryer to dry after each application.To preserve the repair, apply COLOURLOCK Leather Protector. It contains antioxidants which reduce the disintegration of the leather. Its UV filters protect the surfaces of old leather from fading. In addition, the leather regains its smooth surface.Please note: There is a limit to recovering with Neutral Binder. It will only stabilise the leather for a little longer but the leather will never be as good as new.