Full
grain refers to leather which has not been sanded or buffed.
Sanding
or buffing removes surface imperfections from the leather,
except in the case of nubuck where the buffing is very light.
Embossing
is a process that heat presses an artificial grain pattern
into the leather. If not sanded or buffed, these leathers
are still considered to be full-grain. This process is usually
applied to pigmented leathers but can also be used on aniline
and semi-aniline.
Introduction
When choosing leather products there is
a trade-off between natural appearance and ease of care:
Aniline leather
is the most natural looking but is less resistant to soiling
Pigmented leather
is the most durable but is less natural in appearance
Semi-aniline
leather is somewhere in-between on both counts.
The choice is a
matter of personal taste but the following information should
help you understand the options.
Aniline leather
is the most natural looking leather with the unique surface
characteristics of the hide remaining visible. Aniline leather
is coloured only with dye
and not with a surface coating of polymer and pigment
.
A light surface coating may be applied to enhance its appearance
and offer slight protection against spillages and soiling.
Aniline
leather
Semi-aniline
leather
is more durable than aniline whilst still retaining a natural
appearance. The increased durability is provided by the application
of a light surface coating which contains a small amount of
pigment. This ensures consistent colour and imparts some stain
resistance.
Semi-aniline
leather
Pigmented Leather
is the most durable and is used in the majority of furniture
upholstery and almost all car upholstery. The durability is
provided by a polymer surface coating which contains pigments.
The surface coating
allows the manufacturer more control over the properties of
the leather, e.g. resistance to scuffing or fading.
The thickness of
the surface coating can vary but
if the mean thickness is more than 0.15mm then the product
can't be sold as leather in the United Kingdom due to consumer
protection legislation.
Full
grain pigmented leather
The grain
surface is left intact before applying the surface coating.
Pigmented
leather
Corrected
grain pigmented leather
The grain surface is abraded to remove imperfections before
the surface coating is applied. A decorative grain pattern is
then embossed into the surface.
(Indistinguishable
from full grain pigmented leather to the naked
eye)
Corrected
grain
Finished
split leather
The middle or lower section of a hide with a polymer coating
applied and embossed to mimic a grain leather. Finished splits
should only be used in low stress applications because they
are weaker than grain leather.
(Indistinguishable
from full grain pigmented leather to the naked
eye)
Finished
split
Antique
grain (two-tone or rub-off) A special surface effect has been created to mimic the unique
'worn' appearance of traditional leathers. This is achieved
by applying a contrasting top-coat which is applied unevenly
or partially rubbed off to reveal a paler underlying colour.
Antique
grain
Pull-up leather
(also known as waxy or oily pull-up)
A leather with a natural appearance which lightens in colour when
stretched during wear to produce a unique worn-in effect with time.
Nubuck
Aniline dyed leather which has been lightly abraded on the grain
surface to create a velvety finish or nap. In some cases the grain
pattern is still visible. The nap is very fine because of the tight
fibre structure in the grain layer.
Suede
A split which has been abraded to create a distinctive nap. The nap can vary in
appearance but is not as fine as the nap on nubuck because of the
looser fibre structure.
British Standard (BS2780) Definitions
Aniline
leather
Leather that has
been dyed by immersion in a dyebath and has not received any
coating of pigmented finish.
Semi-aniline
leather
Leather in which
the base coat of the finish contains pigment but later coats
contain only dye or a contrasting pigment, to give a two-tone
appearance, designed to imitate analine leather.
Pigmented
leather
Leather to whose
grain surface a finish containing fine pigment particles in
a binder has been applied.
Corrected
grain leather
Leather from which
the grain layer has been partially removed by buffing to a depth
governed by the condition of the raw material and upon which
a new surface has been built by various finishes.
Waxy
leather
(1) Upper leather
finished on the flesh side and dyed. It is vegetable tanned
with a high content of hard grease, though not necessarily wax.
(2) Leather bearing a wax finished.
Suede
Leather whose wearing
surface has been finished to produce a velvet-like nap.
Nubuck
Cattle-hide leather
buffed on the grain side to give a very fine velvety surface
: white or coloured.
Split
(1) A single layer
from a hide or skin that has been separated over its whole
area into two or more layers. (grain split, middle split,
flesh split)
(2) Leather made from the flesh split or middle split.
Finished
split
A split leather
that has been finished by the application of a surface coating
to simulate the appearance of a grain leather.
and not with a surface coating of polymer and pigment
