Here’s an article I wrote for you about suede, nubuck, and brush-finish leather jackets. They all require the same type of cleaning and care, so to make things simple, I’ll refer to this particular variety of leathers, all as suedes.
Suedes differ from your smooth leathers (for one thing) in how they absorb moisture, oil, and anything else - which is easily, and deeply! Consequently they have to be cleaned with what I consider a severe measure - taking them to a dry cleaners. No matter how good a dry cleaner is, even a “leather cleaner”, there is always risk involved because the process is hard on leather, and, sometimes employees are not as experienced or considerate as they should be.
Keeping a suede jacket nice requires maintenance (besides the same care and storage procedures for all your smooth leather coats.)
- First of all, I generally don't recommend suede because it soils so easily. You have to be very careful with it if you want it to look clean for very long - especially the collar, cuffs, and pocket edges. Also, drips and spots will not wipe off. If you are shopping for suede, go for the dark brown one.
- If you have a suede jacket and it’s pretty new or clean, spray it with a good water repellent or better yet, a waterproofer. (Check the spray on an inside area for colorfastness and that the darkness of the spray evaporates.) A good application of water repellent will, to a degree, seal the pores of the skin and protect the surface fibers, keeping moisture in, and oil and dirt out. Several light coats are better than a heavy one.
- A suede collar will really absorb the oil and moisture from your neck and break down the leather. No matter how clean a person you are, if you wear your coat a great deal, over time the collar is going to get dark and greasy feeling,and thin. People even wear holes in a collar long before the rest of the jacket wore out. Wearing a scarf will make a huge difference!
- Pigsuede can sometimes be spot or small-area self-cleaned to a certain degree. Suede from a cow, lamb, or deer- almost never. (a separate article.)
- Your other option to keep a suede leather jacket looking nice, is to have it cleaned before it gets real dirty. If it’s not heavily soiled when you take it in, the cleaners may not be so drastic with it, because it won’t take so much to get it clean. Just realize that having it cleaned more often will decrease it’s longevity also. But it will look nicer while you have it for a shorter period of time- unless one of the many risks that can happen at the leather dry cleaners happens to you.
- If you take it to a dry cleaners (who will probably send it away) tell them you do not want anyone to put it through a wet process! They may say it is too heavily soiled to clean it otherwise, and that they will add oils back into it. Your choice then, it to have it cleaned to the degree that a dry process will clean (a little less clean), or have it come back much less soft and supple, probably stiff feeling.
- If you take it to the leather dry cleaners, ask them to put their safety pins through the leather in an inconspicuous place, rather than the lining. Otherwise, after it tumbles you could end up with tiny holes in the lining, and these can begin to fray. (A harsh cleaning process itself can be hard on the lining, causing it to wear out quicker.)
- If you don’t want to wear a scarf, and/or you don’t want the expense of cleaning it every time the collar starts to get a ring around it, you can regularly apply water repellent and when it does begin to look or feel unappealing to you, have Leather CARE Specialists replace the collar or put another piece of leather over the area in an aesthetically appealing way.
FYI-
Other than nubuck, all suedes are “splits”. Splits are the lower layers of a hide that has been split into multiple layers. The top layer is called “topgrain.”
Topgrain hides are tougher, stronger, and almost always have a smooth surface. Naturally these hides have protective properties that splits do not.
A split, or a hide coming from below the top layer, will have a suede or suede-like surface. Unless it is one that has been pressed, rolled, etc. These I call brush-finish leathers because it seems like an apt description to me. They don't look or feel like suede, but they still have a fiber-ish feel to them. I always think they feel a little dry, and there's no easy or practical way to moisturize them.
Nubuck looks and feels like the ultimate in suede, but it is really a topgrain. It is produced from the top layer of rawhide that has been buffed to produce a suede surface that feels like velvet. It has a finer nap than suede. It is, of course, very beautiful. And, because it is a topgrain, it’s heavier and stronger. So a nubuck jacket has more body than a suede and feels more wonderful on - suede soft and topgrain substantial. It definitely requires suede care, sometimes even more than splits, because of the finer nap. But if you decide you are willing to go to all the trouble that comes with owning suede, and you can afford it, then invest in nubuck - and enjoy it on special days.
Understanding all of this, you should be able to know what type of cleaning and care will be required for a particular leather jacket or coat.
Send your smooth topgrain leather jackets to Leather CARE Specialists for cleaning, redyeing, and restoration. That's our specialty! For your suedes, we are experts in fixing the tears, replacing zippers, pockets, shortening the sleeves, and relining - but for cleaning you will have to send them to the dry cleaners.
Which reminds me of one more thing.
The cleaners may tell you they can do some of the repairs I mentioned above. Just bear in mind, that even the leather dry cleaners' alterations people spend most of their time working with fabric.
Hope this helps!
Dena
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