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jerry_nj

Leather - cleaning with 'solvent'?

jerry_nj
15 years ago

I have a near new couch that is a good quality leather, and somehow something, I know not what, go on to two cushions. It is just on the seam bead, and at first looked like a leather failure, i.e., like I could see the rough, like the top finished surface had failed. It has a "splash" look.

I have no idea what it is, I'm almost sure it wasn't delivered that way.

I tried to clean off with soap and water, even used the rough side of a kitchen sponge, didn't even "dent" the area. Then I carefully tried a cloth dampened with "goof off" or whatever the stuff is called that's supposed to even remove dry latex paint. Didn't do anything. Tried "Goop" hand cleaner, the stuff that mechanics use to clean greasy hands. It didn't work either. I'd like to try paint thinner, turpentine, or the like.

Suggestions, warnings welcome.

Comments (2)

  • socks
    15 years ago

    You might try a product designed to clean and treat leather. Try an auto parts store as they might sell something put on leather car seats which would also work for furniture. Or you might try Bed, Bath & BEyond as they do have some cleaning supplies. You want a good quality product.

    I treat my leather chair about once a year with leather cleaner.

    I would not continue to try different products as you might
    set the stain or make it worse. Sorry this happened to you.

    I know how you feel about nearly new furniture when it gets damaged. The cat just clawed the back of my new sofa. Nothin' in a bottle is going to fix that.

    Good luck.

  • jerry_nj
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    socks12345
    Thanks, my problem with buying a quality leather cleaner is the problem is not "dirt". I have no idea what it is, but it appears to be a splatter of something that hit right between two cushions. It landed right on the "bead" that holds to top/bottom/sides together. It isn't real obvious, in fact I think it has been there for a few days and wasn't noticed. In fact when I saw it couldn't just be wiped off with a damp sponge, I thought maybe it was delivered that way, a factory problem.

    It looks like I could even take some dark brown shoe polish and with a "Q" tip paint over it. In fact it looks a little bit like a scuff through the leather topcoat and dye, but looking with a magnifying I think I can see the problem is on top off, not under, the adjacent topcoat.

    But, it would be better to somehow clean it off. I did see on a search of this forum a discussion on getting finger nail polish off of leather, and the advice was to use a non-acetone nail polish remover. So, my solvent idea. Guess I could test a small area on the back side with a solvent to see what it does to the leather/color/finish.