Although sunlight has a lot of healing properties, it can also be very damaging to any natural substance that is exposed to a lot of sunlight, such as leather.
The sun's ultraviolet rays act as a natural bleach; they dry out and crack leather, prematurely age it, and fade the leather's color in as little as four to six months of exposure.
Leather is usually a by-product of slaughter. When preparing the leather, it is soaked in various chemicals and solutions to prevent it from decaying. These preservatives are intended to keep the leather alive for a very long time, but if it is depleted prematurely by sunlight or heat, the leather will resume its decomposition.
Indoor furniture
Leather furniture is usually an indoor product, so UV protection is rarely included in the leather's protection. Aniline leather in particular, which lacks a protective finish, is not particularly well prepared for a long stay in front of a sunny window, but becomes sun-bleached very quickly. In sunny rooms, it is a good idea to protect your furniture with blankets or other fabrics, or perhaps even here put solar film on your windows to block the sun's rays.
Please note that darker leather is most sensitive to sun and will fade more quickly than lighter leather. If your leather has faded, it can usually be fixed by re-dying with leather dye. Contact us and we can help with tips and advice. If it is aniline leather, our aniline cleaning and re-dyeing kit can work wonders.
To prevent the leather on your leather furniture from breaking down and fading, a proper cleaning and then a moisturizing treatment with a protective cream about twice a year is of considerable help. For this, we recommend our leather care kit , which contains an effective leather cleaner, as well as a protective cream that contains UV filters.
Leather upholstery in cars
Automotive leather is built to take more abuse than regular leather, as it is exposed to quite a lot: drinks, food, cigarette ash, sweat, dirt and of course the sun's dreaded UV rays. Automotive leather usually has a reinforced protection, with an extra thick layer of paint and finish to avoid stains, which is also treated with UV protection agents that protect some from the effects of the sun.
However, car leather is still leather, and these protectors cannot protect against UV rays forever. It is a good idea to clean and refinish your car leather at least twice a year with a cleaner and then a moisturizing protective cream that contains UV protection. For this purpose, we recommend our leather care kit for car interiors . Another good idea is to put sun protection film on the car windows.
