When rain drops fall on suede
Suede and porous leather garments made of naked skin or cuir savage skin will
normally show spots when exposed to rain or snow.
On suede, if the rain is clean, the spots are the result of the moisture causing
the nap to mat
down. This garment should be allowed to air dry at room temperature.
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No heat should be used to help it to dry or the skin may be adversely affected.
After the suede is dry, the nap should be brushed using an appropriate suede
brush like the Royaltone block brush.
Suede brushes come in either a nylon bristle for brushing up the suede nap on
soft suedes or a wire bristle combination for brushing up the suede nap on
cowhide and pigskin suedes. Sponge brushes of various densities may also be
used.
Some brushes come in the form of a mitt that fits over the hand to facilitate
brushing. These are normally used to brush up suede nap when the suede is
finished on a form finisher. Brushing will raise the nap that was matted down
by the water. Once this is done, the spots will disappear.
However, if the rain or snow is combined with dirt, brushing may not be enough
to remove the spots on suede garments. In this case, the garments will have to
be leather cleaned.
The worst case occurs when the rain or show contains chemical contaminants which
soak into the skin and damage it by an etching action.
In this case, neither brushing nor cleaning can restore the damaged areas on
suedes and naked leathers.
Surface spotting might remove the damage on suedes by abrasion if the damage is
not too severe. Refinishing with pigmented leather finish or paint can cover
these areas on painted leathers.
The customer should be made aware of the above possibilities when a rain-spotted
garment is brought in for cleaning.
It should be noted that most water spotting problems could be eliminated if the
suede or porous leather were treated with a suede and leather water repellent
like Royalshield before it is worn for the first time. Royalshield is a
repellent protective coating that is sprayed directly onto suede, leather and
cloth trimmed items as a final step to make them resistant to water, soil, and
stains without matting down or stiffening the nap or changing the color, feel
or appearance of the suede or leather. The leather repellent can be applied
from an aerosol can or with a spray gun.
It should be sprayed evenly and generously full strength on any clean dry suede,
leather or cloth trimmed item.
If using an air gun to apply, be sure the air supply is free of moisture and
impurities.
After spraying, allow the leather to air dry thoroughly before contacting any
kind of water or water vapor. Use gallon containers for spraying with an air
gun.
Use aerosol spray cans if an air gun is not available to provide lasting
protection from staining and soiling between each cleaning.
