FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. How can I remove wrinkles from my leather jacket?
A. Unless the wrinkles are a design feature, you can use a low-temperature dry hand iron. Never use steam. Place cotton fabric between the iron and garment and constantly move the iron to avoid overheating the leather. Too much heat will cause discoloration and damage to suede and leather.
Q. Can I have my suede jacket dry cleaned?
A. No. Suede and leather require special expertise for proper care. The best way to keep your suede jacket looking like velvet is to brush it lightly – and regularly. Suede and leather need to be reconditioned periodically to ensure that they don’t fade, and that surface cracks don’t develop on finished leather due to dryness.
Q. My leather jacket is stained (by salad dressing, yellow mustard, blood, urine, ink, wine, wine sauce, grease, perspiration). Can it be saved?
A. Yes. In many cases, even a badly stained leather or suede garment can be saved, but the remedy for each one is usually different. There are many variables when you factor in the cause of the stain with the different types of leather. Most manufacturers recommend that leather garments be cleaned by professional leather cleaning methods. This ensures that the stain will be treated properly, and that the suppleness, color and finish of the garment are maintained or restored. L.A. Leather cleaners is an industry leader and trusted resource for the restoration and care of leather goods.
Q. I recently went to a bussines meeting wearing my leather jacket, and before I knew it, I was wearing an adhesive-backed name badge. When I tried to remove it, that area of my jacket lost its finish and I’m really upset. Can you help?
A. This is a problem that we see frequently. Send the garment to us and we will remove the adhesive and lightly refinish the blemished area. In worst case situations, if the leather was severely damaged when the label was peeled off, we could replace the entire damaged panel.
Q. I had my leather jacket cleaned by my neighborhood dry cleaners. The color changed. Is this normal?
A. It is hard to coment about your leather jacket before we see it, but most dry cleaners around town are not equipped for specialty cleaning in their own facilities, They usually send them to leather cleaners like us. Leather is a natural product and you can never determine exactly how it will react to the cleaning process. A recommended leather cleaner will clean the garment and then restore the essential oils that were lost during the procedure. Since the cleaner can never exactly match the method, that was originally used when your garment was created, the result will sometimes be a slight change in color or texture. For this reason it is important to clean matching garments at the same time.
Q. Can you remove paint spilled on my leather jacket?
A. There are many variables in removing paint from a leather garment; for example, is it grain leather, nubuck or suede? Is the paint oil based, or water based? We have had quite a bit of experience with paint on leather and we have developed many different methods for paint removal. But our success on your particular garment will depend on what type and how much or how heavy the paint is and on what type of skin. When you send in your garment, it will be helpful if you enclose a note telling us the type of paint that caused the damage.
Q: I have a white rabbit and acrylic knit sweater jacket that I would like to send for cleaning, the care instructions say, “Do not wash. Do not dry-clean. Clean by specialist method only.” Do you foresee any problems with cleaning it?
A. Your garment is a specialty item and we can probably clean it. Usually this is a difficult combination for cleaning and most leather cleaners are afraid to work on them, but here at L.A. Leather cleaners, we handle many difficult problems. As long as the rabbit fur is in good condition (age) we can professionally clean it.
Q. Is there anything I can do to remove ink from a suede garment at home ?
A. Ink on a suede garment is a difficult stain to remove, even for an experienced suede cleaner. Dyes on suede and leather garments are not as colorfast as one would desire. Often it is necessary to remove some dye along with the ink then replace the dye. This is a difficult process depending on the color of the suede. Be sure to ask your leather cleaner what they plan to do before entrusting them with the item. If this is a particularlly special piece I would recommend shipping the item to us so that we may professionally care for your item.
