Porous leather
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Porous leather - Open pored leather
In the cleaning and care of leather, but also in the sensitivity of leathers, there is always a distinction between porous and leather finished with a protective layer. Porous leather is sensitive leather. Liquids can penetrate and cause permanent stains.
The test is simple. Rub a drop of water with your finger in an unseen area on the leather. If the drop penetrates into the leather, it is porous. In most cases, this area becomes darker. If the drop runs of, it is not porous.
It is similar in wood. Unpainted wood is open-pored and liquids are drawn in and lacquered wooden surfaces are protected against the ingress of liquids through the varnish.
The firest picture shows a drop of water on a pigmented cow hide. The drop does not enter. The other pictures show a drop of water entering porous smooth leather.
Nubuck - Suede
Nubuck and suede leather have a more or less fine haired sanded surface and behave comparable with textiles. Such surfaces are always porous.
Nubuck leather has a finer pile and suede leather has a coarser pile.
Porous smooth leather
Zu den offenporigen Ledern gehören die offenporigen Glattleder sowie alle Raulederarten. Die offenporigen Glattleder sind mit den Möglichkeiten des Schutzes bei Holz vergleichbar. Ist ein Holz unlackiert, ist es fleckenempfindlich. Hat es einen Schutzlack, dringt Feuchtigkeit nicht so schnell ein. Bei Glattledern ist es genauso. Hat es einen Oberflächenschutz, ist das Leder unempfindlicher, aber nicht mehr offenporig. Je nach Offenporigkeit ist auch die Atmungsaktivität des Leders unterschiedlich stark. Mit einer Folie beschichtete Leder - dazu gehören i. d. R. auch die Lackleder - sind nicht offenporig.
Mikroskopische Aufnahme der Oberfläche eines Anilinleders. Deutlich sind die offenen Poren der Haut erkennbar, die nicht durch eine Farbschicht geschützt werden.
Strongly pigmented leather.
Video about testing the pourosity of smooth leather.
Partially porous smooth leather
There are leather types such as semi-aniline leather or oiled, waxed and greased leather, where the pourosity differs. Only the cautious rub test (to avoid stains) in an unseen area helps to check whether the leather is porous or not. If moisture penetrates, caution is advised in daily handling as well as during cleaning and care.
The sensitivity of the lightly finished semi-aniline leather must be carefully tested.
Pull up leather, greased leather, waxed leather and oiled leather is more or less open-pored.
Additional information