Good and bad care products: what really works

Home-remedy recipes

Over our many years of experience, we have heard virtually every variation: whole milk, castor oil, olive oil, Nivea lotion, badger fat, baby cream, wood oil (no joke), shoe polish and so on. Such home remedies have their origins in a different era. Until the 1950s and 1960s, thick, vegetable-tanned saddle and shoe leather predominated. These items were used until they were mechanically worn out: soles worn through, seams torn and surfaces abraded. By the time home remedies could have caused their damaging effects, the item had long since been replaced.

Today’s leather is thinner, softer and tanned differently. It requires specially matched care, not general-purpose household products. The destructive effect of fats and oils that turn rancid in the leather should not be underestimated. Extensive studies exist on the harmful effect of food fats on leather.

Commercial care products

A wide selection of care products is commercially available at many different price points. Many customers tell us that, for fear of choosing the wrong product, they preferred not to use any care product at all. This is of course the wrong approach, because even simpler care products are generally better than no care at all. If in doubt, the effect can always be tested first on a concealed area.

For particularly valuable leather, it is worth choosing higher-quality products. Synthetic oils and fats do not turn rancid, do not provide a breeding ground for bacteria and mould, and often contain UV filters that significantly extend the life of valuable leather. Our products are made on a synthetic basis and tailored to the typical weak points of different leather types. It is no coincidence that many museums use our care products when preserving valuable or historic leather.

The right advice

After many years of developing leather-care products, we have reached the following conclusion: there is no single correct care product for every type of leather. Each type is coloured and sealed differently, subjected to different stresses and exposed to different amounts of sunlight. Some leather is smooth, some suede; some is glossy and some matt. It also matters whether the leather is new or has already been used and previously damaged. Our range has therefore become so extensive because every type and condition of leather has different requirements.

Advice plays a major role in treating leather correctly. There is no one best care product for leather, only the correct care product for a specific type of leather or a specific problem.

Sometimes a problem can be solved with a suitable product. Sometimes treatment in our leather workshop is unavoidable. Sometimes only a saddler can help. Every year, we receive several thousand enquiries from private individuals, garages, furniture stores, restaurants and hotels, building-maintenance companies and public institutions in Switzerland and abroad. Correctly identifying a leather problem is a prerequisite for finding the right solution. We are experts in this field and are pleased with the frequently positive response to our advice.

If you have a question or would like advice, please do not hesitate to contact us.