Full Grain Leather Preparation

Full Grain Leather Preparation Process

Preparation, tanning, and crusting are the three primary phases of the Spassia’s full grain leather preparation process. A surface coating or finish for the leather may be applied in a fourth phase.

PREPARATION:

The animal skin or hide must first be prepared, which may entail some of the following procedures:

• The skin is given a treatment to protect it and briefly render it impervious.
• Then it is cleaned and rehydrated by soaking.
• The next procedure is liming, which involves immersing the object in an alkaline solution to remove proteins, natural fats, and greases.
• Following the removal of subcutaneous materials and fat, the skin’s hair is removed.
• The hide is divided into horizontal layers, resulting in a variety of layers from full grain (the top layer) to the corium layer, which is used to create “genuine” leather and suede.
• In order to further remove proteins and then those chemicals, the skin is limed and delimed. When proteolytic proteins are added, more proteins are eliminated by bating, which also helps to soften the pelt.
• The inside fat of the skin is then physically removed during a subsequent step called slicking.
• The hide is then bleached and pickled, which lowers the pH level to the acidic area to facilitate the penetration of some tanning agents. The hide may then be de-pickled, which raises the pH level to facilitate the penetration of some tanning agents further.

TANNING:

The hide is next tanned, which is a procedure used to transform unprocessed hide into a stable substance that will dry to a flexible shape and resist putrefaction. There are several tanning techniques, and which one is chosen depends on how the leather will be utilized in the end. Chronium is the most typical tanning substance employed.

• The tanning liquor and skins are placed in a drum and allowed to soak while the drums gently revolve.
• The pH levels are gradually raised after an even distribution of penetration has been achieved; this step is known as basification.
• The tanning substance is permanently fixed to the leather through basification.

CRUSTING:

The crusting process involves thinning, re-tanning, and lubricating the thinned-out, tanned skins. The coloring process frequently enters during the crusting process. Drying and softening the skins is the primary goal of crusting.

The leather might also receive a polish or surface coating:

• Oiling
• Brushing
• Padding
• Spraying
• Buffing
• Embossing
• Glazing

If the leather needs a finish, any of these techniques can be done. As an illustration, patent leather could have a very glossy, shining sheen.

Spassia’s full grain leather preparation process is applied on First Wooden Brown and First Spatial Black to enhance it durability. This process doesn’t affect the leather softness and pliability.