Pigmented leather
Pigmented leather is rarely good quality leather. There is no point in using full grain or top grain leather when it is covered with a layer of coloured polyurethane and varnished on top. In fact, often, the coating is stronger than the leather underneath. The leather could be either split leather where the top smooth layer has been split away or bonded leather which is leather particles bonded together with special glue. This doesn’t mean that pigmented leather furniture can’t be beautiful. Leather coatings are becoming more and more sophisticated, pretty good actually and colour possibilities cover the entire spectrum. But it does mean that with time, the furniture is likely to deteriorate unlike aniline leather furniture which gets even more beautiful with age. Good care, however, can prolong the life of pigmented leather.
Cleaning pigmented leather items.
You can be brave here and use tap water for wiping (aniline and semi aniline leather should be washed using rain or distilled water). We recommend that you use a cleaner like our Chambers leather cleaner because it is not highly alkaline like conventional cleaners, it doesn’t contain solvents and it smells lemony lovely fresh. It also cleans pigmented leather easily, without much rubbing and light colours come out particularly well. For frequent cleaning we recommend a water based conditioner like our Chambers leather cleansing cream. These will gently cleanse the surface of pigmented leather and will help keep the top coating from cracking. Using a heavier leather every conditioner like the Chambers leather balsam every year or so can also be beneficial to seal minute cracks in the top coating and reduce friction.