Resurfacing leather

[handymike]

I am thinking of trying to fix my sofa cushions, but the same principles and processes could potentially be used to repair and restore a leather jacket.

Here’s the situation, we bought an expensive leather sofa from Crate and Barrel a couple of years back. We were told that although the hide scratches easily (it’s supposed to do that...all part of the look ) that it was a good quality leather, and it will last at least 10 years with regular wear.
Well...not the case.
Here is what’s happening to the cushions after 3-4 years:


Needless to say...I’m not pleased. So, I’ve read that one can sand down the surface of the hide and then re-finish it.

Has anyone had any luck trying something like this yet? Any pointers before I have a go at my expensive couch with my palm sander?

 

[jglf]

I don’t think that is a good idea as that leather is probably highly corrected leather that is pretty thin. I wouldn’t even try to sand full grain leather..just condition it. Sofas that use high quality full grain leather will run at least 5-10k.

 

[handymike]

I've already tried the conditioner route (various times), and this is how it ended up....yeah, it was right in that price-range.

 

[Will Zach]

You've been played by C&B. This is bad leather, and resurfacing it will make it worse. We bought a "high end" sofa from SoFa SoGood in NYC 20 yrs ago (not in business anymore), and I specified the thickest cowhide they offered. It was around 5 grand then. The leather aged like a finest jacket... I used Lexol on it every couple of years.

 

[Monitor]

What @Will Zach says. Looks like that heavily sanded leather with thick, baked finish. There's no fixing this, unfortunately. I've seen a few sofas made out of it but it doesn't look bad.

 

[handymike]

 

[navetsea]

I am thinking of trying to fix my sofa cushions, but the same principles and processes could potentially be used to repair and restore a leather jacket.

Here’s the situation, we bought an expensive leather sofa from Crate and Barrel a couple of years back. We were told that although the hide scratches easily (it’s supposed to do that...all part of the look ) that it was a good quality leather, and it will last at least 10 years with regular wear.
Well...not the case.
Here is what’s happening to the cushions after 3-4 years:
View attachment 353572 View attachment 353573 View attachment 353574 View attachment 353575

Needless to say...I’m not pleased. So, I’ve read that one can sand down the surface of the hide and then re-finish it.

Has anyone had any luck trying something like this yet? Any pointers before I have a go at my expensive couch with my palm sander?

that is a finished nubuck I guess, my suggestion is just get leather "final coat cream/ creme" the one applied with sponge or rag, (not the spray on varnish), and then let it sit for awhile, and buff it. even the flesh side of my wristband can get a smooth finish. it also doesn't really change color, so your patina remains. I do this from time to time as needed, only on the chew on part, like the side of my wallet that gets jammed into my pocket, side of the belt that is scratched by the buckle, etc. same with your sofa probably only the part where your pants often scrape it as you scoot or something