By Juan C. Ayllon EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was first published in January 2018 at my original website, www.ayllonmedia.com. Three years ago, my wife, Belle, and I moved into our beloved, custom-built, Mid Century Modern ranch house. We were enthralled, as were my adult step children. However, it wasn’t long before they began teasing us about our our living room furniture. Bele had bought the leather couch, loveseat, overstuffed chair and ottoman set at Thomasville in the North Shore for roughly $12,000 some 20 years ago and, despite their timeless charm, their surfaces were marred with cracks, chipping and stains. We discussed replacing them but soon realized that it would be very expensive. Besides, our couches had great lines and were still structurally sound. We decided to research firms that specialized in restoring leather furniture. The owners of one highly recommended local company examined the furniture, confirmed the quality of our seating and proudly announced that they could do the job for a mere $1,800. Despite their claims that this was a very reasonable investment versus paying over $10,000 for replacement, this was more than we were willing to spend. Eighteen hundred dollars? We were hoping get it done for $400 or so. “How hard can it be to do it ourselves?” Belle asked as she looked into leather restoration kits online. After viewing instructional videos by a well-reviewed company called Furniture Clinic, we contacted them. They asked for photos of our furniture, as well as a sample of the material. Finding a swatch of leather under a cushion of our loveseat, we submitted a clipping, along with some photos. Excited, I told a friend at work about the savings we were about to experience. He laughed, adding that after we’d fail, we’d still have to pay someone else to refinish it. Although Belle and I had never done something like this, we were confident that he’d be proven wrong. A few weeks later in November, our kit arrived. We were impressed. We had ordered the Extra Large Leather Colorant Kit for $189.95 and the Leather Care Kit for $29.95; the color match fee was waived (it’s free when an Extra Large Kit is purchased and runs $14.95 when any other size kit is purchased). For the cost of $220, the contents included:
We were impressed and excited to see the results. The Process To remove the original finish, the instructions read that the stripper needs to be applied in a well-ventilated area. It definitely was strong, so donning the rubber gloves while I was away at work, Belle applied it on our seat cushions with a sponge in our screened-in Florida room, let them dry for an hour, and repeated the process a second time. scrubbed them with an abrasive sponge. As their surfaces were pretty cracked, she used Grade 1 sandpaper to remove the cracking. She wiped it with alcohol, let it dry for another hour, and then applied the leather dye in a circular motion with a provided smoother sponge. “They recommend two applications of the color, but I felt one was sufficient,” Belle says. “And at first it may look a little uneven, but then when you do the airbrush application, the color completely evens-out.” She did this over a period of several days. Since we could not carry our couch, loveseat and chair out onto the porch, Belle treated them with all the windows open and a drop cloth underneath the furniture to protect our hardwood floors. Over the course of two evenings, I helped with the color spraying application, Keeping the roughly six to eight inches away, we sprayed in even strokes. This process was tricky at times. It took a few minutes to get spray nozzle properly adjusted, twisting it to the right aperture. Also, keeping the hole unplugged in the airbrush and feeder tube was challenging. Every few minutes, we’d have to stop, unscrew the nozzle, and clear out the passage with a pin they provided. Also, the aerosol can would freeze over, so exercising her creativity, Belle microwaved a towel for a minute and wrapped it around the can to prevent it from freezing up. Also, periodically, she’d give it a gentle shake (“If you shake it too much, you’ll cause it to sputter when spraying,” she warned). We waited an hour for the color to dry before applying a second coat. Several days later, Belle sprayed on two coats of sealer, waiting an hour between applications. “They sent a semi-gloss sealant and it looked really nice.” Now, to firm up back cushions that were sagging, we purchased three 24” x 82” three inch thick foam cushions from Textile Discount Outlet in Chicago (they can be reached at (773) 847-0572 or found at http://www.textilediscountoutlet.com ) at $43.50 each plus shipping, saving us money versus bigger name fabric stores. I traced the back of the back cushions onto the foam with a ballpoint pen, darkened the tracing with a marker, cut along the lines with scissors, and stuffed the foam carefully in the rear of the back cushions. As per instructions, we did not use the furniture for seven days. Then, on the seventh day, Belle applied the leather moisturizer (which the recommend to do every three months). And, like that, we were done! Now, we spread out the process over several weeks, but we feel that if pressed for time, we could have completed it in several days. The Afterglow
My buddy was wrong. The beautiful end result was astonishing. As Belle put it, “When the kids came over for Christmas several weeks later, everyone agreed that the leather was restored back to looking almost brand new.” They were stunned. Hands down, we rate Furniture Clinic a five out of five stars for a superior product. With a little effort, we have saved over $1,400 -- which, these days, is no small thing -- and we have a living room we are once again proud to show off. Furniture Clinic www.furnitureclinic.com Sales Helpline: (866) 931- 8095 Furniture Clinic 23 West Mall Plainview NY 11803 NOTE: This review also appeared in the Barrington, Illinois edition of 'The Patch' here.
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