HOW TO RECOGNIZE REAL LEATHER?

TIPS TO DIFFERENTIATE REAL LEATHER FROM LEATHERETTE

Leatherette is a material developed to recompose the appearance of the latter. Under this definition, we find mainly imitation leather and skai, which is no more or less a trademark registered by a German industrialist.

This fabric is mainly used in areas such as automotive and motorcycle upholstery, shoes, clothing and furniture. And the sofa is no exception. Synthetic material from plastic can also replace it, but plastic is mainly used in the manufacture of clothing. Not to mention other artificial types such as vegan leather, which are often adopted for ethical reasons.

Before embarking on the renovation of a leather sofa, it is advisable to learn to distinguish between the real and the fake (imitation leather and leatherette) to avoid disappointments. The first difference is the smell. Smelling this material with its distinctive and characteristic smell. Some manufacturers even imitate its smell, so be careful.

Hence the importance of appearance, which is noticeable in these small grain shapes. These tiny drawings are not present in the real material, which is explained by the cover of a plastic film. However, like odour, some manufacturers perform well in imitating appearance.

Touch also has a role to play in distinguishing fake leather. The real material is warm to the touch unlike imitation or the German brand, they are cold. The imitation leather is fine and smooth. By bending the material slightly, you will notice that the trace of the fold remains. The real material, on the other hand, is flexible and finds its most natural shape in the world.

Another trick as a means of reference is the resistance of the material. By scratching with your finger, if the part crumbles and a kind of varnish appears on your finger, it means it's fake. Then, the real material is complicated to stitch with a needle opposite the fake. But all too rarely do we have the opportunity to walk around with a needle in our pockets. This is not the case with the lighter.

The sofa can also be tested by fire. Precisely, using a lighter, the experiment proves to be effective by obviously avoiding seams. A hidden area of the sofa is the most appropriate. The real material does not burn unlike imitation or the German brand. They melt on contact with the flame.

Use these few tricks and especially your senses to distinguish between true and false.

If your sofa is not made of leather, know that Sofolk also offers products that will allow you to repair cat scratches on leather or imitation leather!