Finishing and Dyeing

Leather receives a surface treatment in the finish to influence its optical and haptic effects. Leather is dyed (Fig. 1–8, step 14) in the wet phase of its production. Nevertheless dyestuffs and pigments are also applied in the finish to adjust or intensify the color of the material (Fig. 1–8, steps 18 and 19). The use of dyestuffs and pigments is primarily done to get a colored product and secondly to create special effects like two-tone, glossy or mat effects and so on. Leather in most cases needs a finish. The finish is used to protect the surface of the leather and to unify the way the different pieces look. Being a natural product leather very often has different grain damages or grain structures which do not allow leather pieces to be easily matched in one article.