Classification of Leather

Finishes
Prepared by
Abu Jor
Assistant Professor, LE, KUET, Khulna-9203
Classification of Leather Finishes
According to finishing effect
According to finishing materials
According to finishing technique
 According to finish effect
1. Aniline Finish
 Transparent coat
 Little or no pigment
 Natural appearance of grain remain visible
 According to finish effect
2. Semi Aniline
 In between Aniline and Opaque finish
 Applying Small amounts of covering pigment in basecoat and
organic dyes at top coat
 According to finish effect
3. Opaque finish
 Contains covering pigments and binders.
 Most commonly used finishing method.
 According to finish effect
4. Crackle Finish
 Light or dark base coat
 then hard coat with contrasting color
 Finally milling to create uneven cracked surface.
 According to finish effect
5. Foil Transfer finish
 By Lamination of different foils like aluminum bronzes,
silver foil, PVC and gold foil and
 Done with a adhesive followed by a heat and pressure
treatment.
 According to finish effect
6. Embossed Finish
 Used for leather which receive an artificial Grain by
Embossing
What is embossed finish?
Leather embossed or printed with a raised pattern either
imitating or resembling the grain pattern of some animal.
 According to finish effect
7. Glaze Finish
Glazing is a finishing technique in which color is added
between coats of clear finishes.
Performed by means of a glazing machine and non-
thermoplastic binders
It can be used to –
 adjust the color of wood,
 darken the pores,
 equalize color in dissimilar woods
 and give a new project the look of an antique.
 According to finishing technique
1. Corrected grain Finish
 A covering polymer finish
 Used for leather which receive grain impregnation after
Buffing
 According to finishing technique
What is full Grain Leather?
Leather bearing the original grain surface as exposed by removal
of the epidermis and with none of the surface removed by buffing,
snuffing or splitting
What is corrected Grain Leather?
Leather bearing the surface of the grain removed by an emery
wheel to delete or “correct” blemishes. Also known as snuffed
grain leather.
 According to finishing technique
2. Spray Finish
 Applied exclusively by spraying; i) Auto spray, ii) Manual
spray

3. Curtain coating Finish

 Applied by Curtain coater
 Used for leather which need a highly covering top coat like
corrected grain or split leathers also good for thin and soft
leather
 According to finishing technique
What is Curtain coating?
Curtain coating is a process that creates an uninterrupted
curtain of fluid that falls onto a substrate.
The substrate is transported on a conveyor belt at a regulated
speed through the curtain to ensure an even coat of the dye.
 According to finish technique
4. Roller coating Finish
 Applied by roller coater
 Efficient finishing method
 According to finishing technique
5. Plate Finish
 Performed by means of a Plating machine
 Used to produce high gloss and smooth films
A finish that is applied to paper/leather by plating;
 According to finishing technique
6. Glaze/Plate Finish
 Combination Finish
 Glazing after the base coat and plating at the top coat
 Used for leathers with a sensitive grain to avoid overloading
with polymer binders
 According to finishing materials
1. Casein finish
 Treatment with non-thermoplastic casein and pigment or
organic dyes
 It is mainly used for glaze/plate finishes.
 According to finishing materials
2. Polymer or binder finish
 Most commonly used type of finish
 Thermoplastic binders (poly-acrylates, butadiene, or vinyl-
chloride copolymers) are used
 It is mainly used for plate finish
 According to finishing materials
3. Nitrocellulose finish
 It is applied to binder base coats in a pigmented or
transparent thin layer

4. Cellulose aceto-butyrate(CAB) finish

 Resistance to yellowing on exposure to light and heat
 According to finish materials
5. Patent finish
 Manufactured by the cold lacquer process
 Patent leathers have a surface coating of PVC or
polyurethane to give a very high gloss finish.
 A mostly transparent, thick polyurethane lacquer coat is
applied to a pigmented polymer binder base coat.
 According to finish materials
5. Patent finish
The treatment is used for high fashion footwear, but has the
disadvantage of reducing the ability of leather to breathe and
release perspiration.
 According to finish materials
6. Water type finishes:
These may be based on pigments, protein binders, such as
casein, shellac, gelatin, egg and blood albumin.
These finishes are mainly used for glazed-finish leathers which
are required to be glazed by glazing machine.
 According to finish materials
7. Solvent-type finishes
 In contrast to water-type finishes solvent based finishes contain
as a binder either polyurethane or (Nitro-cellulose).
 These finishes are dissolved in organic solvents such as butyl-
acetate, cyclo-hexanone, etc.
 These finishes are widely used for finishing upholstery leather,
bag and case leather etc.
 According to finish materials
8. Emulsion-type finishes:
 Emulsion-type finishes consist of emulsion of
nitrocellulose’s or resins.
 Emulsion top coats for upper, garment and glove leather
are gaining wide acceptance.
 According to finish materials
9. Oiling finish
 Oiling is a process whereby leather is –
hand coated (usually by brush or tampon) with either raw
(un-emulsified) oil or a combination of raw oil
 Oiling provides the leather with lubrication and allows it to
flex repeatedly without cracking.