Leather finishing is the final stage of leather production. As explained in our blog post on leather finishing, the finish can be aniline, semi-aniline or pigmented.
The purpose of leather finishing
The purposes of leather finishing are :
- Improving the market value of leather
- Surface protection
- Satisfaction of the specifications (colour, touch, gloss, etc.)
Depending on the quality of the leather and the desired end-use properties, the type of finishing will be either transparent, based on dyes, or covering (opaque), based on pigments. Without wishing to oppose these two techniques head-on, one attempts to preserve the particularity of each hide while the other tends to standardize the colours and appearance.
(source ITECH School of Engineering)
The more defects there are on the grain of the leather, the more opaque pigments must be used to mask them. To disperse the pigments, the amount of polymers is increased, so the leather surface loses its natural appearance.
Leather finishing terminology
Once the leather is finished, we can have :
- Full grain aniline leather (also known as natural leather)
- Semi-pigmented full grain leather (or semi-aniline)
- Pigmented full grain leather
- Pigmented grain leather
- A pigmented leather crust with a finish on the flesh (varnish, velvet, etc.)
(source ITECH School of Engineering)
A leather with an aniline finish can therefore only be a full grain leather.
The aniline finish
What is the aniline finish?
The aniline finish consists of applying a light transparent layer, which is thin and does not alter the texture of the leather. This thin film preserves the natural appearance of the leather and all the beauty of this material. This finish is also intended to preserve the particularity of each hide. This thin layer allows the food to penetrate the grain of the leather, giving it a longer life. The pigments that form a covering layer on the grain do not allow the food to penetrate and the maintenance is less effective.
Videos machine for aniline finishing
Aniline leather is the most popular finish because of its natural, warm and authentic look. Only very good quality full grain leathers are usually treated with aniline finish.
In 2019, when we moved to our new premises, we equipped ourselves with a new finishing machine. Watch the video testimonials of Mr Hafid Bourousis - Tannery Projects and our craftsman Alexandre.
Testimony of Mr Hafid Bourousis - Tannery Projects
Read the testimonial of our service provider Tannery Projects who was involved in the supply of our new finishing machine, whose new technologies considerably improve our environmental performance.
Testimony of Alexandre - Craftsman at Radermecker Tannery
Alexandre, who finishes our leather, describes the changes brought about by the new finishing machine installed in our new buildings.
Our saddle leathers with an aniline finish are : Niagara shoulder, Niagara half-back, Angel, Boyoma half-back and Stretched Boyoma.
