Leather Types

What type of leather do I have and which product is suitable?

If you are confident you know which type of leather you have you can select your product type below.  what type 

ANILINE
SEMI-ANILINE
PIGMENTED
BICAST/PU LEATHER
BONDED

Other distinctions 

ANILINE

It is important to know that a lot of leather being promoted as "Full Aniline" is actually really Semi-Aniline or even Pigmented.

This distinction is important since leather conditioners made for aniline leather have a lot more re-fatting agents than semi-anilne or pigmented leather.  Aniline leathers easily absorb (and need) more natural oils/fats than other types.  If you use an aniline conditioner on semi-aniline or pigmented leather you will often be left with an excess of oils on the surface that do not absorb.

Aniline leather is named after an old type of dye used to colour leather all the way through.  While the aniline type of dye is no longer used, the method used to colour the leather is the same.

Aniline leather will feel very soft and will have a "grip" when you touch it with your hand.  It will also change colour (darken) temporarily if it receives any moisture.

BICAST OR PU LEATHER

PU or Bicast leather (also spelled as bi-cast leather or bycast leather) is a split leather that has been laminated with a polyurethane coating that is embossed to make it look like a top grain leather.  A split leather is simply what is left when the top grain (upper layer) has been separated or "split" from the lower layer.

is a material made with a split leather backing (the "split" is the layer under the main top part of the leather) covered with an embossed layer of polyurethane or vinyl.

PU leather 

BONDED LEATHER

Bonded leather is made by shredding leatherscraps and leather fiber, then mixing it with bondingmaterials. The mixture is next extruded onto a fiber cloth, or paper backing, and the surface is usually embossed with a leather-like texture or grain.