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Afternoon All,
I recently purchased a second hand, dark cornflower blue, leather and wooden settee suite. I bought it from 'Bethany' Charity furniture shop.
It's in excellent condition and I'm very happy with it. The lady in the shop suggested I clean or wax it, to "bring it up lovely again".
I've never had a leather settee suite before, and I'm wondering how to go about this? Also, what can I do about the wooden frame, which is very fancy. Unfortuntely I'm not sure what type of wood it is.
I would like give it a new lease of life and "make it my own". I've been looking for a new settee suite, leather preferably for some time now and although I've had a couple of near misses, this one finally "came" to me and although it was a little over my budget, I had such a good feeling about it, I bought it on "blind faith". I takedelivery on Wednesday afternoon. 
If anyone has any tips on how to clean leather upholstery, and what I can do to bring the natural shineout inthe wood, I'd be very grateful to you.
Thanks in advance.
Divine Inspiration! [sm=angel_sm029.gif]
RE: How To Clean a Leather Settee Suite
Hi there,
I buy leather wipes which you can get from most major super markets.
It’s amazing how much muck they shift, dread to think how much dirt my past material ones held. Uch!
For the wooden base I would just use traditional wood polish wax, use baby buds to get into the crevices.
It will soon be sparking and definitely your own.
Glad you got what you wanted in the end.
RE: How To Clean a Leather Settee Suite
I would second what Louisa says, but I just use ordinary wipes and a touch of leather food (to feed it poor thing).
Wood should respond to ordinary polish but if unvarnished there is a great ranges of waxes available for about a fiver.
Good luck.
windy.
RE: How To Clean a Leather Settee Suite
I've never used leather wipes, so can't comment, but would suggest to Divine Inspiration that it would be a good idea to first test on a small area that's not too obvious.
These products are excellent, and should be available from good quality hardware stores, if not supermarkets:
[link= http://www.antiquax.info/ ] http://www.antiquax.info/ [/link]
For cleaning antique wooden furniture, I've used their Furniture Cleaner, which contains solvents. Wax alone won't remove dirt, it just adds another layer on top, but this stuff really does what it says on the tin! 
Leather care is on their Upholstery link.
For intricate carvings, even better than baby buds are cosmetic buds, which Superdrug make. They're similar to the baby ones, but pointy one end and flat the other. Not for cleaning of ears though ... especially not babies!
Holistic
RE: How To Clean a Leather Settee Suite
When we bought our leather suite (which custom made was about £5,000) the woman told us not to bother with the expensive cleaning products she was supposed to sell us. She said they work just as good as baby wipes, so that is all we have ever used since.
RE: How To Clean a Leather Settee Suite
Morning All,
Thanks for all the advice, especially about the flat ended cosmetic buds, good idea!
I think I will try the baby or leather wipes in the first instance, just to see how I get on.
I'm not sure how old the settee suite is, I dont think it's really old, but I'm sure there is a lot of dirt on it, and I'm not sure if the leather has been "fed" or treated in any way, so I'm looking for an inexpensive and easy, yet effective way of caring for it.
Thanks again for your help!
Divine Inspiration [sm=angel_sm029.gif]
RE: How To Clean a Leather Settee Suite
I use baby wipes for greasy marks on polished wooden doors and other furniture etc - worryingly good cleaning power (poor babies bottoms [&:]).
RE: How To Clean a Leather Settee Suite
I get a foam cleaner from Ikea for £6.99
I thought baby wipes would be too greasy... I'll have to try that out later!
RE: How To Clean a Leather Settee Suite
Hope you’re sitting comfortably now.
I use baby wipes for all sorts apart from the sofas, they are wonderful for removing all sorts of stains.
RE: How To Clean a Leather Settee Suite
Some wipes are greasy - for general purpose cleaning, don't use the baby lotion type ones.Several makes, without the lotion, give a more squeaky clean! [&:]
RE: How To Clean a Leather Settee Suite
Hiya,
I used the wipes to get the dirt of then every now and then use auotgleam(if thats how you spell it its in a white bottle from halfords and the like) cream leather polish stuff it keeps it conditioned so it does not brack etc -I use it on my car leather seats too but the lady once told me in shop loads use it on sofas!
Hope this helps
Coop
RE: How To Clean a Leather Settee Suite
Kim and Aggie recommend Saddle Soap for Leather sofas. I have used it years ago on my leather jacket and it really is wonderful. Economical too. For the base I would use Beeswax polish which always brings wood up a treat.
RE: How To Clean a Leather Settee Suite
Morning All,
Where can I buy saddle soap? At the moment I've been using a Leather Shine spray and leather wipes. This cleanses, protects and nourishes the leather.
However, there are a couple of cracks on the settee (it is second hand after all), but I dont think the suite was cared for too well. When I use the spray or wipes, it seems to cover/disguise the cracks somewhat, but after a couple of days, they are visible again. The cracks are basically in the middle of the settee, on/near the seams. Is there anything I can do to prevent them getting worse?
Apart from that, the suite is in excellent condition and I'm enjoying having it in my possession. As for the wooden parts, I will get some Beeswax polish and give the wood a proper treat.
Many thanks!
Divine Inspiration! [sm=angel_sm029.gif]
Excellent Cleaning Info at http://www.designersofas4u.co.uk/help/aftercare.html
Hi Guys,
I was just browsing this forum and remembered that there was some excellent Leather Cleaning Advice at the following URL:
I know its besides the point but i actually ended up purchasing a tub chair off Designer Sofas 4u and again the product was top quality, its really comfy and i love it!!
Take Care,
Charlie