Why Automotive Leather Is Not as Common as You Think It Is
That sound of your skin and clothes mushing against your car seat leather! Followed by that curious smell of it with car accessories; you might have wondered why it felt utopic taking a seat at your car.
Now, if you are a designer and you make automotive leather for a living on a large scale; then you might have faced this question even more.
You see the automotive industry is an industry of its own. It does not have very basic requirements to make its leather seat covers. The leather you see as leather apparel in the leather markets or worn by today’s models has a different use case. The leather used for making car seats comes in a different variety. You do not see clothes or general leather products designed in polyurethane leather, do you?
Let’s Not Be Confused Here!
Okay! It is sometimes a doubt in mainstream customers that leather used in car seats and car upholstery is not natural. These doubts do come to mind when you hear such heavy words about biochemical compounds. No one’s blaming your customers. However, leather used in the automotive industry is mostly natural.
This is because the application of leather as an everyday product is based on the fact that it has a natural use-case scenario.
But, a few kinds of materials such as microfiber synthetic leather are not made from animals. Vegans and eco-friendly communities are going to be extremely happy with this.
However, even if synthetic leather is not natural and is artificially produced in the lab, it might not necessarily be harmful to the environment if you recycle it. Besides, synthetic leather comes in premium qualities just like its natural counterpart and it does help you get that amazing feel of car leather…the signatory one!
So, if you want to get into automotive leather production, then you can and should take note of the materials used these days. Wholesale providers can help you more with this information. However, in this post, we can aim to learn as to why premium quality car leather just feels…well…premium.
Fact 1: It’s Harder
You see automotive leather is meant for more withstanding. It needs to be tough. Think of the flexibility and you have got it with leather. You do not need to worry about it then.
But the thickness will make the difference when you choose your leather. Think of thick; hard; shaggy rags. They are coarse. But minus that coarseness, you get them quite thick and sturdy, right? That’s what your car upholstery leather would feel like. It’s thicker than your jacket’s leather. It’s harder and coarser than your leather pants. And that’s what leather car seat designers would like to call ‘reliable’.
Fact 2: It’s Grainier
Next comes the graininess of the leather. You see the fashion industry will choose to work with fine leather. These leathers are well known for their smoothness. However, they do not have bigger grains. Instead, they have grains that are smaller than what you may find on the leather on the seat cover of your car.
You can identify that the harder and thicker automotive leather comes with larger grains. Therefore, the thing gets more rugged. Although it sounds like that, these grains contribute to that grip yet cushiony feel you so much adore in your car seats.
Fact 3: Automotive Leather Is Called ‘High-Performance’ Leather
Don’t you think that regular stains of coffee or the wear or tear in your leather car seats are going to make you have a hard time accepting them?
True!
As a designer and automobile upholstery designer, this can worry you too.
However, while purchasing leather from a recognized wholesale manufacturer; you might need to check the ones with a ‘high-performance’ standpoint. Leathers such as polyurethane leather passes this test.
High-performance leather can be a little expensive for a customer. However, its price is quite logically made purposeful. The higher the quality of the leather; the more resistant the leather will be to stain; extreme temperature and the conventional wear and tear.
In fact, polyurethane or microfiber leather has been chemically enhanced to perform even better than natural leather in these areas.
Fact 4: Decide What Kind of Finish You Want in Your Car Leather for Designing It
You must keep in mind that automotive car leathers are flexible. Quite naturally, you can add different types of finishes to the leather when it’s meant for ‘automotive’ purposes. In fact, you may make the finish waxy grainy or even slippery for your customers.
You can also dye the leather into the pigment of your choice. That opens up another route for you to be innovative. However, it is better to have a word with your manufacturer about all of this before you make your purchase.
To Conclude
Whether it is polyurethane or microfiber synthetic leather, you must qualify for the test to identify car leathers first. After that, working with them can get as interesting as you want it to be.
