Nubuck
Aniline leather sanded to a short nap — and the trade's cleaning method is to sand it again, because the soil is in the fibres rather than on them.
Precautions
- Test on an inconspicuous area first
- Check the manufacturer's instructions
In detail
Nubuck is aniline leather that has been sanded to develop a short nap, which makes it porous and means it will absorb liquids spilled on the surface. Its cleaning instruction is unlike anything else in the catalogue and follows from how it is made: replication of the method of manufacture is described as the best way to clean it. A nubuck cleaning pad is used to buff or lightly sand the surface, which removes the soiled FIBRES themselves. Nothing is dissolved and nothing is lifted off — the marked material is taken away. That reframes what cleaning even means here, and it explains why liquid treatments disappoint: the colour is in fibres that have absorbed it, so removing the colour means removing them. Embossed nubuck is the same leather with a pattern pressed into it and takes the same approach with an ultrafine abrasive pad. Because the surface is porous and unprotected, the guide treats protection as part of care: a barrier treatment prevents immediate absorption of spills, applied first, dried, and the surface then brushed.
Properties
Sensitivity
- Acids
- Not known
- Alkalis
- Recorded
- Chlorine bleach
- Not known
- Heat
- Recorded
- Abrasion
- Sources disagree
- Porous
- Recorded
“Not known” means CleaningHQ has not established this, not that the material is unaffected.
Sources for this page
Sources
Leather Care and Cleaning Guide
The Leather Institute, 2011 · Trade or professional body
Relied on for: That nubuck is aniline leather sanded to a short nap, is porous and absorbs spilled liquids, that replication of the method of manufacture is the best way to clean it, that a pad buffs or lightly sands the surface to remove the soiled fibres, and that a barrier protector is applied first and the surface then brushed. (states this directly)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — General care and cleaning instructions, basic and advanced cleaning technique, and the Suede section. Supports the claim as stated.
Last reviewed by a person on .