Leather

Large numbers of motor vehicle users all over the world continue to specify hide upholstery when the option is available,and will gladly pay the extra cost involved for a material which defies complete simulation. Great advances have been made in the development of suitable substitutes,and the best of the plasticized materials are to many people quite undistinguishable by eye from leather. The unique character of leather lies in its microstructure,the like of which is not obtained in any manmade material. Under a microscope leather can be seen to consist of the hairy epidermis and under that the corium,or bulk of the hide,this being the basis of the leather as we know it. By virtue of the millions of minute air spaces between the fibres and bundles of fibres,leather is able to ‘breathe’. To the motorist this means that leather does not get hot and uncomfortable in warm weather or cold and inflexible in winter,and although permeable to water vapour it offers sufficient resistance if it is exposed to normal liquids. It is also strongly resistant to soiling,and when it does get dirty the dirt can usually be removed fairly easily without special materials.
Unlike some plasticized materials,leather does not appear to attract dirt and dust as a result of static electricity. Many people,moreover,regard the distinctive smell of leather as an asset,and this defies imitation by manufacturers of substitute materials.
However,natural hide has to go through many complex processes before it attains the form familiar to the upholsterer trimmer or motorist.