Some of your most prized possessions might be a great pair of shoes or a soft sweater — but nothing compares to that comfy chair you collapse into after a long day at work and say "ahhhhhh" in. A great couch or chair has seen everything from your highest of highs to your lowest of lows, so it's understandable how hard that might be to part with. You expect it to last a lifetime, but as you and your kids age, so does the leather. One scratch turns into two, and soon the leather is cracking in multiple places. When you start noticing serious scratching and discoloration, that usually means it's time to save up for another big purchase.
We've had these banana/caramel-colored leather chairs for about 21 years, and while they haven't stopped being comfy, they have some pretty heavy wear and tear from being in direct sunlight, dog scratch marks and cracking from repeated sitting. We've celebrated everything from high school graduations to New Year's parties on these chairs, so it is understandable why we wouldn't want to just get rid of them.
After a little internet research, I found there is a solution to new furniture that costs under $25, and I get to keep my beloved chairs. The truth is, your leather furniture just needs some TLC, elbow grease and a magical product that basically does the work for you. The Original Leather Recoloring Balm by Furniture Clinic was the answer to turn back the clock on our used and abused leather chairs.
Why I tried the Furniture Clinic Leather Repair Balm
I was first introduced to the leather repair balm because it was one of the best-reviewed products I found in my search query for "leather repair products that work." With thousands of five-star reviews, people praised the product for being easy to use, quick drying, and long-lasting. The before and after images had me doing double-takes because all the photos looked like brand-new furniture after use.
The brand says you can use the balm on all leather products, including chairs, couches, car seats, clothes, shoes, etc. The product works on scratches, cracks and faded/discolored areas. After reading the reviews and watching a few videos on the easy use of the product, I knew it was for me.
How I used the Furniture Clinic Leather Repair Balm
The first step is finding the right color match. Since the chairs were a banana/caramel color, I knew I would most likely need to combine two colors — which the brand advises you to do if you are in between one of the 16 shades. I chose to go for the shades beige and camel, aiming to mix them with three parts beige, and one part camel.
The package arrived with the jars of the balm and there were two small sponges included in the box for coloring your leather. The brand recommends you first clean your leather and then let it completely dry. I used a leather cleaner/conditioner that I already had on hand and a microfiber towel to clean the chairs. I waited about 45 minutes after that before I got to work.
I will admit it is a little daunting knowing you're about to paint leather — you imagine a big mess, but this was really easy to prep and clean up. I knew I wanted to patch-test the beige before I combined the colors first. I dabbed the sponge in and worked in a small circular motion on the chair to see how the beige looked on the chair. After drying for about 15 minutes, I decided the beige alone was way too light and washed the chair out. Now, I am no Picasso, but I am pretty good at color matching, so I got a big bowl and started mixing in three parts beige and one part camel and fully blended them together before I got my sponges ready.
First, I started with the concoction on the deep cracks that were mainly on the corners or edges of the chairs. I made sure to fully coat these areas, working in circles so it did not end up streaky. From there, I worked on the rest of the chair, making sure the paint never looked clumpy. When I was finished, I let it dry for 15 minutes.
The brand says you can do as many coats as you want, knowing that each coat will make it darker, I decided to go for four coats. After letting it dry, you will need to buff the chair with a towel, getting up any extra balm so it does not stain your clothes. And voila, my leather was like new again!
Why I like the leather balm
After the first coat, I was sold on the product and already knew I would be happy with the results. The cracks disappeared before my eyes and the color matches perfectly. With each additional coat, the results got better and better — no more scuff marks.
Once the chairs were fully buffed, I was worried about sitting on them but I finally bit the bullet and sat in the chair in white pants (yes, I know that's crazy!) and got fully comfortable. After sitting for around 30 minutes, I got up and went to look in the mirror — no marks or stains!
I love this balm because it has saved me probably thousands of dollars on furniture and brought my chairs back to life. It's so easy to use and the cleanup is minimal — you only need to clean the sponges. We had two large chairs and applied four coats on each; we still had a ton of the balm left over, so we could reapply when needed.
Six months later, I am looking at the same chairs I used this balm on, and it looks just as good as it did the first day. You can probably do a coat once a year for upkeep.
What to consider
While I waited 15 minutes in between coats of the balm, some reviewers mentioned that they waited a full 24 hours in between coats because they noticed some transfer of the dye onto their buff cloth. These reviewers used the full routine of Furniture Clinic cleaner, balm and conditioner, so that could be the reason for the longer wait times.
I will say before you purchase the balm for your leather make sure you read and acknowledge the color chart included on the Amazon page to see if you need to combine two shades or just do extra coats.
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