More leather insights

If you had to replace the leather material during a car restoration, it is quite essential to know what kind of leather was originally used: either coloured on both sides or only one side.

The actual hide became light brown after tanning the leather from its original cow animal skin; it was then painted in the desired colour. From the last century till the 1950s, the hide was shaded on only one side, hence why you could see the light colour appearing after years of tear and wear, giving it a nice patina throughout. Nowadays though, all hides are coloured on both sides.

Using the right leather is certainly very important. Hides are thick and in former days, they were scrapped off from special machines. Few years later, factories were able to cut more hides from the original skin. These were of course flat to allow them to be pressed in a machine and consequently get the distinctive leather pattern.

Quality leather upholstery in automobiles was made from the strong top of the hide. In general, a cow hide is five to six square meter and only the best parts are used. By nature, a cow’s life is mainly defined by labour, which can be reflected by its hide.

Outstandingly Original

From the 1960s, hides coloured on one side were not produced and used anymore, in exception of one car throughout the 1970s, the Citroen SM. During this period, car manufacturer Citroen bought Maserati in Italy. According to the tale, they also discovered a large amount of high quality one-sided painted leather in the factory.

At the Upholstery Department of Bart Holland, we colour hides ourselves. As a result, we are able to get the highest one-sided painted leather quality and use it for appropriate restorations of Citroen SM, and many other classic cars.