G4 Owners with Leather Back beware!

[GibMcFragger]

Quality leather is plush without padding. There are many grades of leather and the leather that LG uses on the G4 (at least on my brown leather G4) is some of the thinnest leather you can use. I imagine it is leather since they can't advertise "real leather" without actually proving that it's real leather but it is leather that has been dyed and processed to death.

Just because something says "real leather" doesn't mean it's only "real leather". It can have all kinds of other chemicals mixed into it. Considering how thin and tight it is, if it were only real leather, it would not look very good for too long and it would probably rip and scratch too easily.

If you have owned any top grain leather products (as opposed to the low grade, "Genuine leather" products), you know right off the bat that this leather is not of the highest quality. I don't mind and frankly, whatever they mixed into the leather is making it hold up pretty well so I'm thinking about getting a black back to see what the difference is other than the grain pattern imprinted on the black leather.
BTW......Anything can be made to smell like leather.

Yea. We can bet they used the "cheapest" leather available. If they used a thicker, higher quality, we would be paying a lot more for it. They advertise it as leather, which it is, but they don't mention that it's .0000000000001mm thick, lol.

 

[Boston Powers]

I have the brown leather back on my G4 and I was sitting out back with my family and we had a fire going. There was a significant amount of smoke in the air and I had my phone outside with me and needless to say, it now smells like firewood smoke. I'm looking at options to get rid of the smokey smell without having to replace the back cover. Please be careful that the same doesn't happen to you if camping or enjoying a fire. If you have any suggestions as to how to remove the smell please let me know. Cheers!

Posted via the Android Central App

Leather will release the smell over time. Trying to get it out or mask it may backfire.

Now I am NOT suggesting this but rather just telling you what I did to my back cover day one: bought a qaulity white candle and a soft terry cloth. I rubbed some candle wax onto the cloth and slowly and gently worked the wax into the leather. It didnt take much (its done right if the surface doesn't feel tacky). Again, I'm not suggesting this but it did the trick for me. Something I learned from a shoemaker.

 

[dungoyle]

Leather will release the smell over time. Trying to get it out or mask it may backfire.

Now I am NOT suggesting this but rather just telling you what I did to my back cover day one: bought a qaulity white candle and a soft terry cloth. I rubbed some candle wax onto the cloth and slowly and gently worked the wax into the leather. It didnt take much (its done right if the surface doesn't feel tacky). Again, I'm not suggesting this but it did the trick for me. Something I learned from a shoemaker.

Interesting

 

[Will6371]

Oh you can definitely tell the difference. I happen to work for BMW, so I can tell the difference between BMW seats a mile away, lol.

I get your point though. My G4 came with the black leather, and it DOESN'T feel like leather. I switched to the brown leather back, and it DOES feel like leather. Either they put some coating on the black to make it last longer (leather doesn't exactly stand up to abuse), or it's synthetic.

I might get the brown to see the difference if I decide to keep the phone but not looking lightly at the minute.

 

[rdt595]

Oh you can definitely tell the difference. I happen to work for BMW, so I can tell the difference between BMW seats a mile away, lol.

I get your point though. My G4 came with the black leather, and it DOESN'T feel like leather. I switched to the brown leather back, and it DOES feel like leather. Either they put some coating on the black to make it last longer (leather doesn't exactly stand up to abuse), or it's synthetic.

I mentioned here a while back that the black leather is heavily coated with acrylic or some kind of protectant and needs to be wiped down with some rubbing alcohol to bring the leather texture out and knock down some of the gloss. Try it.
Also I have completely stripped one down and redyed it and I can say it's real leather despite how thin it may be. No foam padding under it that some had hoped for.

Posted with LG G4 via the Android Central App

 

[GibMcFragger]

I might get the brown to see the difference if I decide to keep the phone but not looking lightly at the minute.

It's a totally different texture. It's still very thin leather though. Unlike the black, there is no coating on it, so the brown wears easily.

 

[Oofa]

If you'd like to remove odors from leather try Obenaufs Leather Conditioner. It has an incredibly wonderful smell of honey and will keep leather water repellent and looking good. I use it on most of my leather products. There are also leather conditioners that smell like leather. Try anything that you would use on leather shoes or jackets that has it's own scent.

 

[JAG21979]

If you'd like to remove odors from leather try Obenaufs Leather Conditioner. It has an incredibly wonderful smell of honey and will keep leather water repellent and looking good. I use it on most of my leather products. There are also leather conditioners that smell like leather. Try anything that you would use on leather shoes or jackets that has it's own scent.

Thanks for the recommendation, I'm definitely going to get a leather conditioner.

Posted via the Android Central App