Effect of Isocyanate as Cross-linker to Reduce Delamination of Finished Leather for Automotive Seat Cover

Abstract

This study aims to improve the quality of finished leather for seat covers by knowing the effect of isocyanate as a cross-linker to reduce delamination on the finished leather. Delamination is a condition where the three layers of finish (base coat, medium coat, and top coat) do not stick together, resulting in the lifting of the top coat during the adhesion test. The raw material used in the trial is C60 quality crust dyed cowhide, 1.1 mm to 1.4 mm thick with an area of ± 3 sqft. The stages of the finishing process include semi-finished selection, stacking, spraying (base coat), rest, stacking, roller embossing, rest, milling, stacking, spraying (medium coat, top coat), rest, stacking, laboratory, and measuring. The formulation of the improved seat cover article was carried out by increasing the percentage of cross-linker in the base coat mixture. The production formulation used 2% cross-linker, trial 1 used 3% cross-linker, and trial 2 used 4% cross-linker. The best results are with the addition of 4% cross-linker to reduce delamination and have an adhesion resistance value of 24.5 N. The conclusion is that the greater the addition of cross-linker as much as 4% in the base coat of the article seat cover will reduce delamination, increase thickness from 1.1 mm to 1.2 mm, improve color fastness resistance to a value of 4, and reduce softness value from 3.92 mm to 3.42 mm.