Vaumol

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Vaumol (abbreviated 'VM') is a trademark name for a method of colouring leather hide used by Connolly Leather until the mid-1980s.[1] It was used chiefly for manufacturing leather upholstery for high class British automobiles of the era such as Rolls-Royce and Daimler.

Vaumol used a two layer colour coat consisting of a first layer of cellulose based colour spread over the stretched hide, followed by a second layer applied with a spraygun. Vaumol had a distinctive aroma as a result of the organic compound used in the tanning process, which was "a cocktail of extracts from mimosa bark, quebracho wood and myrobalan (Terminalia chebula), an Indian nut".[2]

Environmental considerations meant that it was supplanted in 1985 by a half water based process until about 1994, when it switched to a fully water based process. Post Vaumol leathers produced by Connolly are considered by some experts to be of inferior quality.[3]

An identifying feature of Vaumol is that it has two colours; the main colour and black. The black colour can be seen in the pores of the grain, which is sometimes mistaken for dirt trapped in the grain.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Leather, woodwork and tinted windows". Swammelstein Rolls-Royce. Archived from the original on 4 March 2007. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  2. ^ Connolly Leather, company brochure (1984)
  3. ^ Brown, Scott (13 August 2001). "RE: Connolly Leather". www.mail-archive.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2021.