Stahl EleGrade®: superior leather upgrading solutions
For manufacturers of luxury goods, the automotive sector and high-end footwear makers and upholsterers, only the highest leather quality is good enough. As a result, the availability of top A- and B-grade hides remains limited. But here’s the good news: with Stahl EleGrade®, you can turn lower-grade hides into superior leather.
Find out more about our upgrading by downloading the catalog below.
The current economic environment can make meeting these stringent customer demands challenging. Besides demanding top-quality leather, consumers, manufacturers and the industry as a whole are pushing for greater sustainability. Stahl EleGrade® helps you do both: meet the highest quality standards while also improving the environmental footprint of your leather.
How? By using responsible chemistry to mask scars, defects and flaws in the hide to turn great leather into premium leather, and lower grade leather into superior leather. This both increases the hide’s inherent value and improves the saleable yield. By improving the quality of standard leather and increasing the yield from the raw hide, Stahl EleGrade® helps meet demand simply by reducing waste. The entire portfolio complies with the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL).
The Stahl upgrading portfolio comprises three ranges of solutions: Aquabase, for high to medium upgrading, Melio® Ground for medium leather upgrading, and Mirage® for fine to medium upgrading. Each range is designed for a particular application or market requirement.
High-to-medium upgrading with Aquabase
The Aquabase portfolio is ideal for automotive, furniture, shoe and leather goods applications. It creates high-performance, durable leather with a smooth and elegant surface, and can be hand or roller applied.
Medium upgrading with Melio® Ground
Melio® Ground upgrading solutions are perfect for medium upgrading. They create smooth leather with a natural feel and long-lasting elegance that is ideal for robust upholstery, classic leather shoes and other leather goods it. Melio® Ground ensures film formation while sealing the grain of the leather.
Fine-to-medium upgrading from Mirage®
Our Mirage® range is ideal for subtle upgrading in premium garments, soft shoes, and leather goods. Stahl Mirage® comprises pre-base systems and various additives that enhance leather characteristics and increase its material value. The result is a film-formation with less resin and more wax and oils for first-class, smooth leather.
Stahl EleGrade® solutions and their applications
Family | Product | Type | Typical Application | Upgrading Level | Post Operation | Leather type |
Aquabase | Aquabase M-399 | Hand stucco | Spatula | High | Buffing | CG CG CG |
Aquabase EF | Roller stucco | Reverse Roller Coater | Medium | No buffing Polishing Buffing Buffing Plating - Buffing | FG FG CG CG CG | |
High | ||||||
Melio® Ground | Melio® Ground CL | Sealer coat additive | RRC & Spray | Medium | Ironing - | CG CG/FG CG/FG CG/FG CG/FG CG/FG |
Melio® Ground PG.A | Preground | Reverse Roller Coater | Ironing/Embossing | |||
RRC & Spray & Padding | ||||||
Mirage® | Mirage® MA-389 | Sealer coat additive | Spray & Padding | Fine Medium Medium Fine Medium | Ironing/Polishing | FG CG/FG CG/FG FG CG/FG FG FG FG FG |
Polishing Ironing | ||||||
Mirage® MA-77-010 | Hand stucco | Spatula | Medium | Ironing 120°C Polishing | ||
Mirage® MA-77-298 | Sealer coat additive | Spray & Padding | Fine / Medium | Ironing/Polishing |
Meeting all upgrading requirements:
The Stahl EleGrade® portfolio covers all the tanning bases: quality, yield, value, aesthetics and performance. It is also part of the company’s Stahl Neo® collection. In addition to delivering an outstanding result, Stahl EleGrade® products are easy to apply and support all conventional application techniques. They also work well with mechanical operations. The Stahl EleGrade® portfolio offers easy to use, cost-efficient and sustainable leather upgrading solutions that allow you to produce superior leathers in even the most challenging times.
Contact

Joachim Henkmann
Global Marketing - Business Unit Leather Chemicals
Documents & Downloads
Documents & Downloads
Want to know more? Download the relevant documents right here. Please note that authorization is required for Technical Data Sheets. Enter your details, hit submit and once approved we will send your information by email.
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Joachim Henkmann
Global Marketing - Business Unit Leather ChemicalsAre you looking for more information?
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