Stahl

Customised leather finishing

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Stahl offers versatile leather finishing solutions that help manufacturers ensure safety and reduce their environmental impact. Our chemicals support a variety of needs – from leather upgrading to color finishing. And with our technicians close at hand, we can formulate custom finishing systems to your requirements.

Stahl’s leather finishing portfolio helps leather manufacturers achieve a range of high-quality finishes in a safe and responsible way. Our chemicals meet international safety and environmental requirements, including the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL). Many of our leather finishing solutions are included in our low-impact Stahl Neo® portfolio.

Leather finishing process

After the leather production process, the leather is treated with coatings and upgrading solutions to change, improve, or develop its appearance or characteristics. This process is called leather finishing. The first step is to apply upgrading solutions that cover grain defects, using stucco. Next, the basecoat – which forms the base for the leather design – is applied. Finally, the leathers are finished with a topcoat to support the manufacturer’s visual and physical specifications. The final coloring is also applied to the topcoat, which levels the color of the leather. With specific topcoats, you can also create matt or gloss surfaces.

Leather finishing solutions

We offer a variety of finishing solutions that support the production of multiple types of leather.
Discover our finishing solutions in the overview below:

  • Leather preparation

  • Leather enhancement

  • Leather protection

  • Color finishing

  • System solutions

Leather preparation

Create high-performance bases, sealers, and topcoats with our leather preparation portfolio, which includes oils and waxes, auxiliaries, protein binders, dullers, fillers, or hand modifiers.

Sustainability

Stahl awarded EcoVadis Platinum medal for fifth consecutive year

Stahl, a global provider of speciality coatings for flexible materials, proudly announces that it has once again been awarded the Platinum rating by EcoVadis for its sustainability performance.

Stahl's 2025 ESG Report presents further progress and sharpened strategic focus

Waalwijk, the Netherlands, 21 April 2026 – Stahl, a global provider of speciality coatings for flexible materials, has published its 2025 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report. The report outlines Stahl's recent progress on its ESG Roadmap to 2030 and the steps the company is taking to live its purpose: Touching lives, for a better world.

Stahl launches Syncros™: A new generation of sustainable crosslinkers for leather finishing

Stahl proudly introduces Syncros™, a novel generation of hyperfunctional carbodiimide crosslinkers designed to bring high performance and sustainability to leather finishing.

Services

Discover the Stahl Design Studio

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