Bycast leather is split hide that has an artificial surface applied. Bycast leather is more resistant to dirt and stain uv light and is stronger than other leather products. It doesn't require the special care that Aniline (natural) leather requires. The grain on the Bycast leather is simulated and the leather will have an even thickness. Not as expensive as some other leathers, but a good choice for heavily used furniture.

Bi-cast is created by laminating a sheet of plastic to a split leather hide forming something similar to a leather backed vinyl. Legally it cannot be termed leather because the coating far exceeds the thickness of coating allowed in coated leather (protected or pigmented)

It will benefit from the same care treatment as Protected leather but it cannot be repaired in the same way. The plastic coating is not the same as the pigment coating on Protected leathers. Surface scratching and loss of sheen and color can be dealt with reasonably well but techniques and products for more serious damage have yet to be developed.

Depends on what you paid for it, and how much you like it.

BiCast is in the family or reconstituted leathers. Companies such as Hancock and Moore sell their leather scraps by the pound to processors in China, where the leather is bleached them chemically 'melted' down to be reconstituted into Bicasts.

If you paid a leather price, you certainly should return it or get a price adjustment.

Well i havent had it delivered yet, our house isnt ready until the 30th of may. We paid 1600, but will be 1800.00 with the insurance. Plus 14 percent tax.

The gentleman at the brick says its genuine leather with a thick finishing coat to protect it. From some of the sights ive read, it doesnt sound like this at all. It can be scraps put together then finished with this poly stuff. On the sight i linked, it has a picture of it where it has rubbed off down to a black underlay. This is what worries me.

I love the style of it. I just dont want to make the wrong choice for the future. My last leather couch i bought 16.5 years ago and you wouldnt know it. Its still in awesome shape, you wouldnt even dream it was that old, and its gone thru two dogs, and four kids!

L

If you have a leather couch that is sixteen years old, and still looks almost new, then it's either pigmented/topcoated leather or bicast. The way to tell is to find a place where you can look at the back side of the leather. If the back of the leather looks like rough suede or shows a obvious line when you scratch it with your fingernail, then it is pigmented/top coated. If the back is more or less smooth like linnen, and doesn't leave an obvious scratch mark, then it is bicast. The reason I tell you this is a lot of people have bicast leather products and don't know it. Once you do this test, you will know what kind of leather product you like. You have to be careful though because a lot of times just the front and cushions will be leather and the sides and back will be vinyl. Some other types of leather products are; crust, split, aniline, nubuck, and pull-up. These however, will not look new after sixteen years of use. Bicast is what it is. A very durable product that is less expensive than the others. Let us know what you find out or decide.

Thank you all for your help. I know our current couch is Italian Leather. We picked our color from swatches and we were given the choice of a bicast gloss/wax. That salesman was wonderful in explaining leather and the differant grades. It was a wonderful set. Conditioning it regularly really does help.

I went in and talked with the salesman this am. He stands by this set. He explained to me what wear i will see with it. He said eventually since it has a layer of coating, that, that coating will break down and you will see wrinkles on the bend points. He was quick to point out regular leather does this aswell. Unfortunately i havent been able to see this set as they dont have it on the floor anymore. I remember sitting on it some time ago when we were in the thinking process.

We did go to another store this am aswell. We found another bi cast set. It was in a chocolate brown, i did a scractch test on it. It was more gloss than our set i would say. It did leave a scratch, showing a litter brown.

I am going to take my chances with the first set i posted. I will spend the 200.00 extra for the bumper to bumper insurance. If it cracks, rubs, stains, rips, anything it will be promptly fixed. If it cant be fixed they replace the couch.

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Glad it works for you and that you were able to get an education on real leather vs. bicast.

Honestly, i am thinking about not getting the insurance :P and buying two matching ottomans 2x2 instead. The couch is covered for one year, and i guess i figure if we are going to see any problems we will likely see it in that period. The ottomans are regular 499.00 but i can get them for 130.00 each with the discount.

Wish i had a magic ball. I wish someone would say, dont waste your money on the insurance! its durable. I am just not sure. I go back and forth!

L

Don't waste your money on insurance. There!

I refuse to sell 'insurance' or 'protection plans' in my store. I think its a sham.

I have 20-year-old leather pieces in my home (Hancock and Moore, Bradington-Young) that are still going strong because I take a few minutes each year and maintain them with cleaners and touch-up products. Once every 10 years, I'll re-dye my aniline leathers with a custom dye kit from Stainsafe for $ 80.00 or so.

With a very small effort on your part, you can keep your new pieces looking nice. I'd suggest you buy the ottomans instead.

Thanks again all for helping thru this :). We have decided to not buy the ottomans as they turned out to be very small 2x1.5, disappointing! We also decided not to buy the insurance. There is a one year bumper to bumper so we decided if we were going to see any kind of damage concerns on durability likely we would see some within this time frame. We are going it alone! :)

Heres hoping for the best, and ty all for your help

Lisa

Hello ... I just read your post and realize its been over a year that you've owned this couch. How has it held up? Your response would be very helpful as I'm considering buying a bicast leather chair and have the same worries you originally had.

Thanks, Karen

I am also wondering how your couch held up. Please let us know!

I've been doing some research regarding bycast (also known as bicast or PU) leather, since it seems to be showing up on "leather" furniture more and more. Some people like it because it's very durable. Not surprising, since technically it is a synthetic product.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicast_leather

One of my concerns was the fact that the top layer of polyurethane can peel off! Here's a comment from another web site:

"Within 12 months, the polyurethane coating started 'melting' and peeling  first on one unit, then the other. Possible explanations: body oils breaking down the coating, or sunlight/heat/UV rays (we have southern exposure). When we went back to IKEA, the helpful salesperson told us about the coating, and how it's not meant for full sunlight."

Not all furniture is exposed to direct sunlight, but my sofa does, so I will probably take a pass on this bycast product.

Here is a link that might be useful: Is a bycast leather couch crap, or craptacular!?