Deposition of polymers into leather

Claim 1

IN A METHOD OF IMPREGNATING LEATHER TO DEPOSIT WITHIN THE INTERFIBER SPACE THEREIN SUFFICIENT ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL TO INCREASE SUBSTANTIALLY THE WATER RESISTANCE OF SAID LEATHER WITHOUT, HOWEVER, DECREASING THE WATER VAPOR PERMEABILITY THEREOF TO AN OBJECTIONABLE DEGREE, THE STEPS WHICH COMPRISES ADJUSTING THE PH OF THE TANNED LEATHER TO WITHIN THE RANGE OF ABOUT 3 TO ABOUT 5.5, PRECONDITIONING SAID LEATHER BY DEPOSITING THEREIN SEVERAL PER CENT, BY WEIGHT, OF AT LEAST ONE MEMBER SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF SULFATE AND SULFONATED ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE OILS, WASHING SAID LEATHER IN WATER, DRAINING OFF THE WASH WATER, ROLLING THE LEATHER WHILE WET AND MAINTAINING IT ROLLED FOR AT LEAST 24 HOURS, THEN TUMBLING SAID LEATHER WHILE WARM WITH A WARM EMULSION CONTAINING, BY WEIGHT, FROM ABOUT 2% TO 5% OF A POLYMERIZED ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL, FROM ABOUT 90% TO 95% OF WATER, FROM ABOUT 3% TO 5% OF A VOLATILE WATER-IMMISCIBLE PREDOMINATELY NON-POLAR ORGANIC SOLVENT, FROM 0% TO 1.5% OF A PLASTICIZER, AND FROM ABOUT 0.4% TO 0.7% OF AN EMULSIFIER, SAID EMULSION CONTAINING FROM ABOUT 2% TO ABOUT 5%, BY WEIGHT, OF SOLIDS AND HAVING A PH BETWEEN ABOUT 6.5 AND 8.5, THE LEATHER BEING TUMBLED UNTIL THE EMULSION IS SUBSTANTIALLY EXHAUSTED OF DEPOSITABLE SOLIDS, AND THEN DRYING SAID IMPREGNATED LEATHER.