Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - polish metal studs on leather couch

I have a pair of black leather couches. They are patten leather (spelling?? - the shiny hard black kind). At the seams all around couch are metal studs. They have tarnished or otherwise lost their finish. How can I change their blackened tarnished look without removing them first or otherwise damaging the surrounding leather?

Also, I have 4 kids and need to clean the couches regularly. what should I be using on them to get rid of hand prints and shoe scuff marks? many things tend to leave noticable streaks or residues.

Peter:

My old friend baking soda should do the trick. Make a paste of baking soda and water and scrub out the studs with an old toothbrush. Won't harm the leather (just don't get too careless) and should brighten them right up.

To maintain their appearnce, swipe some of your wife's clear fingernail polish and apply a thin coat to each one. Brass hardware is typically coated with lacquer (that's what fingernail polish is) to retain the sheen and make cleaning easier.

As far as the care of patent leather is concerned, you might visit Tandy at their website - they supply a lot of leather for craft work and should know what you need.

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George