Seven different chemical cleaning methods that are used to remove iron staining from wet archaeological leather were investigated to determine the nature and extent of any changes they might cause to the leather substrate. In order to ensure a sufficient and consistent sample for analysis, modern vegetable tanned leather was chosen as a test material. The analytical methods used were the Society of Leather Chemists' Chemical Analysis of Leather, a set of standard analyses used in industry to evaluate the condition of vegetable tanned leather. Results indicated that the running water pretreatment stage caused extensive changes in the leather and that, for the most part, chemical cleaning methods were not more damaging than the water alone. Advantages and disadvantages of the use of modern sample material and the particular analytical approach used are discussed.