A leather finishing process in which, in pertinent part, a warm water milling step is added after the base coat is applied to "crust" leather and cured. The warm water contains at least one dye fixation agent including but not limited to about 0.1-2.0% by weight of formic acid. Moreover, the base coat itself is an aqueous base coat containing at least two polymers such as an acrylic salt or a polyurethane salt. Between the polymeric constituents of the base coat, the acid fixation agent, and the use of the warm water milling step after the base coat has been applied and dried, a surprisingly natural feel to the leather is attained without loss of excellent adhesion, wear-resistance and other properties when the leather is completely finished.