cleaning leather car seats
 

Mate of mine's just bought a car with cream leather seats. Says he's already noticed that the driver's side is not quite as clean as the others, after barely a couple of months. Dreads to think what it would be like after 5 years.

Any recommendations for cleaning / protection products/techniques?

Thanks

Hi Brendan, been through the works trying to sort mine out, first and best way is to use a product called Saddle Soap- for horses saddles, its v.good and keeps the leather subtle... for persistant stains all websites I have tried recomend professional cleaners or leather re-colourers, this can be very expensive. I have used to very good effect a mild bleach, eg diluted domestos, be very careful how long its left on the seats then once it has removed the stain treat with saddle soap.... worked so far with mine.

Cheers

Rich

Best thing for him to use is a clean white cloth with water. Be wary of any detergent type fluids as depending on which tannery the leather came from the tanning process will be different. For example, he could end up taking the colour out of the leather. Also, tell him to use a decent amount of water and rub the area gently, too much pressure can also cock it right up :)

Be better for him to clean the seats regularly instead of letting the dirty marks build right up.

I know this because I work with leather hides all day long, not making kinky sex gear (mores the pitty), we make leather goods for some posh stores and hotels :)

I can't give you the name of a particular cleaner Brendan, but they usually recommend using warm mild soapy water, not detergent, as being the least damaging. Worth getting some Connolly "Hide Food" as well to keep it in good condition. I find it very good in preserving the leather. I think a Jaguar dealer will stock that.

Les

Best thing for leather seats is a damp cloth with normal hand soap, you dont need much soap either wipe the cloth on the soap and wipe the seat, rinse the cloth in a bowl and repeat, making sure you keep the seat wiped so no soap builds up, as the water becomes soapy just wipe and rinse and dont add any more soap, then wipe witha fresh damp cloth and then dry with a power kitchen towel, dont be afraid to use the water either it wont dampage the seat as long as you don soak it

trust me i'm a test engineer for bentley and we get all manner of oily marks of leather in our test cars

I wouldn't have fabric after seeing the hammer leather takes, i've even got a beige leather couch that i got ink out of doing this.

Enjoy

Many thanks folks :)

Ikea do a cleaning / caring kit for their sofa's for about £8 - recommended on our sofa's, I'm sure you could use it on the car too.

Is it a Merc?

2 options ? Not sure how good they are for the leather.

1. I use soap flakes (with some warm water) on our cream sofa and they work a treat.

2. Baby wipes ... honestly, really :D

Doofus.

Lakeland do a few leather cleaners. They're all highly recommended. :)

Telboy - you seem to have some experience of cleaning leather. Quelle surpise! :p :) ;)

Merely passing on the benefit of years of familiarity. :)

Car leather seats are exposed to a lot more heat and ultra-violet light than home furnature and tend to dry out quicker.

I don't have leather at the moment but have owned a couple of cars with leather. The damp cloth and soap works well and I also found Autoglym Leather Care Cream to be excellent.


Cheers
Lee

tell you what brendan, try Liquid Leather restorer: buy the cleaner and buy the conditioner. costs about £12 for the two.

it's worked wonders on the (cream) leather in my H6 - plus you get the aroma back. you can buy it online at www.liquidleather.com.

treat every 20K miles or so & it'll stay pretty much like new.