Leather cleaning?

bob m

bob m

New member
Since most of today`s cars that have a leather interior that is already factory coated, what`s the purpose of using leather care products? The actual coating surely must not allow the leather products to penetrate below that surface. Also, from my undertaking there is little leather in most cars today - even leather seats have only a small percentage of leather and that`s usually on the actual seat bottoms. I`m thinking the only true leather areas usually not coated is the steering wheel and maybe the leather around the gear shifter. So, wouldn`t we be better served by using a good interior cleaner and protector, instead of a leather care product?
 
Out of the all cars that I`ve done, most dd, the leather seats wether coated or not still got leather cleaner and conditioning. Did they need conditioning maybe not, but it definitely helped make them a bit more supple and soft. How I did it was apply the conditioner on with a mf pad and let it sit until I got all the way around the car, then i`ld go back and wipe excess off. More often than not there was non and I ended up putting a second application of conditioner on with same results


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bob m said:
Also, from my undertaking there is little leather in most cars today - even leather seats have only a small percentage of leather and that`s usually on the actual seat bottoms.
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They can`t advertise a car as having leather seats unless they are actually leather. If it is only the seating surface that is leather, it is usually advertised as leather-trimmed.
 
`PRND[S said:
;2108086`]They can`t advertise a car as having leather seats unless they are actually leather. If it is only the seating surface that is leather, it is usually advertised as leather-trimmed.
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While that may be true, its ambiguous at best. Just looked up my 2017 Allroad interior - simply says "leather seating surfaces." Does that mean just the bottom of the seat? Back of the seat - where your back touches? Certainly doesn`t mean the rear part of the seat that faces the passengers. That`s not even the point though. Question is if these areas - wherever they are, are coated, is a leather conditioner either the wrong item to use or are you better off topping with a UV interior protectant?
 
Optimum Leather Protectant (AKA Protectant Plus) was designed from the get go for today`s coated leathers and vinyl so it`s very easy to use on the entire interior. It also includes a mild cleaner. Just spray it on the wipe off with a MF. I`ve been using it on my 07 Passat since new and the leather and vinyl still look like new.

Optimum Protectant Plus, Optimum Leather Protectant
 
On the Audis we have, the seat cushion and the seat back`s cushion (and the part of the arm rests your arm rests on ) are leather.

I`ve found that in many (most?) cases, once coated leather gets worn a bit it does give every indication of benefitting from a Conditioner. Sometimes the apparent improvement is downright dramatic, other times it`s subtle. And yes, on newer leather it sometimes it appears to just sit on the coating and do nothing beneficial at all...but a few years later it`s a different story.

IMO, unless you`re talking about a convertible in AZ or somesuch, the whole UV Protection thing is a non-issue. Little UV penetrates today`s autoglass and interior materials are pretty tough.

Short version: IME most of the time all you need to do regularly is keep leather clean. Dirt harbors more dirt, and dirt causes accelerated wear.

Our Audis: I hardly ever condition the leather in any of our three Audis, though I`ll *sometimes* do it to the `93 if it seems to be drying out/getting stiff. That car`s leather was just a *little* stiff when I got it, after 15 years of *never* having been conditioned/treated/etc. My wife`s `00 A8 has ~160K on it and gets used hard, hauling kids, elderly people, and sometimes even pets (i.e., it transports people/things that can be awfully hard on interior surfaces). Its leather is also fine despite only having been conditioned maybe a half-dozen times since new (and not at all recently, been years). My `01 S8 hardly counts as it`s a garage-queen, but I`ve conditioned its leather maybe three times at most. So while YMMV, I just don`t find my Audis need much of anything, other than being kept clean.

The beater-Tahoe: I hadn`t conditioned its *VERY* worn leather for years, probably haven`t done it properly since I got the thing. I did a real quick slap-dash job of cleaning/conditioning it and it did get softer and more supple. Note this vehicle is used *VERY* hard and hauls big, active, dogs on a near-daily basis.

All those vehicles have "coated leather". Every one of them benefits from the conditioning that "shouldn`t work due to the coating", but to varying degrees and I sure don`t feel the need to do it very often. I hardly *EVER* do anything more than just wipe things down with an Interior QD and maybe treating the S8`s leathe with some Leather Doctor Protectant if I`m in the mood (not like it actually needs it).

(Regulars here will note that I haven`t mentioned my long-neglected, still-mothballed Jag :o )

One thing I will caution about is overdoing the application(s) of Conditioners. When they build up it can be a nasty mess that retains dirt (leading to accelerated wear) and it can happen so gradually that it`s not always obvious. So I`d be a little careful about constant use of Leather AIOs (no, not hating on them at all) and I`d clean any leather before using a conventional Conditioner on it.
 
Thanks All,

Good info - as usual. So, for cleaning - just a slightly damp MF cloth weekly to keep it clean?
 
I have a ml43 mecedes bought recently and the second row seats have a layer of dirt all over the leather. Real bad. Layer below looks good though.
What is the best way (and products to remove this dirt?
Thanks
 
Wbrokow1 said:
I have a ml43 mecedes bought recently and the second row seats have a layer of dirt all over the leather. Real bad. Layer below looks good though.
What is the best way (and products to remove this dirt?
Thanks
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Welcome to Autopia!

You can get kinda involved with this, using a multi-part system from The Leather Doctor (my top choice, but even I will only bother with *that* in the good cars), or keep it pretty simple with a Clean + Protect two-step. I wouldn`t drop all the way down to a single All-In-One one-step since you have lots of dirt.

LOTS of choices, some good/OK/awful and I must have at least a half-dozen choices that work fine...short answer is Leather Masters Strong Cleaner (can be diluted for milder use too) and their Protection Cream.
 
I`m no expert, my method

a bucket with distilled water and a some woolite, just enough for suds
another bucket with only water
mf rags
get a rag wet and wring out
scrub the leather one section at a time, ie, seat btm, back, etc
wipe dry with a mf
rinse wash rag in water bucket, wring out repeat
gets all the crud and old product off, rinse water gets pretty dirty

I do this once or twice a year I follow up with mothers leather cleaner/condition
VERY LITTLE product

for routine maintenance I wipe down with a little 1Z cockpit cleaner
 
Great thanks for the input. I will give it a go

artm3 said:
I`m no expert, my method

a bucket with distilled water and a some woolite, just enough for suds
another bucket with only water
mf rags
get a rag wet and wring out
scrub the leather one section at a time, ie, seat btm, back, etc
wipe dry with a mf
rinse wash rag in water bucket, wring out repeat
gets all the crud and old product off, rinse water gets pretty dirty

I do this once or twice a year I follow up with mothers leather cleaner/condition
VERY LITTLE product

for routine maintenance I wipe down with a little 1Z cockpit cleaner
Click to expand...
 
Also keep in mind that leather should be left a little acidic. Neutral probably isn`t bad, but don`t use some alkaline stuff on it as the last step.
 
If the leather is new just use a wring dampen microfiber. You have to determine what kind of leather the seats are made out of. Is the leather full grain, top grain, reconstructed leather ? The term "Genuine Leather" or "All Leather" is pretty much useless and most likely marketing gimmicks, they can mix bits of leather into vinyl and it can still be classed as "Genuine Leather". If full or top leather is worn or cracking then treat the leather with 100% Neatsfeet oil to keep the leather soft and supple before correcting the coating with a high quality acrylic paint and finish it off with a transparent acrylic vanish.
 
I like
Leatherique for heavy duty restoration
Leather masters medium duty to light
Polish angel Charisma Bella clean all around cleaning
 
My presumably coated leather benefits greatly from products that many say "should not work" because of the coating. "It won`t penetrate"...but it does. "It can`t soften that coated leather"...but it does. The effects are obvious, simply undeniable. Just sayin`....
 
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