HELP! Cleaning nasty leather?

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Obsessive1

New member
Well, I am trying to get my business going and for now just going on word of mouth and little flyers until I can go full blown instead of on the side. Guy next to my shop has a couple of semis. I already did his boys 07 2500 HD quad cab and his old chevy pickup (full detail, no polishing). They own a asphalt, stone, nursery business and the dad does some truck driving also. Well he stops me this morning and asks if i'd be interested in cleaning interior of his big red Kenworth. I'm like sure, i'll clean anything. Previous owner smoked in it and he doesn't. It is leather that has been neglected and is dirty and he wants the smoke smell out of it and such. The whole interior is leather. Blinds, curtains everything. Now I need to know what I can use. I don't think my Meguiar's Cleaner/Conditioner will do the trick. I was thinking dilluting some Simple Green, or I have read about Woolite and Magic Eraser. I want to do an awesome job on this. He says he can get me all the semi's I want LOL, noone wants to do them. I had no idea what to charge. We came up with $150 and go from there.

He then later wants me to do the exterior. Polish fuel tanks (aluminum) and such. Does anyone have any experience with detailing exterior of semi's? I saw Wolfgang had some aluminum polishing kits. I will be doing interior first thing in the a.m. so info on the leather interior is appreciated a.s.a.p. This guy knows tons of people and has already gave me business with him and got me his son's truck so this is a door opening for me. Thx. Very much appreciated. Mike.:woohoo:
 
I have done my searching and it seems I am gonna try the Woolite method. 10:1 seems to be the consensus. I look forward to your guys comments and suggestions.
 
I'm using 8:1 and so far so good. I'm looking at getting a little steamer to help out - I picked out the "Shark" sold at Lowes, I've read at least 3 positive reviews on that. After you go full time, you can upgrade to a pro unit.
 
I suggest getting Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner, i personally think its the best on the market from what I used. I used the cleaner on white seats in a Jaguar and just kept on cleaning it over and over again, and every time more dirt came off, then, after cleaning them, every two hours i kept applying the conditioner to soften up the leather, and it eventually restored 99% of the cracks. This was a two or three day process and the customer was more than happy to leave the car with me for that time. You can restore dry and cracked leather, but it just takes time.



Good luck with the business, be patient it just takes time to get known, make sure you dont rush a job. It's better to turn down customers and concentrate on less cars but do a better job. Trust me once they see what quality work you do they dont mind waiting a week or two for a appointment.
 
Yeah i'm gonna have to order some and try it out at a future date. I have to do it in the a.m. and no time to order and wait. I tried some Woolite at an 8:1 ratio on some nasty vinyl interior this evening and it seemed to work pretty good. Hope it works good on the leather. There are all kinds of curtains and such to take down in the semi. Have to do each one of them also. Do I need to use a damp MF afterwards to wipe down after using the Woolite?
 
Using a leather cleaner + steam, I have not been able to beat the results. Plus, it's far safer than taking an APC/degreaser to leather.
 
18:1? That's pretty weak isn't it? Yeah I hope in future to have a steamer and extractor. The wife has a Bissell 2x Pro Heat vacuum w/ an attachment I am gonna try using for now. Anxious to see how it works on the carpets and floor mats.
 
I wanna make sure I got my ratio right. For instance my 8:1 I am using if I got it mixed right is 3oz's of Woolite and 24oz's of water? Correct?
 
I agree with using Lexol, the cleaner works wonders and it is PH balanced. The conditioner makes it soo soft and gives it a natural look.
 
EMAES said:
I agree with using Lexol, the cleaner works wonders and it is PH balanced. The conditioner makes it soo soft and gives it a natural look.
Click to expand...



Wow, I'm surprised someone else mentioned the PH balance, I was going to start talking about it but thought I would sound nuts.
 
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