JB's little leather test

Junebug

Junebug

JAFO
I found myself with a lot of products for leather/vinyl cleaning and decided on trying a experiment. I wanted to find the best cleaner, cost effective, and safe.
The car - my mom's 20 year old Caddie. I don't know if it's ever been cleaned in the 10 years she's had it.

The products - Woolite 8:1, Majestic Solutions Tidal Wave 8:1, Lexol, 1Z and Meg's Detailers Leather Cleaner/Conditioner.

The test: I cleaned 5 buckets and filled each with the same amount of hot water, 5 clean white terry cloth towels, measureed off and taped 5 sections of the back seat. I used each product in the same manner, sprayed the same amount on the towel, scrubed and rinsed the same number of times.

Results:
Woolite 8:1 was the best cleaner by far. I bumped Tidal Wave to 6:1 and then 4:1 before it could hang with it. Lexol was the soapiest, cleaned ok and would have been acceptable if I hadn't seen how woolite and TW pulled out more dirt. The other two - 1Z and Megs are AIO types and they didn't clean as good. I ended up going over the whole seat again with just Woolite and it cleaned more dirt out of the other sections.

I tried AutoMagics Heavy Duty Cleaner #713 at 5:1, well above what the directions called for but ok per a good friend - Mr. Fermani, it did good, but the woolite did as well, and after wiping over an area on the front seat with #713, I rinsed and tried one swipe with woolite and it pulled more dirt out.
The buckets I used for rinsing all sat for a hour after I was done, the woolite bucket had by far the dirtiest water, Lexol the soapiest, 1Z was murky, Meg's was fairly clean with a film on top, Tidal Wave & AM #713 were dirty, but not as dark as the woolite bucket of water.

After cleaning, the seats were like new, and I didn't feel any sticky residue. Of course I always do about 2 rinse cycles after a scrub with the products. I had Lexol Conditioner and the Zaino version - used both per directions. Zaino was easier to apply and smelled better, but after wiping down the Lexol with a clean dry towel and letting the car sit while I washed the exterior - I couldn't tell the Lexol from the Zaino-looks wise.

Conclusions:
Woolite 8:1 is the best for dirty leather/leathette/vinyl or pleather
Meg's Cleaner and Conditioner smelled good and would be the go to for light cleaning and maintaining
Tidal Wave and AM - since I've used TW as high as full strength on a Jeep's interior that spent too many years topless - I'll use that more on vinyl - plastic. AM - not sure, maybe my next engine cleaner - future test.
1Z - not bad, but pricey
Zaino - love the smell, reserved for the wife's Highlander


I know there are some very well known and respected detailers that will swear that woolite isn't good, will cause harm -yada yada. But, I've spoke to a couple that have used it longer than me, on many more cars and haven't had any issues. Why? I think it's simple, after you get a cess pool like I had to clean up - clean, then you don't need woolite to maintain it, Megs or 1z if you got deep pockets will work. It's like this - M105 will correct your paint 99.9% of the time right? Do you need to use it every 3-4 months ?
- God, I hope not!

Ya'll take care, my old shoulders are aching from cleaning that beast, and I need to relax a bit.

BTW - that was a freebie so I'm wore out and still broke!
 
Thanks JB! Good info... I've always like Woolite/Water for leather cleaning. Gentle yet good cleaning power!

I've used Meg's and Zaino and like both.
 
I've got Megs and Lexol in my arsenal right now and don't like either. Find Lexol leaves my seats feeling "chalky". Leather Masters is the next step pour moi.
 
User Name said:
I've got Megs and Lexol in my arsenal right now and don't like either. Find Lexol leaves my seats feeling "chalky". Leather Masters is the next step pour moi.
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I should clarify. When I stated "Meg's", to be correct, it is Meguiars Rich ALOE Leather Conditioner. Works very well and leaves a satin finish.
 
Hey User Name, Lexol is kinda funny to use, the conditioner works best (for me) if I spray, pray and rub in like sunscreen on my kids' backs. Then, wait a few minutes and wipe down thoroughly with a clean, dry cloth. I have to say that Lexol is not my favorite and will not be replaced when I either use it up. For a pure conditioner, Zaino was good, and I've heard the Duragloss version is very good too - damn, another thing to buy!
 
Here is my take on Woolite

Woolite? - has a number of issues that do not lend themselves to the long-term quality care of leather upholstery and interior components. It's not made for carpets, upholstery fabrics or leather as it contains far too much detergent even at a 60:1 dilution ratio. Using a detergent that is meant to be flush rinsed (i.e. rinsed until it runs clear) in a situation where this is not possible, is not recommended as when it dries it will attract dirt and contribute to re-soiling; it will also dry out the surface due to dried soaps capillary action with moisture.

This product contains alkalis (sodium), which provide foaming, and a solvent (alcohol) as an aid to cleaning; these will further aggravate the drying out process due to their affinity with moisture. They contain optical brighteners (Stilbenes) which are dyes that absorb energy in the UV portion of the spectrum thereby accelerating UV degradation and also tend to dry out the upholstery

But research others opinions and products, test them and then make an objective decision based upon factual information not marketing hype or brand loyalty. I have always thought that the more facts and information you have at hand the easier it is to judge what information you are being given.

After all, how can you fully understand and properly use any product unless you have all the facts?
 
You know, I was at the local grocery store today and guess what - Woolite makes a carpet cleaner now. Golly gee wow . As far as all the bad crap Woolite is supposed to have, I can't for the life of me see how anything can be left behind on the "leather", I thought the experts say coated leather doesn't absorb, whatever - I spray it on an already wet towel and scrub the dirt off then rinse the towel and the leather a couple times. It does not feel the least bit sticky nor can you feel anything but a clean seat. Hell, Lexol is "made" for leather and it was the soapiest, hard to rinse cleaner product I had. It's not like I clean and that's it. I go back with conditioner and work that in. That's the kind of details I do, daily drivers, family SUV's, work trucks and the occasional (gag) mini van.

I want to see if anybody can provide proof using diluted woolite to clean dirty leather (the coated kind) or vinyl or plastic, will cause all the issues some claim. And I don't mean somebody that uses it every weekend on the same car, I don't recommend that, if ya'll will read my posts - I'm advocating using it to clean dirty, nasty interiors and after that just use Megs leather cleaner / conditioner since you can do both steps at once and save time.

Hey, it works for me and several others on different boards, ya'll can try or not, I don't own any stock in it and could care less.
 
My guess is on paper there are some things in woolite and many other substances that are not good for leather long term but woolite should be applied and then wiped clean so for the very little time it is on the leather (especially top coated) it should not do any harm. It is likely removing dirt and sweat that is probably doing harm. I assume people are not bathing their leather like washing a dog. There are just too many people using woolite and you just do not read about woolite horror stories.....
 
Bunky said:
My guess is on paper there are some things in woolite and many other substances that are not good for leather long term but woolite should be applied and then wiped clean so for the very little time it is on the leather (especially top coated) it will probably will not do it much harm. It is likely removing dirt and sweat that is probably doing harm. I assume people are not bathing their leather like washing a dog.
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Exactly... good point. The way I use Woolite is to mix with water in a spray bottle, spray, clean with a sponge, wipe clean with a wet (damp) towel, leaving no Woolite residue.

Then follow with a top quality leather conditioner.
 
Please let say one more time, I'm not advocating using woolite for regular
(weekly)cleaning of LIGHTLY soiled interiors, I'm simply saying for the nasty, neglected ones - it works, and works great.
 
TOGWT said:
Here is my take on Woolite

Woolite? - has a number of issues that do not lend themselves to the long-term quality care of leather upholstery and interior components. It's not made for carpets, upholstery fabrics or leather as it contains far too much detergent even at a 60:1 dilution ratio. Using a detergent that is meant to be flush rinsed (i.e. rinsed until it runs clear) in a situation where this is not possible, is not recommended as when it dries it will attract dirt and contribute to re-soiling; it will also dry out the surface due to dried soaps capillary action with moisture.

This product contains alkalis (sodium), which provide foaming, and a solvent (alcohol) as an aid to cleaning; these will further aggravate the drying out process due to their affinity with moisture. They contain optical brighteners (Stilbenes) which are dyes that absorb energy in the UV portion of the spectrum thereby accelerating UV degradation and also tend to dry out the upholstery

But research others opinions and products, test them and then make an objective decision based upon factual information not marketing hype or brand loyalty. I have always thought that the more facts and information you have at hand the easier it is to judge what information you are being given.

After all, how can you fully understand and properly use any product unless you have all the facts?
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That's good information and very good points that I hadn't thought about before.

What are your thoughts on using the woolite mix on hard plastics like on the doors?

Thanks!

D!
 
Quote,"This product contains alkalis (sodium), which provide foaming, and a solvent (alcohol) as an aid to cleaning; these will further aggravate the drying out process due to their affinity with moisture. They contain optical brighteners (Stilbenes) which are dyes that absorb energy in the UV portion of the spectrum thereby accelerating UV degradation and also tend to dry out the upholstery"

Please share with us where you found this info, I looked for more information on the web and I sure didn't see anything like that. I did see many people on various forums using it - I believe you did too at one time - right? And as far as foaming goes - Lexol cleaner took top honors there.

Quote: "But research others opinions and products, test them and then make an objective decision based upon factual information not marketing hype or brand loyalty. I have always thought that the more facts and information you have at hand the easier it is to judge what information you are being given. "

Sounds good - didn't I just do that?

Quote: "After all, how can you fully understand and properly use any product unless you have all the facts?"
__________________

No one will ever have all the facts - especially in detailing where the number of variables change from car to car. You do the best with what you have,I have a good friend and fellow detailer and we talk products a lot, same product can be great for him and so-so to me.
 
Junebug said:
No one will ever have all the facts - especially in detailing where the number of variables change from car to car. You do the best with what you have,I have a good friend and fellow detailer and we talk products a lot, same product can be great for him and so-so to me.
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You're absolutely right. Mileage varies tremendously between different people/products Jimmy. The bottom line is if something works good for you, then keep going at it. Just make sure that the product at hand is safe for the intended use.
 
Thanks David, will do! And thanks for the tips on Hydro Shine - did a spot repair on a black Jetta and the owner agreed that the rest of the car needed a wash (at least) and I dried it with Hydro Shine - looked good and please note, 2 year old car, daily driver, sits outside, NEVER been waxed!

Brandon bought a quart too - I'll have to check in and see how he likes it.
 
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