Leather brush?

B

BlkSapphire

New member
I have some moderately grimy leather and a cleaner (Zaino's) that recommends working it in with a soft brush to foam it up, then wiping down.



What kind of brush do you guys like to use?
 
I don't think I've ever in my entire life taken any sort of brush to leather.. That would scare the crap outta me and I'm usually a more aggressive approch detailer than most on here. If you do take a brush to leather take the softest bristles you can find. (maybe a baby's brush or something) And I know Zanio's a good line up of product but I'd be a little leary about any product that tells me to "take brush to leather" Maybe I'm on my own here but there are much better ways to clean leather.
 
Jakerooni said:
I don't think I've ever in my entire life taken any sort of brush to leather.. That would scare the crap outta me and I'm usually a more aggressive approch detailer than most on here.
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I was actually a little stressed out about it so I tried with just the cleaner and a terrycloth rag but it didn't really get it done, the rag absorbed the cleaner before it had a chance to really get at all the grime. I will see about a pedicure brush, that sounds stiff.
 
Thanks man, that helps. Says here the 'tampico' brush is made from agave cactus bristles, that is the same stuff that tequila comes from. I guess I need that because I sure drink a lot of tequila.
 
Be careful not to apply too much pressure when cleaning leather. Even with a microfiber towell you can remove the outer coating. Just a heads up!
 
I think a MF towel works well enough. Never tried a brush. I only use a brush on tires and carpets. Not the same one though :)
 
i use medium and hard brushes on modern leather seats quite often (in combination with apc), never had any problems. of course, you will have to cover the leather with leather conditioner after drying out.



i wouldn't do that on cars older than about 20 years, especially if the leather is already broken. But on a healthy leather i do not see a problem.



i got the leather seats in my own car from a wreck. driver's door was taken apart, co-driver's door stoof half open, car stood there for 2 years in summer and winter, rain and sun. (oily) engine parts from the car lying on the rear seats. Hell on Earth for car enthusiasts, but got them really cheap. I can not imagine you can clean seats in this condition just with a microfibre towel. i am happy with this seats now. does not seem the surface is hurt in any other way that it was before (some scratches).
 
Brushes are perfectly safe to use on leather as long as the finish is intact. Heavy scrubbing should be avoided and the brush should simply be used to help the product to lift the dirt form the grain pattern. The brush needs to be afairly stiff one for this purpose otherwise the bristles simply bend on the surface. Horse hair and tampico brushes tend to be far too soft for this purpose.

Any leather that has loose finish will be a problem whatever you use and microfibre cloths should be avoided as they will find any loose finish and cause a problem.

In leather cleaning the product should be doing the work and you should not be attempting to scrub the leather. A good fosm leather cleaner (designed for the purpose) will remove the dirt that is removable, always remember that it is not always dirt and a dirty appearance can be casued by micro cracking of the pigment (this can never be 'cleaned') and this will only be seen with a pocket microscope (30-40x). Excessive scrubbing of this type of damage will lead to addtional problems.

Leather 'conditioners' are unnecessary as they cannot penetrate the finishes on modern leather (water in water based products does the conditioning on modern leathers) and in some instances they could lead to other problems when they are left sitting on the surface to attract more dirt (the one thing you are trying to avoid).

Do your leather a favour and use a good quality protector and keep it cleaned little and often with a maintenance product (far more effective than piling on products). The whole thing should only take a short amount of time (not 6 hours+) and will keep your leather in good condition

Hope this helps
 
judyb said:
A good fosm leather cleaner (designed for the purpose) will remove the dirt that is removable ...
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Which products do You recommend? I've tried Lexol Leather Cleaner, and strong leather Cleaner from Colourlock, but both left dirt and grime, so i always had to clean them once again with apc (1:10 upt to 1:4) to get the remains off the seats. Yes, i did consider the mixing instructions and worked them the same way as the apc.



judyb said:
Leather 'conditioners' are unnecessary as they cannot penetrate the finishes on modern leather (water in water based products does the conditioning on modern leathers) and in some instances they could lead to other problems when they are left sitting on the surface to attract more dirt (the one thing you are trying to avoid).
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Perhaps i mixed up the words conditioner and protector. I just use a care product to 'seal' the surface, which makes the leather feel softer and protects the leather from dirt. some kind of lsp.

does conditioner mean anything else?
 
judyb said:
Brushes are perfectly safe to use on leather as long as the finish is intact. Heavy scrubbing should be avoided and the brush should simply be used to help the product to lift the dirt form the grain pattern. The brush needs to be afairly stiff one for this purpose otherwise the bristles simply bend on the surface. Horse hair and tampico brushes tend to be far too soft for this purpose.

Any leather that has loose finish will be a problem whatever you use and microfibre cloths should be avoided as they will find any loose finish and cause a problem.

In leather cleaning the product should be doing the work and you should not be attempting to scrub the leather. A good fosm leather cleaner (designed for the purpose) will remove the dirt that is removable, always remember that it is not always dirt and a dirty appearance can be casued by micro cracking of the pigment (this can never be 'cleaned') and this will only be seen with a pocket microscope (30-40x). Excessive scrubbing of this type of damage will lead to addtional problems.

Leather 'conditioners' are unnecessary as they cannot penetrate the finishes on modern leather (water in water based products does the conditioning on modern leathers) and in some instances they could lead to other problems when they are left sitting on the surface to attract more dirt (the one thing you are trying to avoid).

Do your leather a favour and use a good quality protector and keep it cleaned little and often with a maintenance product (far more effective than piling on products). The whole thing should only take a short amount of time (not 6 hours+) and will keep your leather in good condition

Hope this helps
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I have read alot of your advice on leather on this board, and I will be one of the few to admit, that I believe your advice to be tried and true.



I have tried your recommendations along with many other leather treatment methods, and cleaning leather with a brush, water based cleaner and protecting it, is all it truly needs and takes no more than 45 minutes to an hour to complete.



I have learned that once the leather is truly cleaned well with a brush and a product like the Chemical Guys water based leather cleaner, diluted 5:1, it does marvels for the leather. The leather looks fresh and new, and surprisingly enough, it is extremely soft and plush as if it was brand new. As a protector, have tried the Finish Kare 108 Top Kote, which is a water based, whitish milk like consistency protected that leaves no oily finish works very well.



Judyb, you are great.



P.S. I also agree that the bristles do need to be semi-stiff. Soft brushes just collapse and the bristles are just dragging and moving the products around on the material. Pushing hard is not necessary, just working the product in is all it needs based on my new experiences with leather brushes. Boars hair, horse hair is not necessary IMO.
 
Malekreza11 said:
As a protector, have tried the Finish Kare 108 Top Kote, which is a water based, whitish milk like consistency protected that leaves no oily finish works very well.
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You don't find 108 to smell kind of weird? It takes me back to orgo lab in college, don't remember whether it was the ketones or aldehydes or maybe the aromatics - or maybe some kind of woody, wet fern or something. It stays in the car for a few days, makes me a little ill, but eventually disappates. :nixweiss
 
jedovaty said:
You don't find 108 to smell kind of weird? It takes me back to orgo lab in college, don't remember whether it was the ketones or aldehydes or maybe the aromatics - or maybe some kind of woody, wet fern or something. It stays in the car for a few days, makes me a little ill, but eventually disappates. :nixweiss
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I have heard of this before from a few others that use 108, but I also heard that it was restricted to a batch? I am not sure, my 108 is almost odorless.
 
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