Leather problem

[swan]

I ran into a problem today that I never came across before.

I was detailing a Jag(29K miles) with white leather interior and the driver seat had this blue-ish film on it. Seems like it has bled into the seats. Some came off with the help of Purple Power, Simple Green, Woolite, Lexol, Blue magic, and a few others that I tried.

This was also on a Lexus SUV that is owned by the same people. From talking with the owners I think it is from their leather jackets and its rubbing off onto the seats. The Lexus came pretty clean since it is a grayish color but the Jag with white looked like crap still. One spot looked as if they wore right thru the white leather. IIRC she has a strap on the leather jacket with a button on it on the back.

Anyone see leather seats like this before? What did you use or how did it turn out?

 

[judyb]

This is known as dye transfer. Because dyes are aggressive the longer they sit on the leather the further they move into the finish on the leather and the harder it is to remove.



Once you have tried cleaning products (although there are stronger ones than you have tried) and these have not successfully removed it then it is not a 'cleaning' problem and will require stronger products. You can try an Alcohol Cleaner as your next step (not rubbing alcohol but a pure one). Once you have done this step you will have removed as much as you can and the only thing to rectify any remaining dye is to recolour the area that has been affected.



Using solvents any stronger than Alcohol Cleaner will only remove the finish which will then need replacing so it is best simply to recolour rather than remove finish.



This problem of dye transfer is a common one on pale coloured interiors and is very common on domestic furniture but it can be stopped with the use of a quality Leather Protection product which will allow the dye to sit on the surface where it can easily be cleaned off and not be drawn into the finish. Protection is crucial on pale colours but make sure you use one that has been tested so that it actually works as there are many on the market that don't.



Hope this helps