Restore hard leather

A

asleepz

New member
My passenger seat in my 93 Honda Wagon (light tan leather) is VERY hard. I guess from not many people sitting there and the Louisiana sun have just tore it to pieces.



I'm wondering what would be the best product for trying to soften this stuff up. If it's even possible.



Also, how should I go about treating it. As in, frequency, applying with what tools, etc..
 
Alright, I'm guessing you are talking about the rejuveinating oil.



That stuff has a pretty hefty price, but if it'll do the job, so be it.



I'll have to look again to see if I need the 16 oz or the 32 oz...



All I really want to do is my passenger front seat and the head rests. Do you think the 16 oz will be enough for those jobs? Also, how many times do you think I will have to apply it. If it's not cardboard hard, it's close to it.
 
BTW, I found the 32 oz. of the oil and 32 oz of the cleaner at leatherique.org for 55 bucks..



Is that site legit? That's cheap to what they are selling on the .com website.



EDIT : lol, scratch that. I just now saw where the orders go from the .com site when you click the product.
 
Let it sit on the seat for days, even a week won't hurt. Re-apply when it looks soaked in. Don't be afraid to apply it very thick. Let the car sit out in the sun w/ the windows up, the hotter the better.
 
Leatherique does work - it's amazing on hard, dry and/or craked leather. As has been said, let it sit for as long as possible, preferably in the sun. And if you have another car you can drive, I'd just do the whole thing at once and let it bake for a couple of days. Best way I've found to apply it is just use a rubber glove and rub it in with your hands-more control and you can get into the crevices easier.



Ever bought those dehydrated mushrooms that look like crap & are hard as rocks? And then they just plump up and look like they've just been picked when you add water? That's the best comparison I have to Leatherique.
 
I'd like to add my vote for Leatherique. There's simply NO product that works in the same way with the same results. It brought my cardboard dry Alfa seats back to life. Soft as kid leather.



Read this site (every page) and you'll be good to go. www.leatherique.com.au



If you need to drive the treated car before the RO has done its job, wrap the seat up in a large bin bag before driving. That way you can allow the RO to do its job and still use the seat.



But, as has been mentioned...you need patience!
 
Alfisti said:
I'd like to add my vote for Leatherique. There's simply NO product that works in the same way with the same results. It brought my cardboard dry Alfa seats back to life. Soft as kid leather.



Read this site (every page) and you'll be good to go. www.leatherique.com.au



If you need to drive the treated car before the RO has done its job, wrap the seat up in a large bin bag before driving. That way you can allow the RO to do its job and still use the seat.



But, as has been mentioned...you need patience!
Click to expand...





How many applications did it take you, and how long did you let each stay before cleaning and re-applying.
 
I have read though the threads but still have question - does it darkens the leather? I have oyster color leather seats that have very small cracks and this sounds like it just make work. Also a friend has snow white and it looking for something just to protect them?
 
I never used Leatherique, but I read a lot about it. Everywhere it stated to apply and have it "cook" for some time. Does it live residue on the windows and dashboard – when it evaporate? :think2
 
ASLEEP- dont know if this helps you any but this sounds like it may help you out. Many moons ago when i got my first car with leather seats I took it to a upholstery shop specializing in leather to find out how to best care for leather seats.



Anywho, while in the guy's shop i noticed a car with considerably worn leather seats, on the seats the guy had white bed sheets that had been soaked in some type of leather conditioner or oil. He told me he was bringing the seats "back to life" (at the time i was ignorant to all this). He ran down his process for me which was to spray the seats with the conditioner, a lot of conditioner, work the conditioner in (he did this like 3x) then he took these strips of sheets that had been soaking in the same conditioner and layed them on the leather seats, said so the leather can keep soaking up the conditioner. Like another poster mentioned, he did have the car out in the sun he said it "opened up" the leather.



Hope it helps you some. I couldn't tell you the name of the product he used i was just paying attention to the process.
 
tlak said:
I never used Leatherique, but I read a lot about it. Everywhere it stated to apply and have it "cook" for some time. Does it live residue on the windows and dashboard – when it evaporate? :think2
Click to expand...



No on the residue.
 
asleepz said:
My passenger seat in my 93 Honda Wagon (light tan leather) is VERY hard. I guess from not many people sitting there and the Louisiana sun have just tore it to pieces.



I'm wondering what would be the best product for trying to soften this stuff up. If it's even possible.



Also, how should I go about treating it. As in, frequency, applying with what tools, etc..
Click to expand...



Yes, Leatherique is a great product but prep is very important As you have a 93 model year my guess is that the light tan leather has seen it's share of silicone based products, body oils and salts, etc. These all tend to clog the leather's pores and render it unable to 'breath'. If so, you will need to prep the leather with Prestine Clean and then hit it with The Rejuvenator Oil.
 
tlak, in my case it did leave residue on the windows, but I used over 1.5 Litres. :eek:



Cleaner, your point is an interesting one. Logically, what you say is correct and won't do harm following it. But it may be wasteful of the PC. You see, RO is the deep cleaner, and PC the surface cleaner. PC is a diluted version of RO. But RO is also the conditioner. No matter how dirty and clogged the leather is you need to start with RO. This will dissolve all impurites, be absorbed deep into the leather, and displace (pushing from the inside out) all the deeper impurities. They will rise to the surface of the leather and look like a white residue or scum. Then you use the PC to dissolve and clean the surface residue.



This process can be repeated until the leather can't absorb any more and the RO just sits on the surface. Clean with PC, let dry, then buff with a dry towel.



Allowing the car to sit in the sun with closed windows is key to RO working properly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top