Tan leather turning black

rockford33

rockford33

New member
I was cleaning the inside of the wife's Tribeca yesterday and came across a stain/dirt that I couldn't remove.

She has the light tan leather seats, and the back and side bolsters of the driver's side seat have a faint blackness to a portion of them (passenger's side also, but to a lesser degree). I pulled out the Meg's Leather wipes I keep in her car in case of baby spills and it didn't even touch it. So I went inside and got out the Lexol Leather cleaner. No dice. I even sprayed it on and let it soak for a few minutes, worked up a slight foam, and wiped it off. It didn't really seem to do anything.

I don't know what the blackness is. The only things I can think of are:
1. The leather is dyed and the tan dye is coming off. I think this is unlikely as I don't think they would dye tan over black. or
2. We both have black leather jackets. The dye from our jackets may have rubbed off, especially when wet, over the winter. My jacket is pretty old (5 years or so), and I bought her a brand new one for Christmas.

Any thoughts on other products that may work? It is a lease vehicle, so I try to keep it in good shape so they can't hit me for any charges when we give it back. We have had it a year by the end of this month, so I still have it for 2 more years. I definitely don't want the problem to get worse.

:thanks,
Neil
 
I would try a better leather cleaner than Meguiar's or Lexol. I suspect that it may be dye from your jackets depending on how those were dyed to begin with. If they are high quality jackets then that shouldn't happen. More likely it is from your jeans. I've seen blue jeans rub off on tan and white leather before. Poorboy's Leather Stuff is what I used to clean it up with. That and a toothbrush. :) I'd try something like that and see what the progress is. Pictures always help too.
 
Thanks for the quick reply Jng.

Iam at work right now, so I can't get any pics. I may be able to get some later this week, but work is busy so I don't get home until late.

I thought Lexol was good? I have a ton of the stuff that I got cheap at a car show last summer. This is my first car with leather.

The leather jackets are from Wilson's Leather, so not the best, but not the worst either. I don't think it is from jeans since it is only on the back of the seat, not the bottom.

I may order some PB's leather stuff and check to see what else I may need at the same time.

-Neil
 
If it is only on the back then it is probably the leather. If they are the lambskin jackets then that is a safe bet. Wilson's isn't the worst stuff in the world, but I've always had bad luck with the lambskin jackets keeping their color.
 
I am guessing its the jackets as well, my wife had a red jacket that would constaly stain the seats...

My guess like Jngrbrdman is that the wipes are probably not strong enough...I like the zymol leather cleaner and conditioner, a bit pricey but it works great...
 
Well, I tried again to remove the blackness. Someone had suggested Kiwi Saddle Soap, so I gave that a try since I could get it locally. Tried scrubbing with a toothbrush, which I think was too soft. Then tried with my carpet brush. Even let it dwell for 5 minutes or so. Didn't budge.

To make matters worse, my wife had printed some directions from our computer and tossed them in back when she was done with them. They ended up face down on the back seat, in the hot sun. Needless to say, when I picked them off the seat, I could almost read the directions left on the seat :wall. Saddle soap didn't work on that either, but it is a little faded now.

I told my wife we had to cover her seats in plastic from now on (I got the evil eye for that). I guess I need to get PB's Leather Stuff or something and hope it works. I just don't want to keep trying this and that until I find something that works, and then be left with a lot of this and that left over. I have a ton of Lexol, now I have a tin of saddle soap also. I was also thinking of getting some PB's bio degradeable cleaner ro see if that helps, since I can use that for other stuff also.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Neil
 
Hate to see you resort to plastic or seat covers. I'd try one more recommended cleaner for leather like Leather Master's Strong Cleaner or one of the ones already mentioned in the thread. If that doesn't work, call a Leather repair tech to blend-dye. You can probably get a quote from sending them pics via e-mail. That's how we do it anyway. Whatever you do, don't put anything on it at this point that isn't made for finished automotive leather. If you get a cleaner to work for you, follow up with a protectant/conditioner, something to give it a little shield from happening again. Or just skip trying everything else and get an experienced leather tech over to remedy the situation.
 
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