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Alright so the other day I had some time to spare in the morning and I had some TurtleWax leather protectant spray and I let it soak in for 10ish minutes and then wiped hard with a microfiber cloth and the whiteness just came off. There's a lot of deep cleaning I need to do but at least it's just dirt.
Moral of the story, your leather is probably dirty.
For some reason, microfiber towels are not usually recommend for that purpose. When they are wet with a cleaner you can feel them drag on the surface, so I think they are actually abrasive under those conditions and you risk removing some dye. I just use an old T shirt type rag and not much pressure. But what I have found works really great for initial cleaning on leather and vinyl is to go to Home Depot and buy what is called a "chip brush." Have no clue why they are usually called that. Usually they are on the bottom shelf in cardboard boxes by the paint brushes. They have tan natural bristles, and an unpainted wooden handle and the metal part is silver. They cost like $1.50 each. Get the 2" size and take a good pair of scissors and cut at least half the bristle length off - or even a little more - so the brush is a bit stiffer. Now put your leather cleaner on and swirl the brush in circles holding it straight up and wipe off.
Years ago, the proper way to clean leather was with a boar's hair brush and "saddle soap". Now, there are better chemicals, but the boar's hair brush still works well. The bristles help work the soap into the grain and lift out dirt. I do like to use a microfiber cloth just for final cleanup.
I have some experience with leather work and the OP’s seats don’t appear to need recoloring. They really look like they should be cleaned and conditioned. They appear to have been ignored / not conditioned in ages. If so, the hard parts can be treated with a product called Surflex Leather Soffener (that’s not a typo, it’s their product name). The seat in this photo, THAT needed coloring -
The OP's seats can be colored, but if he doesn't condition them, they’ll dry out again. If he uses the products I mention at this web page the color won’t wear any faster than the original color on the original seats. This isn’t guesswork on my part. I’ve recolored seats in cars that I’ve personally owned. When I used to play basketball I’d get in the car covered in sweat and it had no effect. I live in So Cal and used to park that same car outdoors at client’s sites. Sun didn’t have any greater impact on the recolored seats than it did to the rest of the leather interior. I’ve assisted friends in making two-tone interiors and I’ve never heard a complaint when Surflex was used to color seats. When a seat is colored with Surflex, in 6 weeks the owner can wipe the seats down with lacquer thinner. Lacquer thinner is commonly used to remove all traces of old conditioner. If someone uses some other product or if they skip the prep that's supposed to be done before coloring the seats - their mileage may vary.
Years ago, the proper way to clean leather was with a boar's hair brush and "saddle soap". Now, there are better chemicals, but the boar's hair brush still works well. The bristles help work the soap into the grain and lift out dirt. I do like to use a microfiber cloth just for final cleanup.
I actually have one sitting in the basement that I completely forgot about. If you had not told me I probably would have assumed that it was bad for the leather and not used it so thanks!
It'll probably save me a few microfiber cloths too. The other ones got destroyed when I was rubbing off the dirt
Originally Posted by MarcusF
I have some experience with leather work and the OP’s seats don’t appear to need recoloring. They really look like they should be cleaned and conditioned. They appear to have been ignored / not conditioned in ages. If so, the hard parts can be treated with a product called Surflex Leather Soffener (that’s not a typo, it’s their product name). The seat in this photo, THAT needed coloring -
The OP's seats can be colored, but if he doesn't condition them, they’ll dry out again. If he uses the products I mention at this web page the color won’t wear any faster than the original color on the original seats. This isn’t guesswork on my part. I’ve recolored seats in cars that I’ve personally owned. When I used to play basketball I’d get in the car covered in sweat and it had no effect. I live in So Cal and used to park that same car outdoors at client’s sites. Sun didn’t have any greater impact on the recolored seats than it did to the rest of the leather interior. I’ve assisted friends in making two-tone interiors and I’ve never heard a complaint when Surflex was used to color seats. When a seat is colored with Surflex, in 6 weeks the owner can wipe the seats down with lacquer thinner. Lacquer thinner is commonly used to remove all traces of old conditioner. If someone uses some other product or if they skip the prep that's supposed to be done before coloring the seats - their mileage may vary.
Ya the guy I bought it from probably never cleaned the seats let alone condition them but I'll be happy to do it! For the soffener is it something you just rub and let sit then wipe off the dirt and leftover "soffener"?
I appreciate all the advice given so far! It might be awhile till I find some time and the weather warms up so that I can at least enjoy working on the car but I'll be sure to let everyone know what I ended up using and how it turned out!
ref the use of microfiber towels; they, and any other towel, will become abrasive once the fibers are saturated with the dirt you're removing. At that point you are not rubbing the towel against your object to be cleaned but the stuff you just removed.
Any towel, microfiber or otherwise should be rinsed of the debris lifted regularly while cleaning. A brush probably acts the same, but you would be done long before it gather enough debris to begin to harm your cleaning object.
Microfiber towels can be reused after washing. I just throw mine in the washer with a small amount of liquid detergent (I use a cap of car wash liquid if I'm planning to reuse them on the body of the car), wash with warm water and rinse with cold water. Then air dry. Heated drying ruins them.
I generally use the washed ones for the car interior, wheels, and under the hood. Then I throw them away.
I buy bags of microfiber clothes at Costco. I wash them once before you (it helps fluff the fibers and makes them softer). Then, I tear off the tag and use them once for a "critical" job, like removing wax or cleaning the seats. After that, they get washed again and those with no tags are now used only for shop rage. BTW, microfiber cloths are phenomenal at cleaning up oil - spilled, or just film on parts.
I buy bags of microfiber clothes at Costco. I wash them once before you (it helps fluff the fibers and makes them softer). Then, I tear off the tag and use them once for a "critical" job, like removing wax or cleaning the seats. After that, they get washed again and those with no tags are now used only for shop rage. BTW, microfiber cloths are phenomenal at cleaning up oil - spilled, or just film on parts.
Is "shop rage" like when the wife comes into the garage to ask if you've seen the Macy's flyer from yesterday's newspaper while you're under the car trying to remove a stubborn suspension bolt?
And you use a microfiber towel to muffle your initial verbal reaction?
Is "shop rage" like when the wife comes into the garage to ask if you've seen the Macy's flyer from yesterday's newspaper while you're under the car trying to remove a stubborn suspension bolt?
And you use a microfiber towel to muffle your initial verbal reaction?
This might not be to correct thread for this but I'm just trying to find some information and any help I can get
I saw that I could get black leather interior for around 150 GBP. Now the thing is that my car is LHD but all the interiors I have found are from RHD cars. Only my drivers seat is electric. Will it be possible to maybe fit a UK passenger seat (my future drivers seat) and if it's not electric to make it electric? Any other speed bumps anybody can point out with this plan?
Or should I just reupholster my front seats with the leather from the UK seats ?
Well you could remove the leather cover off of the new seat and install it on your deteriorated seat. Its basically just a cover, no need to get into changing the seat frame as well.
I highly doubt you can covert the UK seat to electric, much simpler to switch out covers.
I was kind of hoping that this is possible. My interior is in a nice condition but it's a light gray so it gets stained from time to time...hence why I want to change them.
I prefer black on black when it comes to cars, not a fan of light colored interiors personally.
02-16-2015, 09:17 AM
