CLK430Benz

Hey,

I have a water stain on my CLK430 Passenger seat. What would be the best approach to remove it. Also, what should i use to recondition my leather?

Thanks
Steve

dynomite05

https://mbworld.org/forums/detailing-automotive-care-37/

jreddyroc

top notch detailing places use some kind of chemical stuff spray it on and then they actually use a brush and scrub the leather then the wipe it down and its like new then use some conditioner on it so it protects from sun meguires is a really good conditioner top notch

deyainrdy4ds

they mite have somethin u cud use

http://www.leatherique.com/price_list.htm

Jays_Z

How did you get the water stain. Take care of that first before you fix the seats.

CLK430Benz

I purchased the car used. Since it was a massachusetts car people that owned it before probably didn't care about the car. As a result, when it snowed, I guess when the previous owner got into their car with a wet jacket they damaged the seats.

High Technology

As with all things detailing, the first rule is to start with the least aggressive approach and work your way up if the less aggresive approach doesn't work. The second rule is to never put a protectant over something you need/want to fix first (i.e., clean first, protect second). When I detail my car, the prep (wash, clay, polish) takes a few hours and the actual exterior sealent takes 20 minutes. Same for the interior -- cleaning/correcting takes time, protecting is much less time consuming.

Back on topic, the CLK seats are made of some pretty resilient leather. Mine are nearly 10 years old and my car has 140k on it (all driven by my wife or myself). I have cleaned/conditioned them maybe 6 times in total. My seats look near-new, just some minor wrinkles on the side bolsters. So you want to be respectful that this is leather (and not vinyl), but you don't need to buy a specialty boutique product to do the job.

I would start with a mild leather cleaner, such as the Lexol Cleaner (I think it is the blue bottle). Just apply a few thin coats rather than one heavy coat if you have perforated seats (to avoid saturating the pinholes to the extent that you can). If Lexol Cleaner works, great. If it is just a water spot, then it should come off easily. If it doesn't work after two attempts since some stains take a second treatment, move on to something stronger.

Some of the pro detailers use a DILUTED Woolite solution to clean leather (yes, Woolite on leather). I am not crazy about using that on leather, because Woolite is formulated to be rinsed clean with lots of water, which isn't practical for your seats (especially if they are perforated like mine).

2PHAST

I would steer clear of Lexol Leather care products, they are not tested well and on some makes of cars, will actually remove the leather dye.

One of the best leather restoration products on the market is made my Griot, the standard leather care product has a cleaner in it and the restoration product does not. www.griots.com