'How To' Restore your Leather

[93nighthawk]

93nighthawk: How light (color) did the leather get? I started on the passenger seat last night (409 and a toothbrush) and it's getting pretty light ... more like beige versus mocha.

If it turns out that the 409 is bleaching the leather, is there a product that would add the color back in? Something like shoe polish for seats? I guess the reason I'm concerned is that the top half of the back seat is in really good condition and I can tell that once I'm finished cleaning the front seats they won't match :ruhroh:

If you think the 409 is bleaching your Leather STOP, My leather still looks like moca, just a hella cleaner. Before it was a *** dirty color which does not sho well in the pics. I would suggest using simply green like Silver95 and see how that works. I guess interior is like the engine, not all mods work the same. Sorry. I would not use shoe polish on the seats, unless you want it to get on everyone. It will not penetrate the leather.

Also, there is a small chunk of leather missing from the rear seat, not just a rip or tear, but a hole in the seat. can this be patched somehow?

I have a similiar problem of a patch being worn on the bottom rear seat where my daughter car seat use to sit. They do make products to cover it up that would match pretty good. (as seen on jello slugs link)

 

[95ATX/Milwaukee]

Mink Oil............The **** Works!

My 95 ATX full leather was in good shape but dry. I learned a long time ago about polishing shoes, brass etc. from Uncle Sam and the USAF. I used Armor All wipes to get in the cracks and clean the dirt off, after this step is done ANY HIGH QUALITY Mink Oil hand rubbed into leather (small area's at a time) and allowed to soak in will turn your seats into the soft leather it once was! It also brings back the shine and protects it. I have had no problems with discoloration on ANY leather with mink oil, but test a small spot first. Important: Let the Mink Oil soak into the leather for several hours and then wipe with a clean soft cloth to remove the excess. This works and even the toughest interior can come back to life, but really bad/dry areas may need more than one application. Good luck.

Mike

 

[raze]

Bon Ami!

I just got done cleaning my seats with this..and wow, this stuff really works well! It takes a little elbow grease to work it into the seats, but after you clean them really well, you'll be amazed at the difference!

 

[Snake2715]

Mike,

where do you get mink oil?

 

[Devin]

I agree with the mink oil part. I got a bottle from my mother in law (she owns a glass shop) and it worked wonders.

 

[Hubes]

where would i have to go to get bon ami?

 

[ericglo]

Hi,

Last year in the Official Car Care Thread, I outlined how to clean your leather. Also, I gave a recipe for an inexpensive cleaner. The only addition I would make is the scuff pad. I would suggest using the 3m delicate duty Scotch-Brite pad. You can purchase it at Walgreens. You don't want to use anything to abrasive on the leather. I would like to add that the cleaner formula is used in an OTC product, but I will not name it for obvious reasons. Any of the mild cleaners are fine, just as long as the ph is around 10.
Now, a little about leather. Leather is categorized as either finished or unfinished. It is the difference between staining and painting wood. With unfinished leather, you are touching the leather.Unfinished leather is what you usually find in expensive furniture, i.e. $1500 or more. Finished leather has a coating applied on the surface. With finished leather, you are touching the coating not the leather itself. This is what is in the SHO and almost all cars and furniture. Just because it is finished doesn't mean it is a bad leather or it is not any good. I will take a finished leather with a good coating over an unfinished leather with a poor coating any day. Incidently, the industry uses the term coating not dye. They will look at you confused if you say dye.
Finally, a little on the companies. After talking to the guys at Lexol, I will say there products are pretty good. The cleaner is ph balanced and the conditioner does not contain Lanolin. The Leathermaster line is good as well. I am aware that they are expensive, but I know the company and they are huge in the furniture business.I am not going to be to ******* Leatherique, because I have never dealt with them. I am glad that the people who have used or are using there products with good results. After reviewing there website, I think there cleaner and conditioner is very expensive. The rejuvinator may be good, but it is 2/3rd's more in price than what you pay from other places. The cleaner is $17 for 16 ounces, which is on the high side. Color-plus is another so-called specialty boutique supplier. Again, I have never dealt with them just reviewed there website. There cleaner looks a little expensive. There conditioner is priced on the high side as well, but if it has anything special in it then it might have value. The same applies to Groits Garage.
In the end, I refer everyone back to my original post on leather cleaning. Next time, I will talk about coatings.

 

[shojuan]

Glad to have your input Eric. It's always nice to hear advice from the pros. It's not a perspective we get treated to on a daily basis. :thumbs_u:

 

[josh m kuhn]

I have black leather in my 93 mtx and i am not sure if i should take the risk of 409 but my leather has alot of cracks just like your pictures above. should i just work harder and use simple green or should i risk it.

 

[91taurisho]

don't risk the 409. I bleached a small spot. use the simple green with a toothbrush. Work hard at it and it will come.

 

[ericglo]

If you use 91taurisho advice, you should dilute the Simple Green to about 5-10%. The tooth brush is fine, but the Scotch-brite delicate duty sponge is quicker. The problem is Simple Green smells like crap, but it will work.

Eric

 

[91taurisho]

I'm still liking the Gojo hand cleaner look.

 

[platoribs]

Hi,

The cleaner is ph balanced and the conditioner does not contain Lanolin. The Leathermaster line is good as well.

Eric,

I take it from reading this Lanolin isn't good for leather...why?

And why is it included in lotions to restore one's hands?

 

[morpho18]

DONT USE 409! It strips the paint right out of the leather!

 

[ericglo]

I never said Lanolin was bad. I have not heard a definitive answer whether it does anything for leather. What I will say is that almost all conditioners use Lanolin. So you should buy on price, instead of marketing. Maybe you could buy Lanolin in bulk and make your own.

After talking to some guys at Lexol, they say that they don't include it in there formulation. I take that to mean that they spent some time to formulate something different. Whether it is better or not, I don't know.

As for the second question, I am not in the cosmetics industry so I can't say. According to the guys at Lexol, Summitt is the largest user of Lanolin. They say if it was any good that they would put it in there conditioner. They may be blowing smoke. Maybe there ingredients are cheaper than Lanolin. Although Lanolin is about 50 cents a pound.Draw your own conclusions.

In summation, most conditioners are the same with a Lanolin base. There are a couple of different formulas out there. Try them out and see what you like. I personally do not use a conditioner, just a thorough cleaning.

Eric

 

[shojuan]

I personally do not use a conditioner, just a thorough cleaning.

Eric, there's a reason to use conditioner, at least a quality one. Dry leather fibers are weak. "hydrated" (with the proper oils) leather fibers are MUCH stronger and resilient. Of course, a LOT more of the oils from a good conditioner are going to make it to the fibers on a section of unfinished leather rather than finished leather. Hey, at least with our crappy leather the conditioner has a better path to the fibers on the spots where the finish is cracked or worn away!

 

[shojuan]

BEFORE:

After:

I forgot that I had these pics up. I've heard that Mother's leather cleaner is *excellent* but I couldn't find any. Just their all in one product. So I used Lexol Cleaner and Lexol conditioner. I cleaned several times using a toothbrush. I even used my sonic toothbrush with lexol cleaner on the nasty spots.

Pics at the end are of the seats at the junkyard with all their grime. Ripped seats are my original 89 seats. The pretty seats are the junkyard seats after I got through with them. Lots of lexol cleaner and even more lexol conditioner. The seats cost me $120 + $30 driving gas for the pair.

http://www.photoisland.com/servlet/GuestLogin?USERNAME=shojuan
password: shojuan
album: SHO Seats

Anyways, compare my results with the Lexol cleaner to the results with the 409 cleaner above. I probably used more elbow grease. The Lexol cleaner is *very* mild. But I think the results speak for themselves.

 

[ericglo]

Shojuan,

I am glad you are calling it finish and not dye. Thank you.

I live on the Least, whoops East, Coast with its humidity. Maybe the humidity has kept my leather more hydrated than a drier Best, whoops West, Coast environment. The most important thing for leather is cleaning. I refinished my seats four years ago and they still look pretty good. I have cleaned them a couple times and never conditioned them. I just had my car tuned up by Don Donaldson, so you can ask him how my seats look. Incidently, the seats look good even though I did a poor job on them.

Now, I should give my background. I am currently a mobile leather repair guy in Miami. I started out with Superglass W/S Repair. Then, I bought a national interior franchise that I won't name. After a couple of years with them, I educated my self about the mobile industry. Then, I went to work with one of the major leather chemical manufacturers. I received a pretty thorough knowledge of the leather industry. Last year, I decided that I hate cold weather (most of the companies are in the northeast) and returned to being a mobile tech in much warmer climes.

Eric

 

[ericglo]

Shojuan,

The leather in the SHO isn't that bad. Spray a good coating on them and they will look great. There are only three tanneries in North America. They supply the leather for almost all the cars in the U.S., even the high end cars. Incidently, Connolly leather is out of business. I am told that the Connollies are working for other leather business's.

Eric

 

[platoribs]

Eric,
I'm very interested in your opinion on something I tried and posted in another thread.

I used Goop Hand Cleaner, like GoJo. It listed Lanolyne as one of the ingredients along with surfactents, polyolyfins (??) I might not be remembering very accurately but I think you know what I'm talking about.

I smeered the stuff on with my bare hands working it into the leather and then let it sit for about 5 minutes, then I packed towels in between the back and the seat to catch the dirty water and simply swabbed it down with clean water, the GoJo turns milky white and after you've rinsed it well rub it dry with a towel and shazam it looks great, feels great, smells great... and was the easiest thing to do, no elbow grease at all.

Now for the $ shot, do you know if this proceedure is in anyway detremental to the leather. I'd really like to get a pro's opinion cause the great results w/o all the work are almost too good to be true. What's your take on this Sir.