Cleaning leather seats

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

9

95s52

Joined
Dec 2, 2016
Threads
5
Messages
38
Location
Sacramento, CA
Hi mudders, I finally picked up a 99 LC last week. Been searching for a clean example for a while and finally came accross this 1 owner CA tuck with 84k miles. She needs some rear bumper loving (I am having a buddy fab one up in the next few weeks). Meanwhile I want to see what everyone is using to clean the leather. Mine is cracked and has some yellowing.

Thanks!

20170519_152909.webp


20170519_151816.webp


20170519_151804.webp
 
To really clean it what I do to customer vehicles where the leather has been trashed is to use a magic eraser and a bucket filled with warm water and Murphy's Oil Soap and gently go down each seat. It pulls the dirt out of the pores without damaging and leaves a nice matte finish. Use a second bucket with clean water to rinse the eraser out after everytime you use it. Make sure to condition your seats afterwards as it strips everything. It won't do much for cracks, but there are kits you can buy where you can fill them in, sand, and dye them to match.

You can also get by using a spray foam like Tuff Stuff, letting it dwell, and wiping things down, but the results are mixed as you get runs, some areas still need to be cleaned a second time, and overspray is a constant pain in the arse.

I maintain with an interior cleaner that has UV protectants in it, like Meguiar's Interior Detailer, cheap and effective and can be found just about anywhere. It doesn't leave any greasy residue and can be used just about anywhere on your interior. For my own business I use something similar but it's only available through my supplier.
 
I'd order up the Leatherique kit. I think if you do it right, most of your issues will go away.

While you wait for the Leatherique kit, I'd take @landylover21's advice and use some Murphy's Oil soap, Magic Eraser and warm water.
 
For 84K miles, the seats are pretty worn. Are you sure it is not 184K?
How is the steering wheel looks like?
 
Thanks for the replies!

I ordered the Tuff Stuff Foam cleaner and Lexol Leather cleaner. I will try to get some before and afters to show how it worked out.

Regarding the miles, I too though the interior showed more miles than the ODO, so I ran a carfax. Yhe miles are true.

20170519_200354.webp


View attachment 20170519_200403.jpg
 
I tried all kinds of leather cleaners on my seats. They were far better than yours at their dirtiest. NONE of the leather cleaners did anything noticeable. They removed maybe 5% of the dirt.

After a good amount of detailing advice research I found that most any pro detailers think the off the shelf leather cleaners are a joke. They suggested using an all purpose cleaner like this: Amazon.com: Meguiar's D10101 Detailer All Purpose Cleaner 1 Gallon: Automotive

I bought that stuff and a leather cleaning brush: Amazon.com: Chemical Guys ACC_S95 Long Bristle Horse Hair Leather Cleaning Brush, , 1 Pack: Automotive

I also bought these so I have a diluted bottle of 4:1, 10:1 and straight water. Amazon.com: Chemical Guys ACC_121.16HD-3PK Chemical Resistant Heavy Duty Bottle and Sprayer (16 oz) (Pack of 3): Automotive

I cannot stress how nice this setup has been. It cleans more than 10x as well as the off the shelf leather cleaners and I only use the 10:1 dilution on leather. The downside is that it is harsher, even at 10:1, and requires you to rinse immediately and condition immediately. The end result is astounding though. My seats look nearly new now.

Sorry if I sound like an infomercial, but it's been a night and day difference for me. I was so frustrated with the Leatherique and Lexol type cleaners that I just gave up for a couple years. Now that I have that McGuiars 101 stuff, I use it on everything and it's fantastic. I'm sure any other detailing all purpose cleaner would do the trick as well with a good brush.

Be careful with the brushes as some are labeled as upholstery brushes, but they are way too stiff and will ruin leather and the stitching.

Good luck! I bet with the right cleaners you can get that leather looking new again.

-Andy
 
suprarx7nut said:
I tried all kinds of leather cleaners on my seats. They were far better than yours at their dirtiest. NONE of the leather cleaners did anything noticeable. They removed maybe 5% of the dirt.

After a good amount of detailing advice research I found that most any pro detailers think the off the shelf leather cleaners are a joke. They suggested using an all purpose cleaner like this: Amazon.com: Meguiar's D10101 Detailer All Purpose Cleaner 1 Gallon: Automotive

I bought that stuff and a leather cleaning brush: Amazon.com: Chemical Guys ACC_S95 Long Bristle Horse Hair Leather Cleaning Brush, , 1 Pack: Automotive

I also bought these so I have a diluted bottle of 4:1, 10:1 and straight water. Amazon.com: Chemical Guys ACC_121.16HD-3PK Chemical Resistant Heavy Duty Bottle and Sprayer (16 oz) (Pack of 3): Automotive

I cannot stress how nice this setup has been. It cleans more than 10x as well as the off the shelf leather cleaners and I only use the 10:1 dilution on leather. The downside is that it is harsher, even at 10:1, and requires you to rinse immediately and condition immediately. The end result is astounding though. My seats look nearly new now.

Sorry if I sound like an infomercial, but it's been a night and day difference for me. I was so frustrated with the Leatherique and Lexol type cleaners that I just gave up for a couple years. Now that I have that McGuiars 101 stuff, I use it on everything and it's fantastic. I'm sure any other detailing all purpose cleaner would do the trick as well with a good brush.

Be careful with the brushes as some are labeled as upholstery brushes, but they are way too stiff and will ruin leather and the stitching.

Good luck! I bet with the right cleaners you can get that leather looking new again.

-Andy
Click to expand...

What kind of conditioner do you use?
 
jwbc84 said:
What kind of conditioner do you use?
Click to expand...

So far I have just used the Lexol cheap stuff. It definitely helps and "conditions" from what I can tell. The leather feels softer and less plastic-like. I'm sure there are many, many better options out there, but Lexol seems to work for me for now. When my bottle runs out I'll just jump on Amazon and buy whatever has good reviews for having a good scent. :shrug:
 
Magic eraser to clean. If they're very dry and stiff use olive oil. Put on a thin coat, let it absorb, repeat.
 
I have used Mothers Leather Cleaner on the passenger seat and it came up much better. The yellow color is nearly gone.
 
Page one of my build thread shows what I used and how I did it.

If I were you... I'd hire a pro detailer and let him get after it with all his goodies, you'll pay more than doing it yourself but he likely has access to steam, tools and tricks you won't. It'd be money well spent to see where they could get the baseline for you.
 
By chance was it a dog that rode in those seats?

The leather doesn't seem cracked or aged badly just really dirty I think.

Post up your cleaning pics, :)

Congrats on your Hundy man!
 
Last edited:
Sorry for the lack of updates on this. I am having a custom rear bumper built for the 100 and even though I have the products on hand, I can't clean the seats and show after pics till I get the truck back.

I'll update once I get her back (probably late this month)
 
I use Armor All leather care. It cleans perfect and im super anal about keeping her clean.

ARMOR ALL.webp
 
I always use saddle soap on my seats and it works great. I use it on the two saddles I own as well as my boots, so one day when I needed to clean my seats I figured if it can clean, soften, and condition those so well I didn't know why it wouldn't do the same for leather seats. Tried it and I was blown away by how well it worked - much better than the Lexol/ArmorAll products that I do not believe in. Unfortunately I don't have any pics of my seats but I plan on cleaning them again later this month and I'll take a few when I do. Saddle soap also provides excellent water & stain resistance without leaving a residue (if you know how to use saddle soap properly).

60BEA0A1-7F39-4BD1-9B0C-7902EDC5EA28-8103-000005F73A35C19C.webp
 
landylover21 said:
To really clean it what I do to customer vehicles where the leather has been trashed is to use a magic eraser and a bucket filled with warm water and Murphy's Oil Soap and gently go down each seat. It pulls the dirt out of the pores without damaging and leaves a nice matte finish. .
Click to expand...

Can I ask if your using the regular magic erasers or the heavy duty version?

I believe the regular one tears apart easily, at least when I tried it on my seats with some all purpose cleaner. :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom