Post by theantirice on Feb 20, 2006 0:44:47 GMT -5
I did not write this, however it is the best guide Ive found
The Goal is to keep the leather in tip-top shape so that it NEVER cracks (which is ONLY due to dryness) and generally keep the seats looking new.
Just so you know... Leather is just cow skin.... that’s all it is.... its nothing special at all... like human skin... it also has pores.. and can also dry out too.
Both of the above are real problems... if the pores fill up with grease and dirt in time (like human skin would if it is never cleaned) then the pores are filled solid and the leather cannot breath.... it also cannot take in moisture of any kind... so they dry out and crack (human skin does the same if not properly taken care of as you probably know) Since there is no flesh behind the cow skin anymore to keep it moisturized... the responsibility is now on you. So the steps and things about to be mentioned are how to clean the pores... and keep the seats properly moisturized so they never dry out and therefore crack.
So this is what you do.... you take a normal scrub brush (just like the one you would use for your fingers) as well a very mild cleaner. DO NOT USE A STRONG CLEANER!!!!!!! Engine degreaser is not a good idea!... if you wouldn't use that to clean your skin... dont use that on the leather.... (You think I'm joking about writing that dis-claimer? People have done that in the past so I wrote that to let you know!!!!) Use a very mild cleaner such as watered down pine-sol in a spray bottle. Water it down 2 parts pine-sol 1 part Mr. Clean or such.. or some other type of mild cleaner. Just a simple house-hold one.. but one with out oil of any sort.
Then scrub the seat
Imeditately wipe down the seat... as soon as you can so the dirt doesn't sink back into the pores again.
Once you've done that complete to ALL the leather parts of the car... such as the head-rests... back of the seat (dont forget the rear seats too!) as well as the shift-boot... arm rests in the doors and and the rear seat arm rests..They should not shine and be much softer than before.
Next stop is moisturizing the seat:.. remember at the top of the post when I said that since the Leather is removed from the cow... the owness is on you towards moisturizing it? well that brings us to our next step..
To moisturize the seat... you need some really good stuff... this cheap crap is just that.. therefore avoid Wal-mart.. most automotive stores sell good seat moisturizer... mothers is not very good stuff... but unfortunately its the best stuff you can get at most automotive stores such as Canadian Tire or such... like pep-boys or whatever. Basically dont cheap out on the stuff... the better the stuff is.. the better it'll work. Also try a detailing studio where people pay outrageous sums of money to have a person do all this stuff for them... most detailing facilities can definately give you suggestions on the best stuff to use... Being a former professional detailer myself... I REALLY REALLY like "Car-brite" products.... or "Production detail supply" stuff
Make sure your leather moisturizer containes Lanolin Oil
and if finding any sort of actual "Leather moisturizer" is a problem... as a last resort use human skin moisturizer... it works well too. but you need LOTS of it since there is LOTS of leather to be done... and its all very very dry and therefore needs LOTS. So expect to use about a cup full for all your cars interior. Try to make sure the skin lotion also has lanolin oil.
Do not use these so called "Leather cleaner *AND* moisturizer"s they are a joke.... you need to entirely separate chemicals to do this... you cant take a sponge and throw some of that crap on the seats and expect it to work... how can a person just use handcreme and never once EVER wash they're hands? would the creme work? not really because there is gobs of dirt in the pores.... so how does the lotion get into the skin? barely eh? Leather is WAY worse... so forget about that dual-purpose crap.
When coating the seats.. use a normal (CLEAN!!!!) sponge... just like a household one...
Drop a gob of the leather moisturizer on to the seat... and rub it in with the sponge... leave lots of it remaining on the seat... don’t worry the leather will absorb the remaining lotion...
Give the seat about an hour to absorb all the conditioner in it. Then re-apply the conditioner using the same sponge as needed to all the dry spots (usually the large flat surfaces) After an hour after that... you can wipe off all the excess conditioner if you choose too... otherwise leave it overnight... it will all get absorbed in time.
Well.. that’s it right there... don’t forget to re-moisturize all the seats and everything else that you cleaned... You'll be amazed at how soft the leather will be now... its really something..
If you want to keep your seats looking great forever... you need to do this on a monthly basis for the seats that get used the most... every second month for the passenger seat or the rear seats that don’t get used as much.
There you go.... try this out and see what you think... please leave a post on this thread with the result you've experienced..
The Goal is to keep the leather in tip-top shape so that it NEVER cracks (which is ONLY due to dryness) and generally keep the seats looking new.
Just so you know... Leather is just cow skin.... that’s all it is.... its nothing special at all... like human skin... it also has pores.. and can also dry out too.
Both of the above are real problems... if the pores fill up with grease and dirt in time (like human skin would if it is never cleaned) then the pores are filled solid and the leather cannot breath.... it also cannot take in moisture of any kind... so they dry out and crack (human skin does the same if not properly taken care of as you probably know) Since there is no flesh behind the cow skin anymore to keep it moisturized... the responsibility is now on you. So the steps and things about to be mentioned are how to clean the pores... and keep the seats properly moisturized so they never dry out and therefore crack.
So this is what you do.... you take a normal scrub brush (just like the one you would use for your fingers) as well a very mild cleaner. DO NOT USE A STRONG CLEANER!!!!!!! Engine degreaser is not a good idea!... if you wouldn't use that to clean your skin... dont use that on the leather.... (You think I'm joking about writing that dis-claimer? People have done that in the past so I wrote that to let you know!!!!) Use a very mild cleaner such as watered down pine-sol in a spray bottle. Water it down 2 parts pine-sol 1 part Mr. Clean or such.. or some other type of mild cleaner. Just a simple house-hold one.. but one with out oil of any sort.
Then scrub the seat
Imeditately wipe down the seat... as soon as you can so the dirt doesn't sink back into the pores again.
Once you've done that complete to ALL the leather parts of the car... such as the head-rests... back of the seat (dont forget the rear seats too!) as well as the shift-boot... arm rests in the doors and and the rear seat arm rests..They should not shine and be much softer than before.
Next stop is moisturizing the seat:.. remember at the top of the post when I said that since the Leather is removed from the cow... the owness is on you towards moisturizing it? well that brings us to our next step..
To moisturize the seat... you need some really good stuff... this cheap crap is just that.. therefore avoid Wal-mart.. most automotive stores sell good seat moisturizer... mothers is not very good stuff... but unfortunately its the best stuff you can get at most automotive stores such as Canadian Tire or such... like pep-boys or whatever. Basically dont cheap out on the stuff... the better the stuff is.. the better it'll work. Also try a detailing studio where people pay outrageous sums of money to have a person do all this stuff for them... most detailing facilities can definately give you suggestions on the best stuff to use... Being a former professional detailer myself... I REALLY REALLY like "Car-brite" products.... or "Production detail supply" stuff
Make sure your leather moisturizer containes Lanolin Oil
and if finding any sort of actual "Leather moisturizer" is a problem... as a last resort use human skin moisturizer... it works well too. but you need LOTS of it since there is LOTS of leather to be done... and its all very very dry and therefore needs LOTS. So expect to use about a cup full for all your cars interior. Try to make sure the skin lotion also has lanolin oil.
Do not use these so called "Leather cleaner *AND* moisturizer"s they are a joke.... you need to entirely separate chemicals to do this... you cant take a sponge and throw some of that crap on the seats and expect it to work... how can a person just use handcreme and never once EVER wash they're hands? would the creme work? not really because there is gobs of dirt in the pores.... so how does the lotion get into the skin? barely eh? Leather is WAY worse... so forget about that dual-purpose crap.
When coating the seats.. use a normal (CLEAN!!!!) sponge... just like a household one...
Drop a gob of the leather moisturizer on to the seat... and rub it in with the sponge... leave lots of it remaining on the seat... don’t worry the leather will absorb the remaining lotion...
Give the seat about an hour to absorb all the conditioner in it. Then re-apply the conditioner using the same sponge as needed to all the dry spots (usually the large flat surfaces) After an hour after that... you can wipe off all the excess conditioner if you choose too... otherwise leave it overnight... it will all get absorbed in time.
Well.. that’s it right there... don’t forget to re-moisturize all the seats and everything else that you cleaned... You'll be amazed at how soft the leather will be now... its really something..
If you want to keep your seats looking great forever... you need to do this on a monthly basis for the seats that get used the most... every second month for the passenger seat or the rear seats that don’t get used as much.
There you go.... try this out and see what you think... please leave a post on this thread with the result you've experienced..