Leather care - mainly for cream leather

[fla 9]

Just thought i'd share my experience of the past weekend and evenings. Didnt take any pics unfortunately, but i'll run you through what i did.

 

Cream leather is quite high maintenance and you can imagine that most non-enthusiast owners dont really spend too much time on proper care. As a result it wears out and genrally looks shabby. Using some good products and spending a little time can pay dividends.

 

My cabin is totally bare at present so i had the advantage of clear access.

Products: Halords McLaren leather cleaner

Gliptone leather cleaner

Gliptone LEather conditioner

nailbrush

misc white cloths (cotton)

water mister (spray)

 

Firstly, clean out the seats with a hoover, getting into all the cracks and gaps in the seat.

 

Mist the seats lightly with warm water and rub this over the seat.

 

Then using the Mclaren cleanerapply this generously to one panel at a time. Spread this with one of your white cloths and leave for about 5 mins. Then, with the nailbrush, rub this into the seat. Dont worry, the leather is very tough and you wont damage it. Where tehre are creases, stretch teh crease out and rub along it. As the cream turns grey, wipe it off and then reapply some fresh cream. Pay particualr attention to teh bolters, and the sides of the bottom and back seat pads - because of teh heater in the seats these dry out and are more prone to cracking.

After you have rubbed the crack for a while, wipe it clean and let it relax back to its normal state. Have a look at it again to see if there is any residue or any dirt remaining.

 

if it looks okay, move on to the next panel (by panel i am referrring to the strips of the seat). Take your time, there is no short cut.

 

Once you're happy with the cleaning, give it a good wipe over with a fresh cloth and use some Gliptone cleaner. Use this with a rag, or if needs be ith another nailbrush. Leave it for about 5 minutes and then wipe off. Leave the seat to dry for about 20 minutes and then wipe it again.

 

Apply some conditioner, spreading evenly. If there is some left on the seat, dont worry, it will be absorbed over time and helps to soften and feed the leather.

 

Leave the seats, or if you so wish, run a hairdryer over them gently to allow the pores of teh leather to open and absorb the conditioner. If you have a sunny part of te house leave them there and refitr the next day. If the seats are in the car, park in the sun to get some direct warmth on the seats.

 

The Halfords cleaner is very effective but quite smelly. The Gliptone also helps to remove that smell.

Use the Halfords cleaner on the vinyl seat sides and backs again with the nailbrush. Apply it liberally and remove the soiled cleaner with some clean cotton.

 

You will see that the crack lines will have almost disappeared, the seats look well refreshed and the leather feels much softer and luxurious. The condioner also imparts that superb leather smell. Then all you need to do is condition every few months and clean them thoroughly every 6 months with the Gliptone cleaner.

 

Enjoy your newly improved seats!

 

BTW, i also tried the Simoniz cleaner (again frm Halfords) but it struggled to do anything and required a huge amount of effort. It didnt smell as bad as the Mclaren though.

[vwdeviant 0]

After you have rubbed the crack for a while, wipe it clean and let it relax back to its normal state. Have a look at it again to see if there is any residue or any dirt remaining.

 

You Know Toad's going to have a field day with that statement! :lol:

[Toad 0]

I'm currently reconditioning my seats, I've got the rears and door cards in my bedroom and rub conditioner into them every couple of weeks, sometimes sitting them on the lawn to warm up while I'm doing it.

 

I've also used fibreglass to repair the door cards and re glued the leather in a lot of places.

 

Sounds a bit excessive reconditioning them every few weeks, but mine have been mistreated badly, and after looking at Judith and Vag-Hags recently, I know how much work needs doing to mine to bring them up to a reasonable standard.

[Jim Bowen 1]

i found the gliptone smells like a doctors waiting room and its only seems to feel soft and non-slippy again for a week or two.

 

have tried a few different things on mine and they pretty much the same as when i got the car, (if i don't kid myself) :lol:

 

deffo worth giving it a good clean every so often to prevent damage and make it last longer, but hard to permantely change the way the leather feels and looks with just rubbing creams into it.

 

just my opinion

[Guest]

I used Meguiars aloa cleaner and leather cream on my platinum leather I bought a few weeks back, and that was heaving filthy! I also used the Armour all leather wipes which are surprisingly good and removed loads of grime from the seats you couldnt see, I dont think the interior could have been cleaned properly for a decade!

 

It came out absolutely spanking, mind it took 3 evenings of graft and a bottle of aloa and a tube of Armour all wipes, having looked at a few other sets of grey leathers this one is definately in very nice condition in comparison, and its lovely and soft too, maybe being covered in grime has protected it in some way over the tears :shrug: looks new again now :grin:

[krnau 0]

I usually use skin or hand-care cream, for example "nivea" :D