How often does everybody clean their leather seats and interior?

[SynisterQ]

Today I cleaned and protected my leather seats, door panels and dash with Eagle One leather cleaner and conditioner. My seats have no tears but they feel very hard, not supple like in a new car. I googled how to clean seats and some professional detailer guy said the seats are hard because of the excess dirt in the leather. This means the seats needs to be cleaned and then use conditoner on it to eventually get it supple again. In addition, he said leather seats should not be shiny, but dull in appearance. So, how often does everybody here clean their seats and interior?

[lino]

I like to do mine every 6 weeks.

[Haitian_King]

I haven't been able to do mine in a while (No time and the weather sucks. No indoor parking area.) When the weather gets warmer, around th end of March/early April I'm going to splurge and have my Q detailed. In and out, as well as the engine bay.

[SynisterQ]

I like to do mine every 6 weeks.

Damn, your interior looks immaculate in your signature. White interiors are so hard to keep clean but you're doing an outstanding job. What do you use on your seats?

[Kiven422]

Actually those white seats stay pretty clean. Which is very nice.

What would actually CLEAN the leather seats? and what would condition it so it becomes softer and less prone to cracking?

IMO Armorall sucks for its leather cleaning products.

[AlabamaDan]

I use Lexol every few months, no set time schedule. I have some hard seats. I've been told by professional detailers that it's from prior neglect and can't be returned to how it was.

[DrewQ45]

Seems like all early Q's have hard seats. Conditioners are pretty much a waste of time and money since the leather is coated with a sealant ....it won't soak in. Hard or not, the leather holds up better than most other makes of the same era. My driver's seat is all cracked and ripped now (90Q with 227k) but I've finally located the proverbial needle in a haystack - a nice passenger seat in the junkyard... I've already removed the cushions from it for swopping to my driver's seat.

...Drew...

[Q45man1]

I use Meguiars leather conditioner/cleaner every 6 weeks or as needed for both Q's leather seats. I clean my interior every week.

[Mark Linkous]

Hello,

Leatherique makes an excellent product as well. Though expensive, the product can do wonders with distressed leather.M.L

[qship96]

Hello,

Leatherique makes an excellent product as well. Though expensive, the product can do wonders with distressed leather.M.L

Works very well with natural leather, but wont do anything for a clearcoated type leather used in the Q45 and almost every other modern japanese car as no product available can penetrate this coating to get to the natural leather fibers to condition them

Best you can do is prevent sunlight induced damage by parking indoors,tint the windows,and apply a sunscreen type product { 303 Aerospace protectant}. tough {impossible} to try and make up for years of previous owners not adhering to above

[lino]

I'm using Meguiar's Gold Class™ Rich Leather Spray right now. Anything is better than nothing:



I was using Leatherique Rejuvinator Oil and the Prestine Clean. When I ran out, I bought the Meguiar's. (I like the Rejuvinator Oil and the Prestine Clean. I hate their dyes!)



There are many great products out there such as Lexol, Pinnacle, etc.

[oldmako]

Terrific, informative thread. My leather is fairly dirty, and very hard. I tried to clean and rejuvenate a small area and got nowhere. I figured that years of neglect had taken it's toll, but I did not realize that factory applied jizz would stymie my efforts. Major bummer.

I have the light tan interior....biscuit or whatever it's called and it's dirty. Not filthy, but dirty. The area I cleaned showed little improvement. On a brighter note, at least it's in good condition overall with no rips or cracking.

I still plan on one more attempt with straight saddle soap followed by several coats of conditioner. I used Lexor (sp?) on my Acura and it worked great.I'm going to use a fine tipped rigid brush to try and get the scuzz out of the texture.

Maybe time to start looking for some sheepskin. Pimp my ride and my a** in one fell swoop.

[AlabamaDan]

When I do try and have some heavy duty cleaning, I use Windex or 409. I figure that strips everything away and then I can start clean.

It's sorta like using Dawn to take all the old wax off before rewaxing.

[lino]

Here are some cleaning tips:

http://www.urad-leathermate.com/tips.htm

[DrewQ45]

back in my teenage days I worked at an auto dealership in Brooklyn... the cleaner we used was an industrial product...a chemical called Aftalene. I believe it's used in the dry cleaning industry in another form. That stuff was amazing...wish I could get some right now.

[SynisterQ]

This is the googled article that I read. Its very informative and this guy seems like he knows his stuff. http://www.mx6.com/forums/2g-f....html

[Mopar]

Every time I was my car. Yes, you read it right.

[Haitian_King]

Hey Drew,

A Google search on Aftalene showed that it's commercially available at NAPA and other auto parts places. Maybe a not as concentrated formula?

[lino]

back in my teenage days I worked at an auto dealership in Brooklyn... the cleaner we used was an industrial product...a chemical called Aftalene. I believe it's used in the dry cleaning industry in another form. That stuff was amazing...wish I could get some right now.

Here is the company that carries it:

https://www.russack.com/

Ask for Dave Campbell1-800-231-6901

Be sure to read the MSDS (Aftalene, AFT016,032,060) :https://www.russack.com/msds/M...e.pdf