leather seat cleaner

[M35SFIREMEDIC]

Hey guys I use lexol leather cleaner, and I was wandering if there is a product that works better? I have the stone gray seats and the seats seem like they don't get quite as clean as I would like. Under normal cleaning conditions the lexol works great when cleaning every week or two, but now I need a more deep cleaning. Any advice?

[wingFeather]

I've tried Lexol, Leatherique and a ton of others. They all seem to work about the same... they're chemically balanced not to harm leather, which in turn makes them kind of weak. Before going to the next level, try these cleaners with a leather brush. I think they're made of horse hair & scrub the pores better than a rag can do. I've heard "soft scrub" cleaner works well (or magic eraser)... but be careful as these may start to take off some dye.

If nothing seems to help, then it may be time to dye the leather. Leatherique or Dynamix make wonderful dyes for this purpose.

Finish off with a thick coat of "Leather Honey".

[antzrus]

Not a cleaner-but a conditioner; Zaino-Leather in a Bottle. Not greasy/nor shiny and smells like leather. Great on all surfaces except glass. Your hands smell so good you'll want to whiff them; when no one is looking...

[esaydam]

+1 for Zaino

[TXT]

+2 for Zaino. This thread looks very familiar to another recent thread lol.

If you are strictly looking for leather scent (the same exact scent from the Zaino conditioner), look on amazon or chemical guys website for "Chemical Guys (AIR_102_16) Leather Scent". Its the best scent ever just like a brand new leather interior. You wont regret it.

[M35SFIREMEDIC]

Great advice guys, thanks

[Minus (-)]

i use lexol as well, but with a KIWI leather brush......i dont know if you're looking for it to be shiny, but leather should not be shiny. i guarantee if you was to clean and condition half the seat and leave the other dirty, you would see the difference in what the chemicals are doing. spray,brush, and wipe off.

[finikM35]

I use lexol cleaner and conditioner as well, have no cracks and leather is soft. I heard zaino can make leather lose color a little is that true?

[antzrus]

I use lexol cleaner and conditioner as well, have no cracks and leather is soft. I heard zaino can make leather loose color a little is that true?

Been using Zaino for years-no problem:

[finikM35]

[Partysan7]

There is no product that would deep clean leather like a steamer !!! Steamer not only deep cleans but also evens out wrinkles ( breaks in leathers memory ) and makes it softer.. All of the above listed products only clean off of the urethane coating but dont penetrate in that goes for conditioners also .. So basically for these conditioners to work you have to steam clean first to open leathers pores and condition right after. Check out Swissvax Elephant Leather Fat

[N8NiTTY]

i use lexol but i hate the smell of it....

[M35SFIREMEDIC]

Steam cleaning, never really thought of that as a way to clean leather seats. I was thinking too much moisture would be bad. I have some time coming up to try some of the ideas you guys suggested. I'll post what works best. Tks again.

[Partysan7]

One thing that leather seats suffer from is drieness which results in cracking. You dont have to use commercial grade steamer that auto detailing guys are using. Right now I am using small handheld conair steamer and it does the job, not as fast but the results are there . First time I used it I wiped down right after with a white mf towel and could not believe how dirty the seats were. Since then thats all Iam using and it works great on pretty much the whole interior. I am actually about to buy a proffesional steamer as detailing is a big hobby of mine and hopefully one day will turn into a profession
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ycxp_gcciqU

[antzrus]

OK, OK! I've got my steamer. Now what do I do?

[Partysan7]

OK, OK! I've got my steamer. Now what do I do?

Pour hot water on your seats

[wingFeather]

Never heard of steam cleaning leather. Interesting...

[yosM45]

Zaino cleaner and conditioner. My stone looks brand new. 7 years later.

[M4T5]

OK, OK! I've got my steamer. Now what do I do?

Antz....your a** still around huh!! You been keeping the forum in check with your brilliant sarcasm??!!

Jim

[Larz]

I only use Griot's Garage products on my cars.
For leather:
I use a steamer as well, but not often - just when it seems time to clean a little deeper.. It is amazing how clean this gets the leather and it also helps keep it soft and supple. I follow that with Griot's garage leather products. I have tried Lexol, Leather Master, Zymol, Blackrock, and a bunch of others but Griot's out-does them all.
After you steam clean, use Griot's "Leather Care" and you will be amazed at the results and it smells great too. It dosen't clog our perforated seats and it leaves a non-greasy feel and a great leather smell after the final buff. I do that about once or twice a year, the rest of the time I just do touch-up cleaning on the leather when I wash my car with Griot's "Leather Spray". You spray it on your microfiber towel, wipe it on, wait a minute or two, then wipe it off.
After 5 years of blazing sun and 80-90 degrees 350+ days of the year in South Florida I have no wrinkles, no tears or splits, and my bourbon leather seats still look, feel, and smell brand new.
If your seats are older like mine and have never been thoroughly cleaned - steam them and use Griot's Leather Rejuvinator after the steam - apply it and leave it on overnight so it can seep deep into the leather and replace the natural oils. Remove it with clean cloth next day. The leather may appear slightly darker in the morning of the next day, but they come back to the original shade in a few days.

[rxmclaren7]

so we got a nice day here in the central NY Finger Lakes region (55 degrees!!!) and so i decided to detail the seats in my car...i used the Zaino leather cleaner and the leather in a bottle...man do my seats look good!! sorry no before and after pics i forgot my camera inside...the light sent of leather is also a nice touch!!

[mpgmusic]

So I have one that you probably haven't heard of before. It's called L1 Leather Guard by GTechniq. I have the wheat interior and I regularly use Griots Leather conditioner and Zaino Leather in a bottle. HOWEVER, my light colored leather could pick up transmission from my jeans or my belts (black especially). After I treat my leather with a cleaner, I spray my driver's seat with L1 Leather Guard. Let me tell you, this stuff works. It makes the seat feel VERY smooth, but it creates a micro level layer that prevents color transmission and minimizes dirt. It also makes it MUCH easier to clean as the dirt is kept out of the grain of the leather.

My seats look BRAND NEW after 70,000+ miles. People always think my car is brand new. Now, granted, I'm super picky, so i clean my seats every couple of months - but I use what my leather expert friend told me to use - Liquid dove on a very damp microfiber cloth and then follow with a wipe down with a dry microfiber cloth. You can see the dirt come right off. Dove is, by design, a mild soap that won't harm leather. Nearly all professional leather guys will tell you that is what they use to REALLY clean soiled leather.

Then, I just use my Zaino and/or Griots to condition and top it off with L1.

Lastly, I may spray a bit with Chemical Guys leather spray into my carpets to strengthen the leather smell. Gotta love it.

[TDot]

One thing that leather seats suffer from is drieness which results in cracking. You dont have to use commercial grade steamer that auto detailing guys are using. Right now I am using small handheld conair steamer and it does the job, not as fast but the results are there . First time I used it I wiped down right after with a white mf towel and could not believe how dirty the seats were. Since then thats all Iam using and it works great on pretty much the whole interior. I am actually about to buy a proffesional steamer as detailing is a big hobby of mine and hopefully one day will turn into a profession
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ycxp_gcciqU

I'm going to do my own research on this, but could you give some more detail on this steaming? Is any steamer good? How low or how high should it be set? I've never used a steamer so as much info as you could provide would be helpful.

[Larz]

What you want is a portable steamer ( I believe mine is 1500 watts ). The important thing is that it must have a hose and allow or come with a brush attachment. If you buy one of those hand-held one-piece things, then you have to slide the hole unit across the seat to brush it and that could be combersome and maybe even allow scolding water to drip on the leather.
You simply brush a small portion of the seat (do the back separate from the actual seat portion). I make maybe 5-6 passes with light pressure while the steam is applied through the brush attachment and then immediately wipe with a good quality microfiber towel. I use microfiber because by design, they trap and hold more dirt and moisture much better than say cotton or a dish towel. As far as the actual temp of the steam being applied, I have no clue, sorry. I don't hold the brush against the leather and shoot steam directly into it - just allow the steam to hit the seat while you briskly brush back and forth, then immediately wipe with microfiber. Hope this helps.
Also, we should all be reminded that steaming ONLY cleans the leather. It is important not to forget the last step - protection and feeding. I am hooked on Griot's Garage products but I'm sure we all have our favorites.
As far as damage caused by applying steam / water to leather - remember that leather is 'tanned' with steam and water.

[TDot]

thanks for the info. which one do you have?
I'm looking at
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BQRD0I/ref ... us?ie=UTF8
and
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003PGQI3Y/ref ... us?ie=UTF8

I just wish I can find one that runs off dc instead.

[Larz]

I recommend the one with the pole that folds down. It has a long hose, a good size brush attachment, it's nearly half-off, and it ships free. I may actually get one too LOL and replace my old one. Mine is about 5 years old and its called 'stem mate' but it's similar to that one. Mine also can use the smaller brush attachment from my vaccuum - just lucky. As far as DC operated, I wonder if something that has to draw enough current to heat this much water into steam could run off of a cig lighter or 12v aux outlet.

[TDot]

I went ahead and ordered it. but I won't get around to doing itfor a couple weeks. will report back.

[Partysan7]

Its all up to you steamer is great for everything not just upholstery but its also good for cleaning engines and wheels or at home. In my opinion unless you own a detail shop or do detail in general you dont need vapor steamer! I am using regular Conair clothes steamer and I get the results I want .

[SteveTheTech]

Interesting stuff here.

Not surprised to see Zanio making an appearance here. I actually look forward to investing most of a day off for the initial application on the exterior.

Has anyone here tried,

http://www.amazon.com/Leather-Master-Dy ... B007A2PXXK
Personally I wouldn't purchase a light color leather but I have seen many that could use this product, and I would love to find something to recommend to them.

I am planning on using Leather Honey as a conditioner on the car when the ambient temperature starts out over 60. I have been using LH on my leather furniture and it works really well to keep the surface soft even when the humidity is next to zero in the house.

It's kind of interesting that most of y'all are not using Woolite at 10:1 to clean the surfaces.

[TDot]

so I got it and it works wonders. I expected to see some dirt come off on the drivers seat, but when I used it on the passenger seat which didn't even look like it needed anything, I saw dirt pour off. amazing. it was so easy that ill be doing this once a month easy. funny thing, I bought the lexol cleaner and conditioner a year ago and after 20min of use I gave up and took it to the detailer, but with the ease of this I will never look at another detailer. after I finished steaming I used the lexol shampoo just for the sake of a cleaner and then the conditioner for protection. highly recommend this.