Leather Seat Care

[Fireman]

I have a Cruiser with cloth seats, so I never really paid attention to "leather care" message threads; but we just bought a Honda w/ leather seats (Cruiser is great, but not really big enough to haul around the whole family) and now I have a question I was hoping you all could help with.

Should I be applying some sort of leather conditioner right away as a preventitive, or not for some time?

My daughter (4 years old) has already christened it with a juice-box-sticky hand, but a cloth, damp with water, was able to clean it off. I had a bottle of Meguiars Leather Cleaner/Conditioner at the ready, but did not need to use it.

Any information, as always, is appreciated.
Thanks-
Jack

[Sci-Fi]

Leather should be vacuumed, cleaned, and conditioners applied on a regular basis (at least once a month). Car leather is exposed to sunlight and heat and needs a bit more care. In harsher, drier, hotter climates, weekly conditioning may be necessary to insure years of service from your leather.

Use a crevice tool on your vacuum and concentrate on the seams and stitching to remove dust and dirt. Mold and mildew will generally form in this area and will literally eat away the stitching. So you want to clean out those areas as well as possible.

There are many leather cleaning products that you can choose from. Many luxury cars recommend using a Woolite mixture with distilled water (10 to 1 ratio) and pre-treat stains with full strength Woolite. Many prefer to use a dedicated leather product. After cleaning and in some cases rinsing, wipe/let the leather dry. Can use a hair dryer on the lowest heat setting to dry out the seams and stitching.

Apply your favorite leather conditioner (several thin coats are better than one thick coat) and let the leather absorb the conditioner/soak in for about 15-20 minutes (or an hour or more if you want to take a lunch break...lol). Leather can only absorb so much, so any excess product will just sit on the surface and can be wiped away with a damp towel and can used elsewhere (even on vinyl). Take a dry towel and buff the leather dry. Wait a few hours before driving.

Lexol line of leather care products is pretty much the standard and easily available locally. Leatherique is considered top of the line. Eagle One Carnuba Leather Cream is a favorite among motorcyclists can can be applied by hand (old school method). 303 Aerospace Protectant, Pinnicle, Mothers, Meguiars, etc etc also offer fine leather care products. Read the instructions for any product and follow them for the best results.

[Fireman]

Thanks for the information. I was not aware that leather required so much work!

Now I know how I'll be spending my wekends.

Jack

[PTBailey]

I would like to thank you for the leather cleaning details. I have leather seats on my PT and was wondering how to care for them.

[SteelBlueGT]

Speaking from experience Cruiser leather seats are durable but subject to drying out and if not treated cracking. I vacuum my car weekly and treat the seats every 3 mo with a quality leather cleaner and conditioner from Zaino Bros. My seats look real good and the car has 55,000 miles on it. BTW it smells like new leather.

[turbomangt]

If you live in an area were the tempurature constantly changes, plus you add humidity to the picture, you have leather drying out, expanding, shrinking and eventually cracking, go to my web site and check out my leahter cleaner which is PH balanced, should not use anything caustic on leather, then follow with my conditioner, I suggest doing it every 2 months. gary

[Victoria]

Mine has the suede inserts in the leather, any tips on cleaning that? An "unusual" stain was in the drivers seat when I bought her. Its somewhat embedded so light cleaning hasn't been successful in removing it.

[turbomangt]

Victoria, first thing you should do is find your local janitorial supply store near you, they are most helpful for difficult stains in sensative material. what I would do as always is start out with the least aggressive cleaning solution possible. Since suede can color change easily you must be careful. take a clean bucket of plain water. get a bottle of all purpose cleaner, using a terri towel. wet it wet from the bucket of water, wring it out so its damp. first wipe down area withthe damp towel, then spray some all purpose cleaner on the entire area where the stain is, using the damp towel clean the area again. if the stain is solvent based this solution won't help, however if it is food based, it will work. if the stain still exsists after this approach,the janitorial store will have a solution for sure. Gary

[Victoria]

Muchos gracious!

or: my translation:

"Many nachos!"