cleaning your leather seats

200h · April 5, 2016

my question is :-

what do you use to clean your leather seats ??

i am wanting a product that leaves a leather scent in the car rather than a chemical scent,

at the moment i am using Meguiars leather cleaner and chemicals is what i can smell

the auto glym leather cleaner has a nicer scent to it.

any recommedations for me.

steveledzep · April 5, 2016

I use Gliptone Cleaner and their conditioner too which leaves a leathery aroma. It's a bit Marmite, as a lot of people don't like it.

I find the smell pleasant, but more importantly I find it conditions the leather very well. The bolster on my driver's seat was developing cracks and they have disappeared for the moment.

Good on our leather suite at home too.

Gliptone readily available on eBay.

rayaans · April 5, 2016

11 minutes ago, 200h said:

my question is :-

what do you use to clean your leather seats ??

i am wanting a product that leaves a leather scent in the car rather than a chemical scent,

at the moment i am using meguiars leather cleaner and chemicals is what i can smell

the auto glym leather cleaner has a nicer scent to it.

any recommedations for me.

You're not going to get any real scent with leather cleaners. Conditioners like Gliptone leather conditioner will give you that leathery smell.

Failing that, get a gliptone under seat air freshener. Lasts for ages and smells like proper leather!

I personally use dodo juice leather cleaner to clean the seats and I stick gliptone leather conditioner on top although it's not needed

I don't rate the Gliptone cleaner that well though. Only any good for maintenance and takes too long to apply as its a syrup. Dodo juice is spray and agitate with a brush directly. Takes maybe half an hour to do the whole car. With gliptone it can take an hour doing it properly i.e apply gliptone, brush it on all the seats well, remove with damp cloth etc. It can't handle any real dirt either.

capese21 · April 5, 2016

Cleans and smells of leather.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/91557/wonder-wheels-leather-clean-feed

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-cleaning/interior-cleaning-vacuums/wonder-wheels-leather-clean-feed-500ml

steveledzep · April 5, 2016

I agree with Rayaan, the Gliptone cleaner is a bit syrupy straight from the bottle. That's why I massage it into a damp cloth so it is impregnated with the cleaner. Works a treat then and very quickly too.

rayaans · April 5, 2016

22 minutes ago, steveledzep said:

I agree with Rayaan, the Gliptone cleaner is a bit syrupy straight from the bottle. That's why I massage it into a damp cloth so it is impregnated with the cleaner. Works a treat then and very quickly too.

Cheap and cheerful though and although its not great for really bad dirt its great if you keep on top of it.

I like detailing the outside but my interior gets left due to time shortage and therefore I tend to go for the Dodo juice spray as I find it much easier to use

30 minutes ago, capese21 said:

Cleans and smells of leather.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/91557/wonder-wheels-leather-clean-feed

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-cleaning/interior-cleaning-vacuums/wonder-wheels-leather-clean-feed-500ml

The Dodo juice cleaner is infinitely better though... even takes biro out of leather

steveledzep · April 5, 2016

There's only me and Mrs ledzep so the interior doesn't really get dirty, other than the floor mats. Gliptone just keeps the seats fresh.

Not tried Dodo juice, I'll keep it in mind in case we have an accident !

Wisty · April 5, 2016

Another thumbs up for Dodo juice. It left my leather clean and wonderfully smooth and supple after not too much effort. Get a good soft bristled brush though - this will make a big difference rather than using a cloth.

capese21 · April 6, 2016

10 hours ago, rayaans said:

The Dodo juice cleaner is infinitely better though... even takes biro out of leather

The OP`s question was

Quote

i am wanting a product that leaves a leather scent in the car rather than a chemical scent,

The Dodo juice doesn't have a leather scent and smells of chemicals. The Wonder Wheels leather Clean & Feed works very well and leaves a nice subtle leather smell. I tried both and didn't like the Dodo scent and it lingered for days to.

Ed

rayaans · April 6, 2016

2 hours ago, capese21 said:

The OP`s question was

The Dodo juice doesn't have a leather scent and smells of chemicals. The Wonder Wheels leather Clean & Feed works very well and leaves a nice subtle leather smell. I tried both and didn't like the Dodo scent and it lingered for days to.

Ed

The cleaner doesn't leave a scent - its odourless like all Supernatural products?! Are you talking about the sealant?

Best bet for 200h is to get some dodo juice leather cleaner and stick the Gliptone leather conditioner on top and at the same time grab a gliptone under seat car freshener.

That''ll give you the proper old school leather smell for months.

capese21 · April 6, 2016

26 minutes ago, rayaans said:

Best bet for 200h is to get some dodo juice leather cleaner and stick the Gliptone leather conditioner on top and at the same time grab a gliptone under seat car freshener.

Wonder wheels Leather clean & feed does all this in one go no faffing around.

It was the sealant that smelled of chemicals not the cleaner I expect a leather cleaner to leave a nice leather smell though which the dodo doesn't.

Another good choice would be Dr Leather Liquid Cleaner.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/interior/leather-care/dr-leather-advanced-leather-cleaner/prod_1558.html

rayaans · April 6, 2016

1 hour ago, capese21 said:

Wonder wheels Leather clean & feed does all this in one go no faffing around.

It was the sealant that smelled of chemicals not the cleaner I expect a leather cleaner to leave a nice leather smell though which the dodo doesn't.

Another good choice would be Dr Leather Liquid Cleaner.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/interior/leather-care/dr-leather-advanced-leather-cleaner/prod_1558.html

The Dodo Juice leather cleaner isn't supposed to leave a smell. The whole idea being that cleaners with added perfumes etc have to compensate by being more concentrated.

The leather clean and feed is odd - its pretty hard to clean and feed the car at the same time which means its either doing 1 or the other (or both but not very well). Its like those wash and wax products for the exterior which don't actually give you any protection on your car!

The Dr leather cleaner is unnecessarily expensive though. Dodo juice will shift anything Dr leather will.

capese21 · April 6, 2016

Quote

i am wanting a product that leaves a leather scent in the car rather than a chemical scent,

This was the OP`s question. He wants a leather cleaner that leaves a nice Leather scent

The Leather clean & feed is an excellent cleaner and has made my seats feel supple and leaves a nice scent.

rayaans · April 6, 2016

1 hour ago, capese21 said:

This was the OP`s question. He wants a leather cleaner that leaves a nice Leather scent

The Leather clean & feed is an excellent cleaner and has made my seats feel supple and leaves a nice scent.

But a leather cleaner shouldnt traditionally leave a scent. Its the conditioner/feed in a product that leaves the scent.

Besides it leaves a scent for maybe 48 hours - the gliptone under seat freshener lasts for months on end.

steveledzep · April 6, 2016

Ed (capese21), I haven't contributed more because it is clear that you and I haven't a clue what we're talking about !

It appears that there is no other cleaner than Dodo Juice to do the job on this occasion !

I am very happy with the products I use, as you appear to be too Ed. As you say the OP wanted a leather cleaner that left a leather smell and you appear to have found one.

BTW.....wonder where the OP is ?

capese21 · April 6, 2016

39 minutes ago, steveledzep said:

I am very happy with the products I use, as you appear to be too Ed. As you say the OP wanted a leather cleaner that left a leather smell and you appear to have found one.

We do know what we are talking about because we answered the OP`s question!! Gliptone or WW Leather clean & feed. These clean & have a real leather smell as asked for!!

Now had the OP asked for cleaner that didnt have a real leather smell to it the answer would be different!!

It is all good advice even if opinions differ.

Ed

rayaans · April 6, 2016

Except that the wonder wheels leather clean and feed is not a leather "cleaner", its an ALL IN ONE!! As is the Meguiars OP is using currently...........

And....... the Gliptone Leather cleaner doesnt have a leathery smell.........

Therefore Ed, you have not answered the question as your answer is not specifically relating to a cleaner but an AIO product which through my experience, just tends to shift dirt around from one place to another giving you an impression of cleanliness and shiny seats over time, especially if the seats get some abuse.

For someone that strives for perfection on every car I have, all in one products generally dont "clean" very well and after all, the OP asked for a leather "cleaner" not an AIO!

Feed generally leaves a layer behind, theres no real way a leather cleaner can clean and leave a layer behind at the same time. All those dirt particles are just being layered over by the feed, grinding into the seat as you sit on it.

Although its easy to forget, the thing you are cleaning is not the "leather" itself, its the polymer coating on top of the leather. Therefore, feeding isn't going to do jack all anyway, it just sits on the surface attracting more dirt (which is fine if you really want to keep cleaning your seats every month).

So OP, without getting overly complicated - you don't really need a feeding product as its going to attract more dirt (they typically use oils) and therefore you want a pure cleaner. A pure cleaner will NOT leave a leathery smell, it'll leave something chemical in nature or nothing at all and hence, if you want that smell you will have to look towards a combination of leather cleaner + conditioner OR just use a leather cleaner on its own with some sort of sealing product like dye block and go for an underseat leather smell air freshener.

Another option is to use leather aroma spray and spray it inside the car

capese21 · April 6, 2016

WW Leather Clean & Feed doesn't feel oily or leave any shine or oil behind. It leaves my seats with a clean matt & supple as new look finish so I doubt it is adding anything to the surface. I also like Dr Leather cleaner which also leaves seats looking matt supple with a nice leather scent.

These would be choice for a cleaner that also has a nice leather scent.

Ed

200h · April 6, 2016

4 hours ago, steveledzep said:

Ed (capese21), I haven't contributed more because it is clear that you and I haven't a clue what we're talking about !

It appears that there is no other cleaner than Dodo Juice to do the job on this occasion !

I am very happy with the products I use, as you appear to be too Ed. As you say the OP wanted a leather cleaner that left a leather smell and you appear to have found one.

BTW.....wonder where the OP is ?

i am here :-) i am reading all of your comments ,i'm quite surprised there are so many suggestions

thank you to you all.

crispian · April 7, 2016

Dr leather gets my vote, cleaned all the blue dye of my tan seats and wasn't sticky afterwards. Smelt nice as well :)

PWOOD · April 7, 2016

Once clean and free of any residue try Gtechniq 1L which will stop the seats getting ingrained dirt in the first place. It will require a mask to apply as the fumes will catch your breath but its worth it. Provided protection from dirt and abrasion is the most important thing. Sorry it's Not answering your question but thought you might want to look the stuff up anyway.

Rabbers · April 8, 2016

I too have been using Dr Leather wipes for many years, and have always been satisfied with its cleaning ability, especially as regards denim stains. The leather smell is also nice but not very long-lasting. Good as the product is, I would recommend to use it only sparingly and not too often because, despite the manufacturer's claims, there can be some slight surface accumulation and consequent undesirable shine - undesirable, that is, if you want to maintain the original matt finish of the leather. Also, for this same reason, it is best to let the product dry by itself after application without any further wiping.

DanD · April 8, 2016

I use Gliptone's Liquid Leather Intensive Cleaner twice a year and Gentle Cleaner the rest of the time + Leather Conditioner.

I also use their leather aroma pad.

Bit of a faff, but follow their instructions and you'll be pleased with the result. Worth the money in my opinion.

ColinBarber · April 18, 2016

You need to be careful with some of these cleaners as they are aggressive, especially if you have higher grade semi-aniline leather which doesn't have a think robust coating which the cheaper corrected grain leathers have. You really should only use them once or twice a year and just use a damp cloth for regular cleaning.

rayaans · April 18, 2016

1 hour ago, ColinBarber said:

You need to be careful with some of these cleaners as they are aggressive, especially if you have higher grade semi-aniline leather which doesn't have a think robust coating which the cheaper corrected grain leathers have. You really should only use them once or twice a year and just use a damp cloth for regular cleaning.

Test for semi aniline - drop of water. It should sit on the surface but then use a cloth and put it on the water. There should be a darker spot for a few minutes due to semi aniline leather absorbing water.

However, 3is doesn't come with semi aniline. Bar the LS, RX Premier and GS premier I think they're all coated leather