Cleaning leather

Shahpor · November 25, 2016

Hey chaps,

I know this has been covered before, but I wanted you advice about cleaning my cream leather interior.

I bought a Liquid Leather kit from Gliptone which included intensive cleaner, leather conditioner, microfiber clothes and a brush.

I tried it today, and while there was an improvement, it isn't as good as I would like.

Have a look at these:

Before cleaning:

After:

I scrubbed and wiped it for about 5 minutes overall, but it wasn't getting any better.

The creases also wouldn't budge with the conditioner.

So I was wonder, what would I need to get it properly clean?

Thanks.

ahmedali44 · November 25, 2016

Tried Autoglym products in past on cream leather results were rubbish u pay lot for products which don't seem to work, this dodo juice seems to work better then expensive products on market, another good product is baby wipes work wonders on leather sofas, so should work on car leather too.v use tesco brand all time on leather sofas, give it try might work better then what u got.

rayaans · November 25, 2016

Dodo Juice Supernatural leather kit for sure.

Dont be tempted by Dr Leather - its more expensive but no better at cleaning

Shahpor · November 25, 2016

Thanks for the pics Adam.

Well, it seems the general consensus is Dodo Juice is the way to go. Annoyingly, I had Dodo juice in my amazon Wishlist, but decided to try this liquid leather instead.

I will pick up some Dodo stuff and see how that does then.

Thanks chaps.

mk_lon · November 25, 2016

Thanks Shahpor for putting this topic up,

I have the same interior and its getting pretty dirty. I was thinking about cleaning it for the last few months but did'nt know what to use and never got round to putting up a post

rayaans · November 25, 2016

2 hours ago, Shahpor said:

Thanks for the pics Adam.

Well, it seems the general consensus is Dodo Juice is the way to go. Annoyingly, I had Dodo juice in my Amazon Wishlist, but decided to try this liquid leather instead.

I will pick up some Dodo stuff and see how that does then.

Thanks chaps.

Make sure you get the dodo juice leather sealant as well, stops it from going that groggy again!

Just spray directly onto the seat and agitate with a soft leather brush. If its soft enough for your skin, its soft enough for the leather.

Then just wipe off with damp MF, wait to dry (whilst cracking on with another seat) and apply sealant using a round sponge applicator.

Shahpor · November 25, 2016

Will get some sealant too.

Funnily enough, have a look at the customer images on the Dodo juice amazon page:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dodo-Juice-Supernatural-SNLC500-Leather/dp/B00DS44STE/ref=lp_1660265031_1_2?srs=1660265031&ie=UTF8&qid=1480102036&sr=8-2

rayaans · November 26, 2016

Must be fate! 😂😂

jackcramerr · November 30, 2016

Guys you will ruin the leather with harsh chemicals. The top clear coat is very easy to rub off which makes the leather look cleaner but in long term there is no protection. Hence auto glym and other expensive products seem not to work.

If you really want to see the difference and want to rub of the top coat, use some detergent or soap. And if you want to the really protect it, spray the clear top coat.

jackcramerr · November 30, 2016

Also damp cloth is bad for leather. The paint on leather is also water based. To prove it, take some damp cloth and rub it on the seat. Rub it a few times and you will see the leather cleaning. Check the cloth and you will see paint on it. At this point you have already ruined the paint job. That's how low quality paint is on the lexus. Newer might be better... Don't know.

Shahpor · November 30, 2016

But wouldn't using a leather conditioner help seal the top coat again? In fact, Dodo Juice Sealant claims exactly that?

jackcramerr · December 1, 2016

I would call it gimmick. It is like remove top coat from your car body work and then applying some wax to protect.

rayaans · December 1, 2016

12 hours ago, jackcramerr said:

Guys you will ruin the leather with harsh chemicals. The top clear coat is very easy to rub off which makes the leather look cleaner but in long term there is no protection. Hence auto glym and other expensive products seem not to work.

If you really want to see the difference and want to rub of the top coat, use some detergent or soap. And if you want to the really protect it, spray the clear top coat.

12 hours ago, jackcramerr said:

Also damp cloth is bad for leather. The paint on leather is also water based. To prove it, take some damp cloth and rub it on the seat. Rub it a few times and you will see the leather cleaning. Check the cloth and you will see paint on it. At this point you have already ruined the paint job. That's how low quality paint is on the lexus. Newer might be better... Don't know.

The above is bull**** and I will elaborate on why.

Firstly, the coating put on Lexus leathers is a Polyurethane coat. Just because it is "Water based" and not Oil based, it doesn't mean that water is going to take the coating off!

Modern leather cleaners are all safe for polyurethane coatings and will NOT remove them. Neither will damp water or mild detergent. A simple test is to try it on your skin. If its safe for skin, its safe for polyurethane coatings.

Ive been using different leather cleaners on all of my cars since 2004 and never had an issue. Some cars will dye the cloth, especially poor repair jobs, but you will find that this is not coming from the seat itself but from inside the perforations which aren't fully coated.

Think about it logically - a seat is subject to hours of rubbing backside and lats over thousands of miles and a 2 yearly treatment of leather cleaner is going to remove a coating? WHAT!?!

jackcramerr · December 1, 2016

I see. :)

Shahpor · December 1, 2016

Well, I can confirm that Dodo Juice is indeed very good.

Had a quick scrub today, and it ended up like this:

The light isn't very good, but you should be able to just about make out some improvements.

In person, apart from the creases and a bit of paint flake, the seat is looking pretty good now. Well, a damn sight better than before I started anyway.

rayaans · December 1, 2016

3 hours ago, Shahpor said:

Well, I can confirm that Dodo Juice is indeed very good.

Had a quick scrub today, and it ended up like this:

The light isn't very good, but you should be able to just about make out some improvements.

In person, apart from the creases and a bit of paint flake, the seat is looking pretty good now. Well, a damn sight better than before I started anyway.

That seat is looking very impressive.

Take your time and give it another hit, working a panel of a seat at a time and rubbing it in with a leather brush and you should see great results.

Another trick is to use a warm damp cloth and place it on the seat beforehand, it opens the pores up (akin to shaving) and helps with cleaning

Shahpor · December 1, 2016

Thanks.

Yep, when I look at the first pic in this thread, I realise how clean it now is.

I will give it another go. I did use a bristle brush that came with the kit I had previously and it did build up a lather. Although the microfiber cloth did still have some dirt on it afterwards, so it could use another clean.

I will try your warm damp cloth trick next time as well.

Linas.P · December 9, 2016

I just wanted to check, are there any specific tips for black leather? I know it should be generally easier to clean and to be honest my seats doesn't even look like they need it - tip for used cars.. they look best with dark coloured interiors.. however, I know for a fact they have not been cleaned for ages and even if it was ever done, that was most likely cheap products with rubbish like silicone... so on the places where they are most used like driver seats it getting a bit shiny. I know that is generally happens from wear, but I hope I can get slightly more matte looks by cleaning with correct products.

rayaans · December 11, 2016

On 09/12/2016 at 3:39 AM, Linas.P said:

I just wanted to check, are there any specific tips for black leather? I know it should be generally easier to clean and to be honest my seats doesn't even look like they need it - tip for used cars.. they look best with dark coloured interiors.. however, I know for a fact they have not been cleaned for ages and even if it was ever done, that was most likely cheap products with rubbish like silicone... so on the places where they are most used like driver seats it getting a bit shiny. I know that is generally happens from wear, but I hope I can get slightly more matte looks by cleaning with correct products.

The shine is dirt. If you remove the dirt using the Dodo Juice leather cleaner (or a good leather cleaner of your choice) you'll find that the seat will automatically become matt anyway.

Linas.P · December 11, 2016

Just wiped them with damp MF and looks like new.... Still need to think about sealing them going forward. Cannot really found any other recommended product but Dodo juice? Any other options?

rayaans · December 11, 2016

5 hours ago, Linas.P said:

Just wiped them with damp MF and looks like new.... Still need to think about sealing them going forward. Cannot really found any other recommended product but Dodo juice? Any other options?

There's other products out there but I havent found one better than Dodo Juice for the leather yet.

Dr leather has the same performance but it works out much more expensive.

madasahatter · December 12, 2016

Dr leather do wipes a lot of car detailers use and swear by them. Must be good its there living.

rayaans · December 12, 2016

8 hours ago, madasahatter said:

Dr leather do wipes a lot of car detailers use and swear by them. Must be good its there living.

Thats because they work well and are quicker than using a brush

detailers have time limits and often take multiple cars at a time and hence works out cost effective for them, not to mention they probably get it at trade prices.

For the rest of us, the spray solutions are cheaper and work just as well if not better in conjunction with a brush.