Interior Cleaning 'Leather'

[jayson]

Hi All,

What do you all clean your interior leather with and how often? and what do you rate as best leather cleaner?  I have interior Dark Blue in a is250 f sport. In the hand book simply states water and mild detergent??

 

[NemesisUK]

I have Clove leather interior and I use the kit supplied by Lexus to clean it, whenever it starts to look a little grubby. Being a  light cream/sand colour it doesn't take much getting in and out with denim on to give the bolsters a slight blue tinge. The cleaner in the kit removes every trace very easily and the conditioner leaves the seats soft and as they left the factory.

I'm pretty sure the solution in the kit is simply a gentle 'woolite' type detergent. Smells similar. Not sure what the conditioner is but it's very thin and applied using what I would call a paint pad! A soft cloth is used to buff off the conditioner after a couple of minutes. 

[Guest]

As per this thread - I had previously used one that spoiled the look so restored it using a different product. 

 

[rayaans]

Best leather cleaner at the moment?

Dodo juice supernatural.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, rayaans said:

Best leather cleaner at the moment?

Dodo juice supernatural.

I was very impressed with it. Although I've only compared 2.

[rayaans]

9 hours ago, Comedian said:

I was very impressed with it. Although I've only compared 2.

And I've compared loads! When I say best Im taking into account everything including value for money. 

Dr leather leather cleaner has the same performance but it's more expensive but that's the next "best" one so to speak. Valetpro leather soap is good but needs 2 hits rather than the 1 with dodo juice. Gliptone cleaner is pathetic in comparison to dodo juice requiring multiple goes but would be OK as a 1 monthly cleaner but that'd be too much effort for me tbh.

All purpose cleaner is generally fine but the problem with it is dilution. Too much and you'll degrade the protective coat. Too little and it doesn't clean very well. I'd rather just buy a ready made solution.

[Rabbers]

Many years ago I had just arrived at a hotel late at night when I spilled some coffee on the leather passenger seat of my BMW.  The only

readily available remedy was a drop of bubble-bath (Hermesetas) added to water from my room.  To my surprise, this worked a treat, and

when I saw the seat in daylight the next morning, it looked better than the others.  After that I always preferred a mild soapy solution for

cleaning my car leather and was gratified to discover, years later, that this is also Lexus' recommendation.

[Mr Vlad]

The drivers seat in my car had very bad dirt marks embedded in the slight cracks within the leather. Stockport lexus didn't clean the seat before I bought it.

I tolerated it for a few months till I bought auto glym clean and protect kit.

This stuff shifted the crud and nourished the leather and the seat was as new. I followed the instructions but used too much of the cleaner and it took a lot of getting it off with a damp cloth.

Superb stuff and a bargain

I wear work pants and jeans and neither leave a colour behind on my cream seats. 

[Guest]

I believe it's important to not use apc and soap as they can be reactivated with wet shoes damp clothes and damp air etc resulting in bacteria and mould. What I heard anyway. Never tried it.

Sent from my STV100-4 using Tapatalk

[Rebecca]

Ive always used this and been delighted with the results. Smells lovely too 😀

[rayaans]

2 hours ago, Comedian said:

I believe it's important to not use apc and soap as they can be reactivated with wet shoes damp clothes and damp air etc resulting in bacteria and mould. What I heard anyway. Never tried it.

Sent from my STV100-4 using Tapatalk
 

Don't think that applies to leather seats and door panels. Think its more relatable to carpets but even then, only if not properly dried. 

[rayaans]

2 hours ago, Rebecca said:

Ive always used this and been delighted with the results. Smells lovely too 😀

I'm pretty sure the instructions say spray onto a cloth and rub into seats or something like that. How does that clean them? Says it makes it shiny - leather is supposed to be matt

[Guest]

Don't think that applies to leather seats and door panels. Think its more relatable to carpets but even then, only if not properly dried. 

Ta

Sent from my STV100-4 using Tapatalk

[Tel]

Mine is treated with Gardex that was applied by the Dealer as part of the deal &, to date has required no cleaning agents.

A few on here were critical of Gardex (me too if I am honest) but it clearly works as does the Specialist Leather Technician  Lexus used to resolve the crease in my replacement rear seat cushion.

The chap promised me his repair was permanent & after 12 months the crease has yet to reappear.

Chuffed

Tel 

[chris_fletcher]

Gliptone products are really good and not overly expensive. Information here https://www.liquidleather.com/

But check eBay out too

[rayaans]

2 hours ago, chris_fletcher said:

Gliptone products are really good and not overly expensive. Information here https://www.liquidleather.com/

But check ebay out too

I just got rid of the gliptone twins on ebay 

Thought they were rubbish tbh - cleaner is slow and takes too many hits - conditioner smells nice but greasy and leaves a shiny look which I dont like

Fine for using it every month but I dont have the time to be cleaning all the leather surfaces in an RX every month.

[Ala Larj]

Apparently my GS has semi-analine leather whereas my old IS had 'ordinary' leather. Can the same product be used on both?

[chris_fletcher]

Sorry Rayaans, I disagree. Seats should not need cleaning that often and when thye do the Gliptone does the job without too much effort. The conditioner works best for me sparingly on a microfibre cloth and doesnt go shiny if buffed well

[rayaans]

4 hours ago, Ala Larj said:

Apparently my GS has semi-analine leather whereas my old IS had 'ordinary' leather. Can the same product be used on both?

Yes should be OK unless it specifically says on the item that it cant be used on Semi-Aniline leather

18 minutes ago, chris_fletcher said:

Sorry Rayaans, I disagree. Seats should not need cleaning that often and when thye do the Gliptone does the job without too much effort. The conditioner works best for me sparingly on a microfibre cloth and doesnt go shiny if buffed well

It takes ages though putting the syrup on and taking it off again, and buffing the conditioner on and off.

Do a 50/50 with a better product and you'll see what I mean - the seats might look clean but the dirt the other products pull out is unreal.

[DanD]

How does Dodo Juice fare on perforated leather?

[Guest]

I used it on perforated, just apply to cloth or sponge first. See my link in other post.

[rayaans]

2 hours ago, DanD said:

How does Dodo Juice fare on perforated leather?

Its fine, I just spray it on either the horizontal part of the seat or the vertical part of the seat, scrub with a leather brush and then remove with an MF

[Mc12c]

CG to clean the leather and CarPro Pearl (diluted to 4:1) to condition it afterwards. I spray it on a microfibre and then wipe against the seats so I dont leave too much product by overspraying. Seats looking okay so far

[ColinBarber]

On 07/02/2018 at 3:59 PM, Ala Larj said:

Apparently my GS has semi-analine leather whereas my old IS had 'ordinary' leather. Can the same product be used on both?

You should only use water based cleaners for aniline and semi-aniline leather - the pigment protective top coat is thin and easily damaged. I'll use the Himolla cleaner that came with my sofas on my GS seats - that is solvent free and designed to not damage the leather.

[Normski]

Another plus for Dodo Super Natural. Like @rayaans I've tried loads of products. This works the best by a country mile. Job jobbed.