CLEANING LEATHER SEATS 101
I had a PM from a member regarding cleaing his leather seats so I thought I woud pass the details along to the rest of the board.
Leather is tricky and you have to be careful....
First off, leather is processed through several "tanning" baths, dried and colored....The problem arrises when you start to break that process down by using harsh cleaners and excessive scrubbing. These degreasers and caustic cleaners actually work against the properties of the finished leather. Then the leather begins to break down and you see crackes and color wear.
So here's my advice:
1. The obvious...Try to not get the seats too dirty...This generally means that you will not have to clean them as often and won't have to introduce harsh chemicals. Try seat covers and keep a repellant on them.
2. When you get them dirty....Try to clean them immediatley so stains don't have a chance to set. Use a light dilution of mild soap and water(DAWN dish washing detergent)....Wring out the rag and don't "scrub" it to death....Or you'll start to wipe the color off....Wipe it dry, then treat it, then cover them.
If that doesn't take the dirt off...determine what the stain is and go from there... ie; heavy Moly based grease will require a butyl based cleaner to remove....Clean, dry, treat...cover
3. Treat the seats with either a leather conditioner/ food or a silicone spray. I don't like the water based products because the leather was treated to repel water and shouldn't absorb it. Water will stretch and then shrink the leather causing cracks.
Here's the deal.... If you're cleaning the leather seats "just to clean them"...You're killing them. "Really" clean them ONLY when they're dirty and they'll last longer and stay in better shape.
P.S. No ink pens or screwdrivers in your back pocket....
Good luck and as always...Give feed back if I was able to help you....This helps the next guy!