I usually use a hot damp rag to wipe down my leather seats (light grey colored) and then use a condition/cleaner but it never really took the "dingy" look out. My cousin recommended me to use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. My first thought was "There's bleach in those things, won't it dis-color my seats"? He said it wouldn't so i tried it in a small area on the seats and it worked perfectly. It took 2 of the erasers to clean one seat, but it definitely had them looking brand new. I would recommand usuing latex gloves while using them though.
A leather cleaning tip that worked for me
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Great advice! my leather grey interior/ exterior gray metallic -> .... needs a tune up! thx = D
I would suggest that you NOT do this to your seats. The reason for that is because the magic eraser is essentially a chunk of very fine sandpaper. The reason your seats look so good is because you are removing the top layer of the leather using the magic eraser. This removes any protective coatings that are put on the seat from the factory. If you have really bad seats that need a good cleaning, I would highly recommend the leatherique system since that will clean up just about everything.
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I would actually recommend the Leather Masters system over the leatherique system because it is water-based vs. oil-based. You can read more about it at TOGWT for a full explanation, but the gist of it is that the oil based systems do not penetrate as well and can cause the urethane coating on the leather to crack more.
I've had great results with the magic eraser and wouldn't hesitate to use it occasionally. I think it works way better than conditioners. The eraser restores the non-glossy flat appearance of the factory leather in a way that conditioners don't. And it's not removing factory dye...I can look at the eraser when I'm done and it's dirty but it's not colored.
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what about old worn out leather? any ideas?
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oh wow. I am glad I have real leather seat. they just wear out but never crack.+1
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:facepalm:
The proper cleaner, conditioner, and method will give you the same results without destroying the top layer of your seats.
Leatherique rejuvinator oil + pristine clean, don't knock it till you try it. If you aren't in a warm climate, wait till summer to do it.
10 step method I use:
1.) Wait for a HOT day, hotter the better.
2.) Generously apply the rejuvinator oil on your seats. Use a crappy paint brush. Keep putting more and more on till the seats stop absorbing it. Don't cheap out, you'll need almost the whole (small) bottle for the entire car.
3.) Let it bake out in the sun for 24hrs. Again, hotter the better.
4.) Using a tampico skin brush (amazon, $6) brush the sh!t out of the seats and work the oil in there. Use some elbow grease and scrub it really well. The skin brush is designed for your skin which is less durable than leather so it won't damage the leather even if you scrub it hard. It will only loosen the crap that the rejuvinator got out. Rinse your brush out periodically otherwise you'll only be spreading the dirt. Warm water is fine.
5.) Spray the pristine clean on the seat and let it sit for ~2mins.
6.) Scrub the sh!t out of them again.
7.) Using a warm, damp cloth (microfiber or whatever, I use a terry one), wipe off all of the oil and cleaner. You'll need several towels after you see how gross your seats are. Be prepared for this.
8.) Use dry microfiber towel (not terry) to clean the water and whatever remains on the seat off.
9.) Touch your newly cleaned and conditioned seats.
10.) Be amazed and have a beer.
If your seats just look tired but not torn/cracked, this will do wonders. You can try out the water based method, I'm not saying that it's not better or whatever but this is what works for me. To maintain them after the oil, follow steps 5-10 every other month. Use the oil yearly or every other year depending on how bad your seats are/have gotten.
Why take the chance? Do the right thing and get it done with properly. Would you take the same chance with a mechanical component of your car?
+1
They will if you don't take care of them.
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I'm thinking you guys with cracking vinyl seats clearly know the only recourse is a trip to the upholstery shop for a complete re-do. Beware if you have heated seats. When they tear off the skins they often damage the heating elements bonded to the backing. Tell the shop before they "rip" into them.
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Putting bleach on your skin dries it out, whats the difference for leather?
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Magic Eraser doesn't contain bleach. It is melamine foam, which when added to water acts like a fine abrasive. Also, the open cell structure helps to pull away dirt and stains.
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Using the magic eraser or Soft Scrub (Pretty much the same thing) is great is you want to pull the old used car trick to clean it just before you sell it. But if you are going to keep it awhile... I like regular saddle soap. You still have to scrub... But it also conditions the leather. I may have to try the leatherique though...
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Careful with the soft scrub - there's a newer version of it that contains bleach.
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Ima try leatherique too. mine looks dry, like an old lady's face.
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