vwynn

iTrader: (4)

Alrighty.. so here we go!

Part 1: started this whole process around 11 AM in the morning. Vacumed the whole car and the leather seats to remove any big particles. I then used a brush to brush the seams to get watevers in there and vacumed again. Later i parked the car outside in the sun so it can warm up.

vwynn

iTrader: (4)

Part 2: After leaving the car out for a good 45-1 hour i start the process of oiling up the car with Leatherique Leather Rejuvinator. This takes time and can get messy! I used gloves to cover my hands because im not sure what will happen to my hands if i expose them to the oil for a long period of time. Anyways i poured some on my hands and massaged the leather, making sure i get into the cracks and seams. I removed the backseat headrest to get into the hidden areas. This process prolly took me 45 mins or so. After this just let the car sit under the sun with the windows rolled up.

vwynn

iTrader: (4)

Part 3: After 6 or so hours (Waiting longer is always best) I start another long process, this time removing the Rejuv oil. I use Leatherique Prestine Clean and some Microfiber towels and start my work. I found out after doing the front driver side seat and later half of the back seat that using a spray bottle is BEST! so please go get one. This process was nasty.. Spray then wipe... wipe.. .wipe... spray.. wipe repeat.

vwynn

iTrader: (4)

Part 4: I went back inside my house to rinse off the microfiber towels (4x) and made sure they were damp. I later used them to wipe down the seats again, did this about 4 times or so. Always remember to go back and rinse the towels off before repeating the wipe down.

vwynn

iTrader: (4)

Conclusion: Though leatherique did in fact clean my leather i was hoping it would do more. Maybe because i read so many positive reviews saying it works wonders. After the long process i wasnt sure if it made my leather any softer, cleaner yes softer iono. Leatherique was expensive.. $55~ for 2 bottles. I think its because i didnt use enough oil? o_O see pic below.

Would i recommend this to anyone? Sure why not? Its a leather cleaner that works. your results will vary.

Final Thoughts? I spent a good 2 hours+ cleaning the leather.. time that i could have spend studying for my final.. Hopefully it was well spent!







Car pix:





excuse my photography skills... also using a camcorder to take pics =/

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Not bad at all! I normally use Lexol cleaner to get the surface dirt/dust off. Then I clean the leather by gently rubbing Mr Clean dry eraser. I find this eraser to clean leather way better than any other product out there. Finally, I pour on some LeatherMaster to soften/condition it.

vwynn

iTrader: (4)

i think imma redo the front seat... this time imma be more liberal with the Rejuv oil. bake it in 100 degree Corona summer heat! =D

cduluk

oh boy, that stuff can definitely do better. You need to get a toothbrush and scrub in those dark cracks in the leather with the rejuvenator oil. Treat them like your gum line in your mouth.

And don't use a microfiber towel as it will just absorb the stuff. Use something like a cotton rag so it will be a little more aggressive than the soft microfiber-make you wanna fall asleep on it- towel.

The leather will get cleaner and softer after 2-3 applications. But definitely, the toothbrush will help.

Leatherique is the best cleaner/conditioner out there, you just need to know how to use it Lexol i just found out is a silicone based conditioner which is bad for lexus coated leather. The leatherique is all natural

and NEVER use magic eraser on leather. It's an abrasive and contains solvents. It looks good after you use it because it removes the surface of the dye- yeah, that's bad...

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

That's the typical argument for dry erasers.

My seats are as black as it was when I bought my car years ago. On tan leather seats I've used it on, they look brand new and continue to do so for years. It's only bad when you start scrubbing it like you're scrubbing your pan. I use it when cleaners are not effective enough. As long as you're not rubbing it like a gorilla, then you're not going to kill it. Obviously I wouldn't use it on a new car, but realistically, most embedded dirty stuff you see aren't accumulated until years later. By then, most leather have lost their finish (smooth glossy seats).

cduluk

It's not an argument, it's a fact. Go look it up, there are several articles and research that's been done on this topic.

Here's an expert from leather experts from autopia:
http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-det...r-leather.html

"The glossy appearance of leather after wear is caused by the build up of dirt together with abrassion and can also be the build up of wrong product use which adds to the problem.

Magic Erasers are made from melamine resin that has been ground up and reformed and acts as a very fine sandpaper. They work by removing the top layer of the finish on the leather which will remove the shine but as you can see on the picture it is also removing colour (that is not dirt) which means that once you have cleaned you have removed some if not all of the finish.
This is fine during a restoration process as you will be refinishing over the top but not ok as a cleaning process.
Leaving the leather unfinished will leave the leather itself open to dirt and body oils which will start to deteriorate the leather itself (this is then unfixable - finish can be fixed and repaired but the leather itself can't).
The damage that is done is not always visible to the naked eye but can be seen very clearly with a microscope.
The tests we have done with these sponges have always removed finish and/or pigment.
The magic eraser is not taking the leather back to its new state but is degrading it.

The first time you use a magic eraser may not do too much damage but you have started a process that if continued will only get worse and worse.

As consultants we recommend that these are not used to clean leather (even if they say they can be) as the manufacturers do not have to deal with the problems they cause"

It does not matter if you use it once, because once is all it takes to remove that micro-thick layer of clear poly lexus has on the coated leather for protection. lose that, and your leather will fade and wear x10 as it would if it still had that layer of poly.

If you use the eraser and the results look good- guess what?? you've removed the protection layer from the leather.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

I've read that long ago when I was a member of autopia. I'm aware what's in the dry eraser.

Funny how it's essentially like polishing. Everyone seems to be fine with removing a thin layer of their protective clear coat on their paint every season, but everyone goes bananas if a thin layer gets removed from leather once.

I wouldn't use it on a new car just like how you wouldn't need a wool pad to detail it. It's just too aggressive. On old cars? It's justified to remove some clear coat to get that shine again. The same philosophy holds with leather to me. They're usually worn out and have lost some sort of protection due to your buns going in an out of your car every day.

The more OCD you are, the more you care about technical aspects. Just like how the motor oil guys are **** if their Si and Tn ratings are jumped up a bit. Or just like guys who care about their air filtration down to the tenth percent. In my experience, my leather has been black as it was and its' been years since I first used the eraser. Dont use it on a daily basis and dont use it as a scrubber. Works fine for me, but doesn't mean it may work fine for others, which is why I never told anyone to use it. Only my car touches it.

vwynn

iTrader: (4)

ill just stick to the tooth brush to see if that works any better.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

toothbrush definitely works awesome if you have the soft brush. Sometimes all you need is some agitation to get the dirt out of the cracks.