I think my wife is a genius. Shhh don't tell her that...

Okay story time.

I was cleaning my car doing several things to it , when I started to work on the leather seats. I had read on here many, many, many ways to clean leather, I tried ALMOST all of them, but have been savings the extreme measures for Saturday. I wanted to start with Woolight and then move onto the extreme measures of softscrub (yes the household cleaner).

I was cleaning the seats with Woolight, water and a terry cloth.
Several minutes of washing, it was working sort of. You know how the drivers seats take the WORST beating of all the seats. Well mine were a night mare.

So I am there scrubbing away with the woolight with less than impressive results but still better than EVERY other leather "cleaner" I have bought and wasted money on, when my wife peaks into the garage asking

Wife: "when will you be done."

Me: "Soon enough because this woolight cleaning thing is not working like I want."

(She then stares at me and does that girl head turn thing like WTF?)

Wife: "Are you, using my EXPENSIVE woolight for my clothes on your SEATS?"

Me: "Yes" "Its like what 5 bucks?"

(She sakes her head)

Wife: "the best way to clean leather is with soap".

Me: - "Okay what do you think woolight is? Juice?"

Wife: "No dummy a regular bar of soap."

(At this point I am thinking, okay she has lost it)

Me: "Seriously a bar of soap? Like any bar of soap?

Wife: "Yes, a regular plain old bar of soap."

Me: "Okay I'll bite, get me a bar of soap"

(She brings me a bar of soap and tells me just dip it in the water a bit and rub it ok the seats. )

Me: "Directly on the seats? Seriously? Like I am giving the seats a bath?"

(Wife walks away )


I proceed to dip the soap in the water rub it on the seats and wipe it off with a damp rag.

HOLY ****!

The dirt just WIPES AWAY!
I mean Like a HUGE GAPING hole of Clean leather appears in my seat.
I was shocked.

I continue on this path from seat to armrest to passenger seat.


Now I KNOW what you are thinking. There is supposedly a coating on the GS Seats that is a protectant and I may be wiping it off etc etc. Well I test this theory on the back seats and they are used FAR LESS. My kids sit on car seats and there is NO EATING IN DADDIES CAR. And there is hardly any dirty lifting off.

Pics with more to come.
Before:


After

 

You may want to go back over it with some type of moisturizer, because I would think that the soap would dry the leather out. Looks like pretty good results though. Let's get an after pic of that dirty armrest you got there.

 

Your wife is a genius. I've tried all kinds of leather cleaners and none of them do the same job as a good old bar of soap. Leather cleaners just don't get all the dirt that builds up in those small leather grain folds along the edges of the seat and side bolsters whereas soap does. From now on, I'm using Irish Spring with the micro scrubbers in the soap. It really does work

 

might want to take closer pics, hard to see anything

 

I've always used lemon Soft Scrub. Yes, the the bathroom cleaner. It has a very fine abrasive in it which cleans the leather like you wouldn't believe without harming the seats. Try it sometime, you will not be disapointed

 

yup tried this on my old ls4, search for softscrub in the detailing section. i have pics

 

Nice work

 

You were my softscrub inspiration. LOL.

More pics to come.

 

Nice job on that!

 

Cpone, one of the biggest pet peeves I have about my tan leather is the dirt that's embedded in the tiny grains of the leather... that and the dirt in the tiny creases. Did your new cleaning method remove that too? I've been using Meguiar's leather cleaner and it works okay for the flat surfaces but didn't even touch the grain patterns... which harbor all the dirt when the cleaning towel passes over the area.

 

definitely, use a conditioner on those seats after cleaning them w/soap. i've heard to use the Coach leather conditioner. YES, the handbag company's product. my sis in law works for them, and preaches all these ladies buying it for their husbands to condition the sensitive lexus leather.

 

^ I did not get too DEEP into those creases to be honest.
It was a quick job as it was getting late and my wife and I were going out. But I will update this thread with better pics of my results.

My NEXT attempt will involve a soft bristle tooth brush, dove soap and a terry cloth with a bucket of water.
To get into the creases and the stitching.

The pictures don't do the results justice.
I am talking 3 buckets of brown water from just the FRONT two seats.

 

Soap is also good for this :


But good work, gives me a new idea for something to do in the spring. Now take care of the armrest.

 

That's what I was thinking. I'll have to get a bunch of soft bristle brushes to get every little nook and cranny. Good thing I know someone who works at Oral-B and can give me bucketloads of new toothbrushes...
I asked my wife today about soap and leather and she said, "Duh, don't you know that. You should use Ivory soap! See, you never listen to anything I say!"

But I forgot to ask her if I should use Ivory DISH or HAND soap.... Liquid or bar?

 

LMAO...sounds like something my girl would say....