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It is a common misconception that leather interior never needs care. In fact, leather interior requires conditioning and cleaning once in a while to maintain its suppleness and colour.
Today I am going to show you just how to give your leather a proper cleaning and conditioning.
You will need:
A small, very soft paint brush
A suede brush(suede shoe brushes work just fine)
Mother's LeatherTech Foaming Wash(Can be purchased at an automotive type shop)
Mother's Leather Condition or Mother's LeatherTech Moisture Infusing Gel.
2 Microfiber Cloths
Some time and Elbow grease
So lets get into it.
Step 1:Assess your leather. If your leather looks shiny and somewhat dark, you definitely need to clean your leather as it has accumulated lots of dirt and grease. It tends to look like this:
I understand the picture represents a light colour so on black leather,you know its time for a clean when you see the leather looks somewhat glossy instead of the usual matte sheen.
Step 2: Great, its time to detail your leather.
Start by taking your soft paint brush and remove any particles stuck in the crevices of the upholestry. It helps to clean this first so it doesn't get trapped in your cleaner. Particles stuck in the crevices of leather act as bits of sand paper in the long term. You should be concerned if you plan to your keep your vehicle long term.
Step 3: Take your Leather Cleaner and your Suede brush and begin to work. Spray the cleaner in a small area and test for any abnormal reactions as we do not want to damage the leather. Be careful of colour fastness and understand that this cleaner may darken leather for a short time. Once you've done that, hold the bottle upright and give it a firm spray on the leather in question. Work the cleaner gently with the brush. Do not be afraid to scrub the leather a bit but do not be very rough and always keep the surface wet to prevent any problems.
** The suede brush is very soft and should not damage your leather even if rubbed dry but we want to be safe not sorry.
** For leather with pores you can spray the cleaner onto a microfiber cloth and buff it into the area as Mother's does not recommend spraying the cleaner directly on to porous leather.
Step 4: You will need to wipe off the cleaner after working it in with the brush. Once this is done, your leather should begin to look like this:
Notice the right side has a very light, tan colour with no glossy shine. This is the true colour and finish of my interior as opposed to the left.
Do this on all leather surfaces which require cleaning and you would have basically removed all of the nasty oils from your upholestry. Its as simple as that. Don't be afraid to be liberal with the cleaner in really dirty areas. I've found that a couple of sprays makes it easier to clean a heavily soiled area.
**I have noticed the LeatherTech Foaming Wash has softened up my leather tremendously.
Great, so you're done cleaning your leather. You can condition as usual or if you are unsure as to how conditioning takes place, continue to Phase II.
Leather Conditioning is necessary to prevent our seats from cracking in the hot sun. It also keeps the leather feeling soft and supple.
How it's done
Step 1: Grab your conditioner and a microfiber cloth.
Before I proceed, the purpose of mentioning 2 microfiber cloths as necessary is so that one can be used with the cleaner and another be used with the conditioner. The same cloth cannot be used as the cleaner strips away all conditioner from the surface.
Step 2: Begin by spreading conditioner to your upholestry. I used a lot as my seats were feeling very rough at the time.
Step 3: Massage the conditioner thoroughly. The conditioner I used was the classic Mother's Leather Conditioner. The instructions recommended massaging it into the upholestry and allowing it to sit for 2 minutes before intensely buffing out any excess product.
Thats it. Your leather should be looking brand new, or at least, almost brand new
Here are the results I achieved using the above procedures:
The extreme shine noticed in this picture is a result of the camera. Some conditioners do make your leather oily and glossy. This is not the way leather is supposed to look and feel. Be careful when choosing a conditioner that it does not cause the upholestry to feel abnormal.
Today I am going to show you just how to give your leather a proper cleaning and conditioning.
You will need:
A small, very soft paint brush
A suede brush(suede shoe brushes work just fine)
Mother's LeatherTech Foaming Wash(Can be purchased at an automotive type shop)
Mother's Leather Condition or Mother's LeatherTech Moisture Infusing Gel.
2 Microfiber Cloths
Some time and Elbow grease
So lets get into it.
Step 1:Assess your leather. If your leather looks shiny and somewhat dark, you definitely need to clean your leather as it has accumulated lots of dirt and grease. It tends to look like this:
I understand the picture represents a light colour so on black leather,you know its time for a clean when you see the leather looks somewhat glossy instead of the usual matte sheen.
Step 2: Great, its time to detail your leather.
Start by taking your soft paint brush and remove any particles stuck in the crevices of the upholestry. It helps to clean this first so it doesn't get trapped in your cleaner. Particles stuck in the crevices of leather act as bits of sand paper in the long term. You should be concerned if you plan to your keep your vehicle long term.
Step 3: Take your Leather Cleaner and your Suede brush and begin to work. Spray the cleaner in a small area and test for any abnormal reactions as we do not want to damage the leather. Be careful of colour fastness and understand that this cleaner may darken leather for a short time. Once you've done that, hold the bottle upright and give it a firm spray on the leather in question. Work the cleaner gently with the brush. Do not be afraid to scrub the leather a bit but do not be very rough and always keep the surface wet to prevent any problems.
** The suede brush is very soft and should not damage your leather even if rubbed dry but we want to be safe not sorry.
** For leather with pores you can spray the cleaner onto a microfiber cloth and buff it into the area as Mother's does not recommend spraying the cleaner directly on to porous leather.
Step 4: You will need to wipe off the cleaner after working it in with the brush. Once this is done, your leather should begin to look like this:
Notice the right side has a very light, tan colour with no glossy shine. This is the true colour and finish of my interior as opposed to the left.
Do this on all leather surfaces which require cleaning and you would have basically removed all of the nasty oils from your upholestry. Its as simple as that. Don't be afraid to be liberal with the cleaner in really dirty areas. I've found that a couple of sprays makes it easier to clean a heavily soiled area.
**I have noticed the LeatherTech Foaming Wash has softened up my leather tremendously.
Great, so you're done cleaning your leather. You can condition as usual or if you are unsure as to how conditioning takes place, continue to Phase II.
Leather Conditioning is necessary to prevent our seats from cracking in the hot sun. It also keeps the leather feeling soft and supple.
How it's done
Step 1: Grab your conditioner and a microfiber cloth.
Before I proceed, the purpose of mentioning 2 microfiber cloths as necessary is so that one can be used with the cleaner and another be used with the conditioner. The same cloth cannot be used as the cleaner strips away all conditioner from the surface.
Step 2: Begin by spreading conditioner to your upholestry. I used a lot as my seats were feeling very rough at the time.
Step 3: Massage the conditioner thoroughly. The conditioner I used was the classic Mother's Leather Conditioner. The instructions recommended massaging it into the upholestry and allowing it to sit for 2 minutes before intensely buffing out any excess product.
Thats it. Your leather should be looking brand new, or at least, almost brand new
Here are the results I achieved using the above procedures:
The extreme shine noticed in this picture is a result of the camera. Some conditioners do make your leather oily and glossy. This is not the way leather is supposed to look and feel. Be careful when choosing a conditioner that it does not cause the upholestry to feel abnormal.
