lether rejuvination?!

[sacdetailing]

What does leather rejuvination exactly do? somthing like leatherque?



And how to clean leather to 100%? Am trying to clean my mercedes 1999 c230 kompressor and i can see that in realy realy small crack like super small, you can see dirt, and its realy hard to clean it out, i was doing it for like forever and barely got 30-45% clean.about 70% of dirt is still left! know anything special leather cleaining products to do that? I use lexol products.

[OCKlasse]

Well, for starters rejuvenator oil won`t do anything for your leather because you have coated leather seats. You should get a leather brush. That will help with deep cleaning the seats.

[judyb]

A brush will help to deep clean the leather. As has been said oils, waxes , conditioners etc will not be of any use and may actually make the matter worse by trapping more dirt. The `dirt` that you can see could possibly be micro cracking of the pigment which will always appear to look like dirt (especially on pale leathers). If this is the case (you can check through a 40x microscope) it will not clean any more than you have and will need a small amount of restoration work to get it back to looking good again.



Please do not be fooled by people telling you that the pigment has to have cracking in it to allow the oils through to the leather itself as they simply do not know what they are talking about. The whole point of looking after auto (coated)leather is to clean and protect to prevent the pigment coating from cracking

in the first place - this is usually caused by dirt.



If you have deep cleaned your leather and it is still showing signs of cracking or wear then it may be time to get it `rejuvenated` by a simnple amoun of restoration work (this would br a good time to do it rather than leaving it much longer). This cannot be achieved by oils, waxes etc or fancy products that you leave on for xx hours as none of them can restore the pigment.



Hope this helps

[David Fermani]

If you have deep cleaned your leather and it is still showing signs of cracking or wear then it may be time to get it `rejuvenated` by a simnple amoun of restoration work (this would br a good time to do it rather than leaving it much longer). This cannot be achieved by oils, waxes etc or fancy products that you leave on for xx hours as none of them can restore the pigment.



Thanks for the great advice Judy.



On coated leather that has already started to wear/crack, what preventative measures (besides regular gentle cleaning/protecting)can be uncorporated to halt more deterioration? Can you totally stop further damage from continueing?

[solstice]

Mercedes are a interesting case .. some seem to have like a vinyl coating on it, others do not and leatherique seems to absorb.. Just a observation. Mercedes may have different leathers for different models.

[Quality Leather]

To the OP, try a Scotch Brite Delicate Duty pad. You can pull the leather taught to help scrub the leather. If you still think it is dirty, then it may be damaged and cracking.





Solstice,

I don`t think Mercedes is any different than any other manufacturer. Most use a finished leather. If they have an unfinished leather, then yes leatherique or anything else will absorb.








Thanks for the great advice Judy.



On coated leather that has already started to wear/crack, what preventative measures (besides regular gentle cleaning/protecting)can be incorporated to halt more deterioration? Can you totally stop further damage from continuing?



Not sure if there is anything outside of a good cleaning. A protectant might help, but not sure. Next time I talk to one of my suppliers, I will ask if there has been any testing on partially damaged leather.



On another note, I am in SoFL. Do you want to get together for lunch sometime?

[judyb]

Hi David

Once pigment/finish has been damaged then it needs replacing to fully restore the damage (similar to paintwork on wood) there is nothing really other than fresh paint that will `mend` it!!

As dirt is the main culprit of damage to leather then keeping it clean will help towards stopping further deterioration so protecting it will definitely help along with regular cleaning. Of course the best way is to prevent the cracking in the first place by using a quality protectant and keeping the leather clean - this is why it is important to avoid products that contain waxes, oils etc which may exacerbate the damage process. Putting oils and waxes into damaged pigment (as some sugest you do with conditioners once the pigment is cracked) may also hinder the restoratoin process as the pigments may not adhere correctly.

This is the sort of problem we teach about every month when we do our regular training for the cleaning, detailing and restoration world - a microscope is an invaluable tool for inspecting this sort of damage as so many times cleaners and detailers try to `clean` leather that is damaged and wonder why they are not getting the reuslts they expect.



Mercedes are generally finished leather like most others and so will not absorb products through the finish (even if they appear to!).



Unfinished leathers (rare) will not crack in the same way as a pigment leather and do not show dirt levels the same. Most dirt will be absorbed by the leather and cleaning is virtually impossible as you can only clean off the surface of the leather and not out of it. Protection of these leathers is crucial to keep them in good condition and make the cleaning process easier. Products designed to soak into the leather cannot do any `cleaning` as such as it is impossible to draw the products back out of the leather along with the dirt. `Conditioning` with oils and waxes may actually unbalance the fat contents of the leather and cause other problems like `spewing` which will then need resolving.



Hope this helps

Judyb

[David Fermani]

Thanks Judy once again.



Quality Leather - lunch sounds good - I`ll PM you my contact info.

[rdorman]

I see people refer to coated, tanned, treated and untreated leathers. Are these four different things? Can they be combined?



By coated I believe it meant where the color is sprayed on the leather, as in my daughters `95 Infiniti J30.



By tanned I believe it is meant like my `00 BMW 7 series.



But treated and untreated.....?



I am going to refinish the leather in the J30 (needs it bad) but what is the best way to care for the 7? Leather is in good shape, but could stand some cleaning/protection.

[Quality Leather]

I refer to leather as just coated or uncoated. All leather is tanned after that it is decided what will happen to it.

[imported_paintxpert]

Your car is aging and so are we. Its OK do the best you can to keep the seats soft. Connolly wrote the book on leather try their products. My Jag has Connolly leather and I use their products exclusively. You cant stop use and age. I guess its a fact of life similar to taxes. Dont over scrub because you will damage the leather. I use a damp micr-fibre and treat to keep the SOFT. They wont crack as much if you use Connelly HIDE FOOD.

[Alfisti]

Leatherique works differently to all other leather products, including Connolly Hide Food.



All the others have an "outside-in`` approach. Leatherique uses an ``inside-out`` approach.



The Rejuvinating Oil (RO) is used to rejuvinate/soften/deep clean the leather and force the contaminants out from deep inside the fibres to the surface. This leaves a surface `scum` of rubbish that is wiped off with the `Prestine Clean`.



Here`s some more info:



http://ppcco.com.au/leathers.htm



http://ppcco.com.au/technical.htm



http://ppcco.com.au/fact_sheets/pi/pi_leatheriquecleaning%20andrestoringinstructions. pdf



http://ppcco.com.au/results.htm



Leatherique only works if your leather can absorb it properly, so finished (coated) leather can be a problem. In those cases, Prestine Clean is effective at removing surface grime and feeding the leather as best as possible.