To clean leather....

[Alexaris]

Hi guys, Im buying a car, it has beige leather seats, it is a little bit dirt. I want to know what can I use to clean the leather. right now in my hands I only have the leather conditioner from lexol,



1) I was planning to clean the leather just with a damp microfiber and then apply the lexol



2) Other choice is to use a neutral soap and the clean with the damp microfiber and then lexol



3) Just apply the lexol



What do you think is best, or it is better to waint and buy a leather cleaner



:nixweiss

[DaGonz]

I like the Lexol twins...the cleaner and the conditioner..as a matter of fact, I am detailing a 1999 Audi A4 right now (just taking a little break for lunch! :D ) It has a black leather interior that hadn`t seen a vacuum cleaner in months. There were coffee stains on the seats and some of what appears to be melted chocolate on the back seat. The Lexol twins cleaned them up beautifully!

[JasonC8301]

Lexol may be good, but from what I have read and seen pictures of and heard numerous raving reviews, Leatherique may be an option.



Don`t discount Lexol, but I find their products to be more maintaining leather.



Leatherique is on my to try list for next spring. I know of an 11 year old (12 by next year) car that needs to be leatherique`d.

[Bill D]

Yes,



Leatherique is supposed to be the "holy grail" of the leather cleaners/conditioners. ( not cheap by any means either) Haven`t tried yet, suppose I will. Nevertheless, I have been using Lexol for 9 years and recently got a 3 L jug of it. Although it can`t beat Leatherique, I have been very satisfied with it. If you don`t care for the gloss it leaves behind all you have to do is buff with a terry cloth or pad after it has dried. :up

[NozeBleedSpeed]

I thought Leatherique was really intended for very neglected leather. Isn`t it a little overkill for normal cleaning and conditioning?

[Scottwax]

Woolite and water is the best leather cleaner I have found. Just mix the regular liquid laundry version of Woolite about 10:1 to 6:1 with water (higher concentration for dirty leather), spray on, scrub with a plastic bristle bush if needed, then wipe off. Note how soft the leather now is.



Even Lexus is now recommending caring for their leather using a wool detergent and water.

[imported_Larry A]

You are right Scott , Your woolite mix is great for leather , vinyl cloth and carpets. Its also great for general household cleaning.

[Bill D]

Yep, recently got some woolite and am planning to clean any dirt that may appear with it, I use Lexol to condition and do want to try the Leatherique.

[shaf]

Originally posted by NozeBleedSpeed

I thought Leatherique was really intended for very neglected leather. Isn`t it a little overkill for normal cleaning and conditioning? That`s sort of what I thought too. :confused:



I thought that it`s great if you have stiff, hard, or neglected leather, but that if you had fairly new leather in otherwise good condition you really don`t need Leatherique?

[JasonC8301]

I threw it into the mix ebcause most cars are not like Autopians cars that get pampered and such.



Who knows what could have been on the seats in the time span from the dealer delivery to owner 1 (times X if any), to you.



I guess its just the anal part of me. I did not REALLY need to spray down and wipe eveyrhting down in my room with Lysol prior to move in to my dorm room but better safe than sorry. During inspection when I got my Uv light, I found lots of stains, human or glue, it was gross......

[rstype]

No, not at all! I`ve noticed hardened and creased leather on cars less than a year old. RO/PC seems to work well on all types of leathers - clearcoated, Nappa, Conolly...



Leatherique might be hard to obtain in Monterrey. I`d try trading with an Autopian.

[imported_jgv]

I use Leatherique about twice a year, it makes a wonderful job on dry leather. I`ve been using one of those wool detergent/water mixing to clean and it sure works great, better than the Lexol leather cleaner. I`ve also tried to condition leather with Connolly Hide food, leaves a great finish too.



So, what I`m doing now is that, Leatherique twice a year, wool cleaner once a month and condition with Connolly Hide food or Lexol every 1-2 months, depending on how it is.

[imported_CBX Carl]

I just mixed a batch of Woolite at a 6 to 1 ratio. I sprayed the seat and spread the product with my hand covering the entine seat cover. It cleaned the dirty section of the Truck seat and the steering wheel very well. It wipes off cleanly with a MF and I wiped it down with another dampened clean MF. Very minimal odor to the mixture. I like it, thanks guys.

[Alexaris]

Great info guys, thanks

[Nebraska99]

I bought some of the Meguiars Foam Leather Cleaner. Terrible cleaning power.