Cracks in Leather...

edjoe

edjoe

New member
Just cleaned the medium grey leather seats in my wife's 11 year old car using a Magic Eraser and Turtlewax Leather Cleaner followed buy Turtlewax Leather Conditioner, they cleaned up beautifully, look like new in low wear areas. Only thing is from age and lack of care they have some dark cracking. Is there anything out there that can color the cracks grey so there's not such a noticeable color difference?
 
edjoe said:
Just cleaned the medium grey leather seats in my wife's 11 year old car using a Magic Eraser and Turtlewax Leather Cleaner followed buy Turtlewax Leather Conditioner, they cleaned up beautifully, look like new in low wear areas. Only thing is from age and lack of care they have some dark cracking. Is there anything out there that can color the cracks grey so there's not such a noticeable color difference?
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Not sure if this will work in your case or not, but I got pretty good results on a pair of old working shoes with Chemical Guys Leather Conditioner, the brown lotion. Cleaned with Sonus All-In-One, leather conditioner applied with foam applicator.

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IMG_4249DPP.JPG


I heard that it will dye the leather brown when you use it on white leather, but I cant see it on black leather.
Leave the leather soft and smooth, with a pleasant scent remains for some time. Not exactly leather but I like it.
 
Sorry to nose in here and ask this but are you sure the "dark cracking" is not dirt?
I'm not sure that the products you mentioned have the ability to completely clean.
I personally have found (what sounds like your issue) on some light grey leathers.
To my delight once cleaned they visually disappeared and it was all the same color.
The trick, in my case, was to find a product and process that actually cleaned it.

Here's a seat pic with the light grey insert. The leather "cracks" were very dominant.
FrontSeat2.gif


The first time I did this I was actually surprised the "dark cracking" was visually gone.
FrontSeat1.gif



But to answer your question...It would be my guess that there are grey leather dyes.
Many high end lease returns have the leather cracks filled and dyed before selling off.

I hope this helped.
 
Thanks Guys, I guess moving up to a better leather cleaner & conditioner is the next logical step but FWIW that magic eraser really got them squeaky clean. The leather cracks could still have some cleaning to be done and I'll try that next but I think Merlin's tip of dyeing them is the solution thanks.:autopia:
 
For deep cleaning leather, I have great success with OPC, even on uncoated leather found on steering wheel..
And you see some "cracks" on the dirty side?

DSC_00782.jpg


DSC_00812.jpg
 
Have a look at Leathique cleaner and protection products, they are deep cleaning and IF the cracks have dirt in them it WILL come up. I've used it for many many years with excellent results.
 
I have been doing leatherwork in vehicles and furniture for many years. For your situation I would recommend Tantex. Check it out here: [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007XG6MYM]Tantex Leather Conditioner[/ame]

It does an excellent job of reducing appearance of cracks by softening the leather. I’m confident this will do the trick on the dark cracking in your pictures. Although leather is beautiful in a car, it’s additional maintenance and upkeep requirements can be a pain. Also, I would be very careful using any dye products. I have seen a lot of people ruin the appearance of their leather by dying it. Even if it looks good at first, some low quality products will fade and make the interior look worse then when you started. I’d love to see more pics if you are able to find a solution. Good luck.
 
PPLd said:
For deep cleaning leather, I have great success with OPC, even on uncoated leather found on steering wheel..
And you see some "cracks" on the dirty side?

DSC_00782.jpg


DSC_00812.jpg
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What dilution of OPC did you use for this? And for technique just spray on and wipe off with MF or agitate with a brush like the Swissvax leather one?
 
Custom Care said:
What dilution of OPC did you use for this? And for technique just spray on and wipe off with MF or agitate with a brush like the Swissvax leather one?
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Hi,

I used OPC 1:3. I found this to work best with a soft sponge like the Lowes Grout Sponge or a yellow foam applicator.
Do not use MF, trust me.
 
PPLd said:
Hi,

I used OPC 1:3. I found this to work best with a soft sponge like the Lowes Grout Sponge or a yellow foam applicator.
Do not use MF, trust me.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I've got black "cracked" leather so i'll give this a shot. I'll try to take pictures of the process and show how it turns out.
 
just used the tantex. a very impressive debut. been a leatherique guy for ages but as a fast feed i love it. black leather chevy seats look great.
 
I just ordered a bottle of tantex today so when it comes in I plan on getting to thos seats I was supposed to do last weekend.
 
Finally got around to working on the wife's 03' Accord leather interior. I don't believe the previous owner knew anything about taking care of the interior of the vehicle. The dash looks like it never got any sort of UV protection and the leather seats have definitely seen better days.

I did a test spot cleaning using OPC diluted 10:1 sprayed on and agitating with a Swissvax leather brush and wiped off with MF. It's hard to tell from the pictures but right side has been cleaned.

20130309_170009_zpsd883db6f.jpg

20130309_170004_zps4ffac53e.jpg


After cleaning the interior I tried out the Tantex using a basic yellow foam aplpicator. The leather sucked up the dressing and there really wasn't anything to buff off after about 30 seconds.

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Like I said, the leather has definitely seen better days and with the way it soaked up the Tantex I'm wondering if I should try putting another coat on or moving up to something stronger. Any suggestions?
 
looks much better to me. i would do another tantex . i think you have reached to point of diminishing returns. just hope you're satisfied with these results. you could invest in leatherique but it is pricey and probably would'nt do much more than what you have there.
 
Custom Care said:
Finally got around to working on the wife's 03' Accord leather interior. I don't believe the previous owner knew anything about taking care of the interior of the vehicle. The dash looks like it never got any sort of UV protection and the leather seats have definitely seen better days.

I did a test spot cleaning using OPC diluted 10:1 sprayed on and agitating with a Swissvax leather brush and wiped off with MF. It's hard to tell from the pictures but right side has been cleaned.

20130309_170009_zpsd883db6f.jpg

20130309_170004_zps4ffac53e.jpg


After cleaning the interior I tried out the Tantex using a basic yellow foam aplpicator. The leather sucked up the dressing and there really wasn't anything to buff off after about 30 seconds.

20130309_170912_zpsa1d39763.jpg


Like I said, the leather has definitely seen better days and with the way it soaked up the Tantex I'm wondering if I should try putting another coat on or moving up to something stronger. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Assuming the Tantex is the darker side of the bottom picture continue with it. No product ends years of abuse with one application. My nephew uses Tantex on his King Ranch truck and swears by it. King Ranch seats are $5000 to replace if stolen which he found out the hard way.
 
daveinsweethome said:
looks much better to me. i would do another tantex . i think you have reached to point of diminishing returns. just hope you're satisfied with these results. you could invest in leatherique but it is pricey and probably would'nt do much more than what you have there.
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Yeah, I've relegated my efforts to strictly damage control at this point. It was a little disheartening to see the end results but it's a good lesson learned about the extent of what can and can't be fixed. I will definitely be keeping these pictures to help show potential customers not just the benefit, but the necessity of protecting their interiors.
 
RTexasF said:
Assuming the Tantex is the darker side of the bottom picture continue with it. No product ends years of abuse with one application. My nephew uses Tantex on his King Ranch truck and swears by it. King Ranch seats are $5000 to replace if stolen which he found out the hard way.
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You're right, the Tantex was on the lower portion. I'm going to section off the passenger side seat and try to do a comparison of up to three or four different coats.
 
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