Leather Interior shined up with Baby Oil?

[theloyalphoenix]

Hello all,



I just recently picked up a used car and I cannot tell you how shiny the interior was when I picked up. Greasy, slipery...



The interior also smells alot like baby oil, this leads me to believe that they used baby oil to make the interior shiny to prepare for the sale.



I am at a loss on what is the best way to clean this up without damaging my leather interior and restoring the leather smell instead of of the baby oil smell.



Any help is appreciated!

 

[stotte20]

it is very possible that some one may have done that. i dont know what kind of products you have at your disposial to use. but you could always take a damp rag and wipe the seats first to remove some product on them. also you could if you need to go to a local auto parts store and buy some lexal products to clean them and protect them. you could use a old toothbrush to deep clean the leather. i have also had good luck using woollight dilluted 10.1 with water and scrub that way. make sure to always test a small section first before jumping in and using a product on the whole seat. also if you can list what products you have that would be good. of course you could always order some products online like leather masters or sofourth. good luck.

 

[tssdetailing]

i'd love to see a pic.



The above post is dead on. you can use pretty much soap and water or All purpose cleaner diluted to remove the junk. I would suggest using a brush about as stiff as a fingernail brush too. Once you've done that sort of deep cleaning, be sure to apply a conditioner to prevent any drying out.

 

[David Fermani]

I hate oily/shiny/greasy interiors! Makes no sense why people use dressing or protectants on interiors? Not like any car these days come from the factory with shiny surfaces. Why alter the natural look? Many hack detailers and dealer detailers use dressing to cover up and hide dirt. Looks ghetto totally.



Depending on what product was used, just a "spray & wipe" process isn't going to cut-it(literally). You may need a dedicated and safe interior cleaner (like Optimum Power Clean 5 to 1) and a scrub brush. I prefer this method for deep cleaning: http://www.autopia.org/forum/pro-de...-tribute-toothbrush.html?highlight=toothbrush

 

[mikenap]

I hate oily/shiny/greasy interiors! Makes no sense why people use dressing or protectants on interiors? Not like any car these days come from the factory with shiny surfaces. Why alter the natural look? Many hack detailers and dealer detailers use dressing to cover up and hide dirt. Looks ghetto totally.



Depending on what product was used, just a "spray & wipe" process isn't going to cut-it(literally). You may need a dedicated and safe interior cleaner (like Optimum Power Clean 5 to 1) and a scrub brush. I prefer this method for deep cleaning: http://www.autopia.org/forum/pro-de...-tribute-toothbrush.html?highlight=toothbrush

David, in that toothbrush thread you mentioned that you prefer "protectants" over "conditioners." Could you please clarify this a little, maybe with some examples of each and your own favorites? I must say that when it comes to leather, your interiors are probably the best I've seen and I'd like to learn some tricks if you're open to it. TIA.

 

[David Fermani]

I avoid "Conditioners" as they are usually oily creams that end up leaving the surface slick/soft, but create immeditate surface resoiling>>leading up to deteriotation of the exterior coating of the surface. Protectors(which are usually water based) (there are only a few) put an invisable type of barrier that actually protects better and will not attract dirt.



Read this when you get a chance:

http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-de...-leather-cleaner-recommend-3.html#post1289260



For now I concentrate on keeping the surface clean by using leather safe cleaners. Leather Masters makes a simple system and I'm also in the process of learning the Leather Doctor system which so far is quite awsome. They make a Strong Cleaner that blows away LM's offering so far from my testing.

 

[Accumulator]

Hello all,



I just recently picked up a used car and I cannot tell you how shiny the interior was when I picked up. Greasy, slipery...

Welcome to Autopia!



The car wasn't detailed in Florida by any chance was it?!?



I was able to clean nasty interior dressing off leather with Leathermasters Strong Cleaner. The diluted Power Clean works great on plastic and vinyl, I just chickened out on using it for leather as I'd mixed it up kinda strong.



David Fermani- I can tell there's a Leather Doctor order in my future, but it'll take years to use up all my LM stuff first I do wish he and I had chatted *before* my last LM order, but that's the way it goes....

 

[Roger Koh]

I am at a loss on what is the best way to clean this up without damaging my leather interior and restoring the leather smell instead of of the baby oil smell.



Any help is appreciated!

See how it's done to this BMW...







…My steering wheel is actually very high quality leather, similar to Anvar's. Half of it is perforated, half is smooth. The armrest is also high quality leather. They have become very shiny, which makes sense because I'm a grease monkey--always working on cars/motorcycles/engines..and don't always wash my hands before driving.



Here is the wheel before

So I began to use the Prep 7.7 on half of the steering wheel, side bolsters and armrest. I appled the prep liberally, then wrapped with cling wrap and left on for around 24 hours. The cling wrapping was harder than I expected, haha.



When removing the cling wrap on the steering wheel and beginning to use the Cleaner, I immediately noticed the difference in appearance. It was matte finish, compared to very shiny. It was still a bit sticky to the touch, but a few more cleanings and rinses took care of it. I wish pictures could show how much of a huge difference the feel of the leather is...it's truly amazing. The seats notice the largest difference...as it went from plastic aligator skin to soft supple leather. Although there wasn't a very noticeable change in appearance, the change in feel was incredible. The texture and feel of the leather after prep and cleaner is exactly how I wish the leather would feel.



Here are a couple of pictures of the after effects of the Prep 7.7 > Cleaner-3.8 > Rinse-3.0: The treated side is the right, original on the left (kinda obvious).

After using the hydrator and fat liquor the leather became tiny bit more "slippery" but not much. Then, the satin top-coat brought it back to the non-slippery, soft supple perfectly textured leather...moreso than before the hydrator. The Leather Scent was a great topping, giving a really nice fragrance and leaving the perfect texture.



I intendid on only using a small bit of Anvar's kit..but after getting a taste of it, I want to keep going and do it on all of the seats.



Thanks for developing such a great set of products! Another thing that really impressed me was Roger's knowledge on the chemical and scientific properties of leather and what is needed to treat that, and most of that I read in Anvar's post particularly. I always figured the cleaners were some generic softer cleaner, and the lotion was a generic fatty lotion with a leather fragrance. So to hear all the pH levels, acidic properties, hydrating and fatliquor times coming into play, it is clear Roger really knows his stuff...so for that, Thank You.





For more detail follow this link: My First Post and first "real" leather treatment project on my BMW 335i - Leather Cleaning Restoration Forum





Roger Koh

[email protected]

 

[mikenap]

I avoid "Conditioners" as they are usually oily creams that end up leaving the surface slick/soft, but create immeditate surface resoiling>>leading up to deteriotation of the exterior coating of the surface. Protectors(which are usually water based) (there are only a few) put an invisable type of barrier that actually protects better and will not attract dirt.



Read this when you get a chance:

http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-de...-leather-cleaner-recommend-3.html#post1289260



For now I concentrate on keeping the surface clean by using leather safe cleaners. Leather Masters makes a simple system and I'm also in the process of learning the Leather Doctor system which so far is quite awsome. They make a Strong Cleaner that blows away LM's offering so far from my testing.

Thanks David, I'll look through that when I get some time. It looks like it's loaded with information.