As a motor trimmer I am regularly asked this simple question, How do I clean and look after the leather in my car? The whole idea of cleaning and treating the leather in your vehicle is not one of only care, it is also hygeine and the main reason is to protect the leather from drying out and cracking. Once leather has gone hard and starts to crack it is unfortunately to late for anything to really help the situation. Well I thought it time to add a quick guide here to the tech section so it helps you guys out there to either look after your existing leather, or if you are thinking about having a car trimmed or a custom interior done for you, it will give you some ideas of the DO'S and DONT'S of your new interior. What is Leather? Leather is a natural product manufactured from the skins of an animal. In the case of automotive leather and most domestic and commercial leather, it is manufactured from cattle hides. Generally speaking cows, bulls, oxen and in some cases from sheep. It is manufactured through a process known as "tanning". Basically the hides are washed with salt, skimmed to correct the thickness, the grain is then corrected and then they are sent into the "tanning" process in large drums/vats. Once in the vats, the color and chemicals are added. During this process each leather is individually graded and sorted for a specific use ie, automotive. Once out of the vats they are dried, sorted again then the protective coatings are added. During it's life the animal may have been in contact with bushes, barbed wire or horns of other animals. These contacts may have left fine scarring and scratches that have healed naturally. Do not worry if you do find some scarring or fine marks in the leather when you clean the leather. These marks are a sign of genuine leather and do not affect it's wearing qualities in any way. The DONT'S of how to care for Leather! DO NOT - Use detergents, solvents, abrasives or unreccomended leather cleaners or suede cleaners. DO NOT - Steam or dry clean leather. DO NOT - Place or drag sharp objects accross your leather as this may damage the surface coatings. DO NOT - Leave heavy objects, ie a heavy box, sitting on your leather for extended periods of time as it will "dint" the leather. TRY TO AVOID - Wearing studded jeans or belts as they may damage the side surfaces of your seats, in particular the drivers side as it is normally the highest wearing part of a vehicle interior. TRY TO AVOID - Leaving your vehicle in high temperature situations or areas especially for extended periods of time in direct sunlight as this dries leather out over time and can speed up the ageing and cracking. The DO'S of how to care for Leather! This is the way that most leather manufacturers reccomend you clean, and treat your leather. If done correctly the leather will stay softer, be far less prone to cracking or drying out and of course retain more value for your vehicle. Basic Maintenance. 1. Vacuum your seats/doors to remove any dirt/dust/crumbs using the soft brush attachment that is an accessory to most vacuum cleaners. 2. Find yourself a soft colour fast cloth, pref white. Wipe over the seats with the cloth dampened with luke warm water. Do not soak the seats. Let them air dry. These two steps should be maintained at least every 2 -3 weeks to keep buildup of grime, sweat and body oils from effecting the surface of the leather. Leather Cleaning and Treatments. 1. Repeat steps 1 & 2 as above first. 2. Purchase a reputable cleaning agent/treatment that is reccomended for automotive leathers. DO NOT use a Silicone based product ie Armorall. 3. Generally most products are applied in a very similar way. Use a white, color fast cloth. Apply small dabs of product and spread evenly accross the seat surfaces, wiping in a circular motion constantly turning the cloth using a clean side. Try not to rub excessively or too hard as this may damage the leather. Always let the product do the work. 4. Once applied to all surfaces, most product requires you to let it sit for a couple of minutes then lightly buff off with another clean cloth. Your leather should now be clean and feeling fresh. It will not require treatment for another 3 - 4 months. If this is maintained throughout the life of the vehicle the leather should stay soft and durable for a very long time. As a side note to all that, the salts and body oils which occur naturally in human skin can damage the leather surface coatings if left uncleaned for lenghty periods of time. In warm or humid weather it is important that the leather be wiped over as often as weekly, particularly if the leather has become damp with perspiration, or body oils are visible on areas such as head rests. Always pay particular attention to creases that have developed in the leather and pay attention to areas that have heavy skin contact ie, head rests, arm rests and seat faces. Remember this also applies to steering wheels, gearknobs and leather couches. Cleaning products can be purchased from places like Supercheap and Autobarn. If anyone wants something more advanced as a cleaner please contact me via phone or PM and I can organise something more suited. Cheers Guys Steve Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Good write up steve... now i know why a mates vn calais is soo rooted

yes good write up. i used to work in the shoe business and know a little about leather also. as stated above, you will find natural scratches in the skin. this is actually a good thing as it shows its a higher quality leather. full grain leather is the skin on the outside of the animal. i recommend using a lanilon based cleaner on leather. Lanilon is actually sheep sweat, and is a natural leather conditioner. you can actually get lanilon based polishers thats used for shoes. if you have black or white leather its a good way to touch up the colour. also, never use anything alcohol based as it also dries out the skin.

Excellent Steve! Very well done mate Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Yeah thanks guys. Thought it time to post something of decent contribution to the site. I might do a few more on here as time permits! Plus it isn't real easy to find good care information about automotive leather especially on the net. Loz I'm not sure about the pure Lanolin thing. I cant say I hace ever tried that. I have heard of it being used on belts' shoes, and other heavy leathers before but Im not sure how it would go on an automotive grade leather. I have a new product on the way to me shortly that has Lanolin as a partial weak mix along with bees wax and a lot of other natural products. It is a 2 part cleaner/treatment so I will see how it goes. If it is a good thing to use, any leather retrims I do for customers will get a full kit supplied to them as part of the deal!

Nice write up. Much difference between leather care and Vinyl care?

cool, i just bought leather just wondering what a strong cleaning product would be. i would like to give mine a good once over to make it as clean as possible before it goes in.. Ryan Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by E-Z cool, i just bought leather just wondering what a strong cleaning product would be. i would like to give mine a good once over to make it as clean as possible before it goes in.. Ryan I cried when i came home and oened the doors of the car up But now i'm gunna put new carpet in as well seeing as you did all the hard work for me Ryan Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

very good write up mate good work Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

not wrong nick whoever put the leather seats in LOCK TITE the hell out of the allen bolts, man i swear 20 mins each allen bolt. cant wait to get them in but back seats are allmost brand new nick Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

E-Z just follow the guide as written above. Just be carefull how hard you rub the leather as older leather is prone to loosing color if rubbed realy hard!

ok i got some aerosol cleaning product, came witha plastic scrubbing brush, works great on the vynal, im scared to use it on the leather but. what if it has silicone in it?

Nope dont use it. Use only damp cloth to wipe them over. Go to autobarn and buy some Meguiars leather cleaner/treatment. Thing is with solvents and aerosols is you dont know what is in them. I have seen certain solvents strip color off things before!

ok so i probly shouldnt use this armor all "leather Gel" either? well used that gel, and a fine fingernail brush and this was the result. right is cleaned and buffed. left is untouched. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Yeah E-Z if it is a leather gel then i guess it should be ok! I cant say I have ever used it myself but looks like it seems to work OK. Just be careful how hard you scrub with the brush. In reference to Armoral, I advise against using the generic armoral product as it is silicone based. It will make your seats shiny, slippery and dry them out quicker!