I need help with my leathers!
Discussion
That got your attention Gemini! 
Seriously, do any of you know anything about leather care/cleaning? Basically I have some light coloured leather that has been marked and is pretty grubby. I'd prefer to pay someone else to clean and finish it but if I have to do it myself, are there any products that any of you recommend? I've tried the Autoglym stuff - it hasn't made any difference.
I've read about the Connolly Leather treatment and it looks fantastic, has anyone used it? If so where did you get it from? Is there somewhere locally that does this type of work?
Thanks
This isn't for the TVR BTW.
Seriously, do any of you know anything about leather care/cleaning? Basically I have some light coloured leather that has been marked and is pretty grubby. I'd prefer to pay someone else to clean and finish it but if I have to do it myself, are there any products that any of you recommend? I've tried the Autoglym stuff - it hasn't made any difference.
I've read about the Connolly Leather treatment and it looks fantastic, has anyone used it? If so where did you get it from? Is there somewhere locally that does this type of work?
Thanks
This isn't for the TVR BTW.
I thought that my creme leather drivers seat was damaged/fraying until last weekend when a fellow owner showed me what effect Zymol Leather Cleaner has!!!
This stuff is awesome, and made a brilliant job of removing 99% of the marks which I thought was damage to the leather. Definitely recommended.
This stuff is awesome, and made a brilliant job of removing 99% of the marks which I thought was damage to the leather. Definitely recommended.
Damn not quite the subject I was hoping for! 
"How labour intensive was it?"
Not half as bad as I thought. The dirt was easy to shift after we left the cleaner on for a few mins.
"Did it get the really ingrained grime out?"
Absolutely. Nothing else I tried got near it to that degree.
"Has it left the leather soft or do you need to recondition it afterwards?"
Nothing else is really required as the final finish is indeed very soft.
"Does it smell nice?"
Yup... hard to describe; you`d need to try it ;-)
Not half as bad as I thought. The dirt was easy to shift after we left the cleaner on for a few mins.
"Did it get the really ingrained grime out?"
Absolutely. Nothing else I tried got near it to that degree.
"Has it left the leather soft or do you need to recondition it afterwards?"
Nothing else is really required as the final finish is indeed very soft.
"Does it smell nice?"
Yup... hard to describe; you`d need to try it ;-)
Hope you don’t mind chim_girl, but can I jump in on this one as well.
On my cream leather I normally use Gliptone Liquid Leather, which leaves the car smelling fantastic afterwards. However if you use the cleaner as directed, I’d have to agree its not that good. I’ve found the best way to remove the ingrained dirt is to apply the cleaner directly from the bottle on a soft tooth brush working it in gently covering the whole area with neat fluid. Leave it for a few minutes and then working it in again gently scrubbing with the tooth brush. Then wipe of with a damp cloth, spray the area with clean water and again wipe away with another clean cloth. Allow to dry use conditioner as directed.
My problem, I put a wet umbrella in the passenger footwell on Sunday for short drive up the road, to my horror, when removed a few minutes later I can now have maroon stain on the seat where the dye has leached into the leather. If I try the above method will this seal it in (it’s not surface dirt) or do I try something else a bit more aggressive to lift it out first, any thoughts ?
Cheers,
Simon.
On my cream leather I normally use Gliptone Liquid Leather, which leaves the car smelling fantastic afterwards. However if you use the cleaner as directed, I’d have to agree its not that good. I’ve found the best way to remove the ingrained dirt is to apply the cleaner directly from the bottle on a soft tooth brush working it in gently covering the whole area with neat fluid. Leave it for a few minutes and then working it in again gently scrubbing with the tooth brush. Then wipe of with a damp cloth, spray the area with clean water and again wipe away with another clean cloth. Allow to dry use conditioner as directed.
My problem, I put a wet umbrella in the passenger footwell on Sunday for short drive up the road, to my horror, when removed a few minutes later I can now have maroon stain on the seat where the dye has leached into the leather. If I try the above method will this seal it in (it’s not surface dirt) or do I try something else a bit more aggressive to lift it out first, any thoughts ?
Cheers,
Simon.
I've just had a long chat with a lovely chap at Leathercare Direct about leather cleaning and treatment. He was commenting about exactly the problem you've just asked about; colour transfer onto light leather, apparently it can be tricky to sort out depending on what type of leather you have.
If all goes to plan I'm taking my 'leathers' there on Thursday - I'll post before and after pictures.
You can buy a kit from them and do it yourself, if you want to give him a call it's 01925-851621, tell 'im Jo sent ya.
Jo
If all goes to plan I'm taking my 'leathers' there on Thursday - I'll post before and after pictures.
You can buy a kit from them and do it yourself, if you want to give him a call it's 01925-851621, tell 'im Jo sent ya.
Jo
Bit late, but I was going to vote for Zymol leather cleaner. I've found that to be the best stuff I've ever used, not too hard work, cleans and treats the leather a treat and smells nice.. IIRC Halfwits had a promotion a while ago and I got it quite reasonably priced. .
As you know, I'm topless everywhere and its worksed for me so far..
As you know, I'm topless everywhere and its worksed for me so far..
I didn’t like the idea of removing the outer layer and reapplying a new one so I thought I’d try it myself first and have a go at reversing the procedure.
I found some fabric similar in colour to my seat cut a small piece to cover the patch and instead of water I soaked it in a liquid leather cleaner from Halfords, that clamed to be able to remove ink. Left this over night and hey presto it’s virtually gone, a second attempt may do it but if not you would never spot it unless pointed out
Cheers,
Simon.
I found some fabric similar in colour to my seat cut a small piece to cover the patch and instead of water I soaked it in a liquid leather cleaner from Halfords, that clamed to be able to remove ink. Left this over night and hey presto it’s virtually gone, a second attempt may do it but if not you would never spot it unless pointed out
Cheers,
Simon.
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