Cleaning Leather Car Seats:
Fact of Fiction

We now find ourselves frozen in fear doing nothing with our car leather until we finally reach a point of frustration that forces us into action! Let's dissect this area of car care so you can become an informed consumer and car owner.

• Is cleaning leather car seats really necessary?
• Is car leather like other leathers?
• What leather cleaner is safe to use?
• How often do I need to clean my cars leather?
• Is there any special technique to cleaning car leather?

Proper Care Leather Care and Cleaning

Q -Is cleaning leather car seats really necessary?

A -Yes. Cleaning leather car seats serves two basic needs; appearance and preservation. Keeping your cars leather is the most critical part of proper car leather care; above and beyond finding the best car leather conditioner. Experience has shown me that most people get fixated on the idea of simply conditioning the cars leather at the expense of the more critical part of leather cleaning. What happens is that over time, the person merely adds layer upon layer of dressing or conditioners, right over the dirty leather. After time, a thick layer of dirty conditioners builds up on your leather and actually becomes a detriment to your cars leather. So remember, cleaning is the most critical and essential part of car leather care.

Q- Is car leather like other leathers?

A- No. Car leather is just that; car leather. It is not your belt leather, or purse leather, or shoe leather. Most car leather is full aniline leather which means it is pigment dyed and coated with a clear protective layer that makes the texture and color uniform. This protective clear covering aids in protecting the leather form normal wear and tear. It also means that care and maintenance is easier than ever with regards to modern day car leathers. I should also add that you cannot change bad leather into good leather, or good leather into great leather by adding more and more leather conditioners. Like everywhere else in life, we usually get what we pay for. This simply means that all car leather is not created equal; the more you pay for your car, the better the leather quality is going to be. Once you have been in a $400K+ Ferrari, you will immediately understand what I am talking about!

Q- What leather cleaner is safe to use?

A -Most any. Because car care manufacturers have to cover their asses like every other business today, most manufacturers have to "dumb it down" to the lowest common denominator of society. This simply means we get products that are overly mild and ineffective on anything but the most mild forms of dirt. I will show you later down the page what to use when cleaning leather car seats. If you are doing simple upkeep or mild cleaning of our cars leather, then any of the name brand leather cleaners will suffice.

Q- How often do I need to clean my cars leather?

A -Often; as in every month. If you want keep the job simple and quick, this can be as straightforward as cleaning leather car seats by rubbing them down aggressively with a terry cloth rag dampened with your favorite car leather cleaner. If you have a new car and stay on top of it, your car leather will remain looking as new as the day you bought it for as long as you are willing to apply this effort consistently. Unfortunately most people do not do this from the beginning, and then they find themselves trying to clean heavy layers of dirt and grime when cleaning leather car seats.

Q- Is there any special techniques to cleaning car leather?

A -Yes. The first thing you need to understand is that car leather is much more durable and resilient that most people think. Through marketing and advertising, car leather has been inflated to this grandiose level of uniqueness and fragility; all in the name of trying to sell us one "special" car leather cleaner after another! Cleaning leather car seats is much simpler and easier than most people realize, and I am here to help!

Cleaning Leather Car Seats

Think of leather like you would your hands, full of textures, uneven surfaces, and imperfections. It is all these areas that dirt will hide and make for difficult cleaning if you allow the dirt to build up over time. You can follow my additional suggestions of cleaning leather car seats below:

Please Note: I too have to cover by butt, so as is always the case, common sense should be applied in any situation. Always try these techniques in an inconspicuous area to test your particular car leather for results. While 95% of car leather falls under the same category, there are those unique exceptions to the rules.

Cleaning Leather Car Seats Made Simple

If you are the "cliff note" type person and want to cut to the chase, the following leather car care kit is a perfect solution for you as it contains everything you would need for basic leather cleaning and conditioning. The kit even includes ink removal as an added bonus for those ink pen mishaps.

Leather Master Car Leather Interior Service Kit

• Contains everything you would ever need for basic car leather cleaning and general maintenance.
• Let's you keep things simple with this all-in-one car leather cleaning kit.

Heavy-Duty Car Leather Cleaning

Experience has shown that most people go in search of the best car leather cleaner after their car leather has become heavily soiled. When this is the case, you will have to bump-up your efforts by learning these effective car leather cleaning tips that include both added techniques, tools, and product choice.

(1) Car Leather Cleaning Tools

You can raise the level of cleaning abilities of any car leather cleaning with simply using some additional technique and tools. The (2) following tools I use together and serve as effective tools to be used with your choice in car leather cleaner:

Scrub Daddy

Vinyl & Leather Scrub Brush

• I use these types of tools professionally and usually end up using both scrubbers to obtain truly professional level results.
• Some areas of the car leather seating will be more effectively cleaned using the scrub brush; like around deeper crevices and accent piping, while the flatter areas will be cleaned more effectively using the Scrub Daddy. Ultimately you will be using both to get optimal results, and you will soon find what works best to clean your leather car seating.
• After scrubbing, simply wipe up with white terry cloth towel. I like to use white so I can see all the dirt that is coming up.
• Remember, car leather is very similar to your hands in that they are natural, have many crevices, and tiny finger print like textures.
• Try scrubbing your hands with these cleaners and scrub brushes first and you can determine the level of intensity to use when cleaning leather car seats.

(2) Heavy Duty Car Leather Cleaner

If you are dealing with years of dirt and grime build-up in your cars leather, you will have to also employ a more aggressive cleaner like the All-Purpose Cleaner from Meguiar's.

Meguiars D103 All Purpose Cleaner Plus

Cleaning Leather Car Seats Results

These pictures below show the dramatic results that are possible when the right techniques combined with the right products are used to clean the leather in your car.

The picture above is from an '06 Lexus RX that had never been cleaned before. The first picture on the left is when I had already begun the car leather cleaning process. The picture on the right is obviously the dramatic finished results.

The example above is from an '03 GMC Denali that had sheepskin seat covers over the leather seating all in the name of protecting them. The irony is that dirt gets trapped beneath and gets worn into the car leather. The pictures speak for themselves as to the dramatic results.

Professional Tips for Cleaning Leather Car Seats

In closing, let me add some additional points to help you know how to clean car leather in a way that will produce professional grade results.

• If you are dealing with brand new leather, or leather in excellent condition, the Leather Masters Kit above is an ideal choice for general car leather cleaning and maintenance.
• If you are dealing with heavy levels of car leather cleaning, use the Meguiar's APC+ and start with a dilution ratio of 10 parts distilled water, to 1 part cleaner. You can always raise the aggressiveness by adding more cleaner to the mix.

• Break the seating into bite-sized sections and clean one section at a time.
• You will have to clean each section repeated times for maximum results. Any cleaner that could literally clean your car leather in one go around would be caustic to your cars leather seating.
• Professionally, I will have to go over car leather seating 3 and 4 times to obtain maximum results.
• Use a combination of the scrub brush and the Scrub Daddy as your scrubbing tools.
• If working on lighter colored car leather, I use a white terry cloth towel so I can see all the dirt coming up cleaning leather car seats. (I like instant gratification!)
• If you are cleaning car leather that is black, you will want to use a rag with no lint such as a micro-fiber, or what is referred to as a glass towel. The black leather will frustrate you as it will show the lint during the cleaning process.
• If you have allowed your car leather to become heavily soiled and remain this way for years, you may find the finish has been permanently damaged and the cleaning will reveal this damage underneath as you remove the dirt.
• Many people also find that they have worn the finish off the edging of their car leather by the repeated rubbing of their butt as they slide in and out of the car. No car leather cleaner or conditioner in the world is going to magically fix this. This may also be revealed after cleaning leather car seats.
• I have also listed other car leather cleaners in the right hand column towards the top of this page if you are already committed to certain name brand car leather cleaners.

Best Car Leather Conditioner

If you have been paying attention, you will have learned that I do not use much in the way of leather conditioners. With the way modern day car leather is made using tanning processes that finish most car leather with clear protective coatings, leather conditioners and dressings end up being superficial. I also accept that this is a practice that remains deeply ingrained in our culture and many people simply cannot get past using some form of conditioner on their cars leather. I am not here to reinvent the wheel, so with that said, I am going to offer a few choices as to what I consider the best car leather conditioners; both of which I use on a case by case judgment call based on the type of leather I am cleansing and my customers preference.

Stoner More Shine Less Time Spray

• I use this when cleaning leather car seats that are black to create a slight sheen that evens out the appearance of the car leather.
• Level of gloss can be adjusted by wiping after application with micro-fiber to reduce level of shine.
• Extremely light and non-greasy.
• Have been using over 20 years professionally.
• Also ideal for dressing interior dash vents that are looking dried out and less than perfect.

Lexol Spray Leather Conditioner

• For those commit ed to using a true car leather conditioner after cleaning leather car seats.
• For those with older car leather that is able to absorb leather conditioners.
• A long lasting trusted name in the car leather care arena.

Pay Cleaning Leather Car Seats Forward

Thank you for visiting this comprehensive page on how to clean car leather. I bet you know of at least one other person who would benefit from the information I have taken so much time to produce, so please post this to your FB or Twitter account and help me spread the word! Or just send them the link and pay it forward in that manner. I have made it super easy to spread the word with my “Socialize It” button box at the very bottom of this page.

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