New Here and weary about using a DA Polisher.

BMW435 said:
I've watched many of his videos and he always used Meguiars D101 diluted 10:1 (less aggressive than D108 Super Degreaser) which is what you used. I have used the D101 at 10:1 on my seats many times and never had any adverse affects from using it. I also go over the seat with a microfiber towel dampened in water followed by a dry towel.
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He uses 4:1, 5:1 and 10:1, the young kid from Canada uses 5:1, the older man in Fl. also uses 5:1. I literally watched 100's of videos before attempting myself.

I am trying to figure out how to upload a picture. Can I put the picture on my facebook page and link to it there or do I have to get a photobucket account just to post pics here?
 
dthor68 said:
the young kid from Canada uses 5:1
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I knew you were following his exact instructions ever since I read the 1st post. Lol. D108 + paint brush to poke into the leather...

IMO he gives iffy advice on that video.. For 1, he has D101 APC at his disposal yet for some reason doesn't seem to think of it as an option for cleaning leather? Strange...

Then he has his steamer handy but only uses it as a pre step without any chemical before manually cleaning the leather with Super Degreaser from a foaming sprayer and a paint brush.. His results look good, but it seems like a waste of time when he could be less aggressive and just use D101@10:1 with his steamer and a terry towel and be done with it.

He usually gives good advice, but on that perticular vid, not so much. Also, his dilution recommendation video is way too over complicated.

But overall, he seems to know alot about cars and how to do things himself. He does well.
 
Eldorado2k said:
Just for the record, I'm not advising to use Megs Super Degreaser @4:1 to clean your own or your customers leather seats.. But it won't destroy them either. In most normal cases D181 RTU or D101@10:1 should be all that's required. D108@10:1 if you need to get heavy duty, 4:1 if you have to get nuclear.
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Meg APC works really well if the seat is not very dirty. Usually when I do an interior, it has either never been done or have been done in the distant past. I often have to use degreaser to get it perfectly clean. I always start with APC 1:10 and see if it cleans it, then I do a test spot with Degreaser and if I see an improvement I switch.

As I said, never had an issue. People seems to think Leather is this magic material that is fragile when in fact coated leather is extremelly resistant.
 
Calendyr said:
People seems to think Leather is this magic material that is fragile when in fact coated leather is extremelly resistant.
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I agree. Back when I 1st bought my current vehicle, and before I had a steamer or any of the products I have today, I followed the advice of some dude who made a youtube video demonstrating how he cleaned the leather seats inside his 1990's Lexus with Soft Scrub bathroom cleaner and a nylon brush and achieved dramatic results.

His interior appeared fubar and nothing he had tried so far had even made a dent in the soiled in dirt from past owners neglect... My Cadillac was in similar shape when I bought it so I figured what the heck, I've got nothing to lose + it worked great for him.

And sure enough it worked! Lol.
Soft Scrub, Super Degreaser@4:1, steamer, you name it, I've tried it on my leather seats. And nothing I've done has etched, dried, discolored, or ruined the seats in anyway.
My car gets treated like a red headed stepchild sometimes, but it's ok because it's mine. Lol.
 
Calendyr said:
Hum.

Hate to disagree with everything you said but I unfortunately have to.

In my experience Super Degreaser is a great product. Darren did a test not so long ago on a leather seat with various products and super degreaser was clearly the most effective of everything he tried. I can't remember the products he tested there were about 6 including Lexol, Meg APC, Adams APC and a few others. SD made the surface perfectly clean and all the others did not. Lexol was by far the worst barely removing any dirt at all.

The only thing I will give you is that SD's smell is pretty strong. But I find it very effective at anything I throw at it from engine cleaning, tires and leather. I use the standard 1:4 dilution.

Darren has been using it for countless years on leather without a problem and I have done the same for about 2 years. As I said earlier, I would not use this on uncoated leather but the cars I see all have coated leather.
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I guess. To each his own. But, if you read SG description - it's for cleaning greasy engines. I pH tested it a while ago - and I think it was around pH 11 or so. I don't know why anyone would use a product labeled to clean greasy engines on leather seats - when there are pH neutral cleaners designed for this task.

The only thing SD has going for it, is that it's super cheap.

Also, how would you explain the OPs results, if Super Degreaser is fine on all leather? If it's not fine on ALL leather, how would you know what leather it's safe on, and which leather it will ruin ???

It was speculated the OPs seats were just re-dyed; so that is what caused this issue. But, OP was using SD specifically because the seats were quite dirty. So, if it was a new dye job, how would they be so dirty?

I still say you are better off using a pH neutral product specifically designed to cleaner leather, like Leather Masters or Sonus - but they aren't like $15 a gallon.
 
swanicyouth said:
Also, how would you explain the OPs results, if Super Degreaser is fine on all leather? If it's not fine on ALL leather, how would you know what leather it's safe on, and which leather it will ruin ???
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Maybe it could be due to low quality "leather" found in Hondas? Toyota Camrys come to mind as well..
 
@Bob. I've got a question you probably know the answer to.. What's the PH balance of Meguiars D181 Leather Cleaner? I recall hearing it was something like 9 but I'm not sure because it's been a while.
D180 Leather Cleaner & Conditioner as well if it's not too much trouble for you to find out? Thanks in advance, Bob.
 
You wanna see something scary,use a degreaser on a bmw or Lexus door panel in tan.The whole panel will turn scary green and will freak you out.only happens on those 2 car models,then you run real quick to neutralize weird.
 
GSKR said:
You wanna see something scary,use a degreaser on a bmw or Lexus door panel in tan.The whole panel will turn scary green and will freak you out.only happens on those 2 car models,then you run real quick to neutralize weird.
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Which degreaser though? They're all different. Some are really really heavy duty caustic products.
 
It's the alkaline that deos it so be very careful with these model cars.
 
GSKR said:
It's the alkaline that deos it so be very careful with these model cars.
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Gotcha.. And yea it sort of happens on vinyl dashboards and plastic buttons when cleaning with D101 APC. Turns things a bit white.. It's not very appealing at all. Have to finish it off with water, Megs Last Touch, or QID for the proper look.
 
I don't use any kind of degreaser on leather coated or non coated.
 
One of the companies that Autogeek sells does carry leather dyes I believe. Probably great things to have on hand for "leather" owners.

My biggest concerns would probably be dye transfer, no matter what the claims are. Would surely hate somebody getting in my ride, and having their clothes ruined with such.

Thus, if I was in such a position, I would probably be thinking of a prep, then dye, then somehow agressively sealing the leather with something along the lines of a leather "coating" from somebody like Carpro as the finishing touch. That such would seal dyes, and lessen and prohibit dye transfer.
 
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