Meguiar's leather conditioner destroyed my seats!

Very sorry to hear of your issue, Muscle. Thanks for posting the pics. Now we know what we are dealing with. I hope it gets worked out with little pain. Keep us posted as we all learn through these situtions.
 
I had a similar experience with tan colored leather. I don't remember the brand of cleaner I was using, as it was so long ago, but there was so much ground in dirt that I was "scrubbing" with a cotton towel, and I realized I was literally scrubbing away the dye. I switched to a softer (microfiber) towel, and the rest of the seats with a little less "passion"... This is definitely the type of situation to remind us all to always do a test spot when using a new product, or even a familiar product for the first time on a new area...
Curious to see how this gets resolved
 
This pics somewhat looks like it's been re-dyed, but I can't be 100% sure.

WP_000111.jpg
 
How many seats were damaged?

At least three. I was trying to get the pictures before it started to rain, so I didn't really look at the other captains chair. I didn't clean the back bench seat, so it is fine.
 
This pics somewhat looks like it's been re-dyed, but I can't be 100% sure.

WP_000111.jpg

These seats were literally perfect before this. Does a dye job really look that good?


Something else... I am pretty sure the Meg's leather cleaner didn't take off any color. At least I didn't see any. It wasn't until I used the conditioner that the color started coming off. I didn't let it sit there and soak in either. I use a soft microfiber towel to apply and I didn't scrub hard. I used a clean towel for the cleaner and a clean one for the conditioner.
 
dont know how long you have had the vehicle or if you are orig. owner.
The trouble with leather seats made in hte US are dyed poorly thus the reason for them not looking as good and as long as imported vehicles, I was advised by manufacturer. Also the seats may have been dyed by another person who had no knowledge of the process and wanted it to look good enough to unload it.
 
Regardless of the reason/culprit, I would be bummed out too if my seats turned out like that. Hope everything works out for the best Muscle.
 
These seats were literally perfect before this. Does a dye job really look that good?


Something else... I am pretty sure the Meg's leather cleaner didn't take off any color. At least I didn't see any. It wasn't until I used the conditioner that the color started coming off. I didn't let it sit there and soak in either. I use a soft microfiber towel to apply and I didn't scrub hard. I used a clean towel for the cleaner and a clean one for the conditioner.

Did you happen to notice if any color actually came off of the seats and onto the rag? I mean, I realize your saying the color came off of the seats, but did you see any on the rag? You may have already stated the answer and I may have missed it if you did mention it.

I find your problem interesting as I recently had a similar thing happen to my brand new tires on an older set of wheels from the same brand of products, their all wheel cleaner. I have pictures already in my gallery, but have neglected to post them becuase I've been busy. Now, back to the original topic.

I think I can relate to how you feel though. I mean no one wants this to happen to them. I hope you can at least figure out what happened. I have no doubt that Meg's will take care of you in the event their product may have attributed to this. Time and patients will prevail.
 
We Re-dye seats all the time at my Dealership I have to agree with Chad about the Re-Dye most of the seats look like that before they are dyed . The company that may of Dyed them may of not prep the seats properly.
Another common issue is when a customer complains about a leather problem and the manufacturer won't replace the leather but will dye it .
 
seems to me like a redye ive only had this issue once and my seats was dirty so it seemed like the product removed color when certain spots were clean and some were not...i dont think this is your issue but im betting on they got dyed best fix would be to get them redyed and be very carefull what you use on them, or get custom fitted seat covers and dont worry about it.....i would get them dyed then get some custom fitted leather seat covers then you dont need to worry about the factory leather, but fitted seat covers that are leather can run about 150-300$ for front+ rear of a 2/4 door car...good luck man hope you can fix this i would call previous owner and ask him act innocent and be like "wife wore some white jeans and the color of seats was on jeans so thats why im wondering" really hope you get this worked out!
 
I'm one of the guys Mike Phillips emailed earlier - I'm at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Las Vegas at the moment but didn't want to let this go any further without at least acknowledging it.

Muscle, first off we truly are sorry to see this and we apologize for the frustration and aggravation. This is just not something we see happen with these products when used as directed, and from your description it doesn't sound as though you scrubbed super aggressively which, as has been stated, can certainly cause thisbsort of damage. Every now and then people go a bit crazy with the application process and lose sight of how aggressive an applicator be, regardless of what product they're applying. This is how people manage to even go through their paint when getting overly aggressive by hand. Again, from your description that doesn't sem to be the case here so something else must be at play. I can tell you from first hand experience doing demos for major retailers with these two products on all kinds of cars - new,old, domestic, European and Japanese (including my own personal cars, one domestic one Euro) I've never seen this happen. But all cars I've used this on had factory finishes on them, none were redyed. You said you purchased this car lightly used from someone you know, correct? Can you double check with them regarding the possibility of them having been dyed?

Now, with me out of town "on assignment" until nearly next week I can't do a whole lot for you. It sounds like you're already planning on contacting our Customer Care Center tomorrow and I wrongly urge you to do so. Please let them know about this thread - I suspect they already do - when you speak with them. They'll do everything they can to help you sort this out.
 
Did you happen to notice if any color actually came off of the seats and onto the rag? I mean, I realize your saying the color came off of the seats, but did you see any on the rag? You may have already stated the answer and I may have missed it if you did mention it.

I find your problem interesting as I recently had a similar thing happen to my brand new tires on an older set of wheels from the same brand of products, their all wheel cleaner. I have pictures already in my gallery, but have neglected to post them becuase I've been busy. Now, back to the original topic.

I think I can relate to how you feel though. I mean no one wants this to happen to them. I hope you can at least figure out what happened. I have no doubt that Meg's will take care of you in the event their product may have attributed to this. Time and patients will prevail.

Yes, the color was on the towel.
 
seems to me like a redye ive only had this issue once and my seats was dirty so it seemed like the product removed color when certain spots were clean and some were not...i dont think this is your issue but im betting on they got dyed best fix would be to get them redyed and be very carefull what you use on them, or get custom fitted seat covers and dont worry about it.....i would get them dyed then get some custom fitted leather seat covers then you dont need to worry about the factory leather, but fitted seat covers that are leather can run about 150-300$ for front+ rear of a 2/4 door car...good luck man hope you can fix this i would call previous owner and ask him act innocent and be like "wife wore some white jeans and the color of seats was on jeans so thats why im wondering" really hope you get this worked out!

He is a very close friend, that I trust. If they were dyed and he knows about it, he will tell me.
 
Hard to tell from the picture- but is this the vertical or horizontal aspect of the seat? Looks like maybe you shooting picture towards the floor- so this part of the seat is be where the wrinkles / creases appear on the edge of the seat, near the doors?
 
At least three. I was trying to get the pictures before it started to rain, so I didn't really look at the other captains chair. I didn't clean the back bench seat, so it is fine.

Did you notice there was a problem after the first seat?
 
I'm one of the guys Mike Phillips emailed earlier - I'm at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Las Vegas at the moment but didn't want to let this go any further without at least acknowledging it.

Muscle, first off we truly are sorry to see this and we apologize for the frustration and aggravation. This is just not something we see happen with these products when used as directed, and from your description it doesn't sound as though you scrubbed super aggressively which, as has been stated, can certainly cause thisbsort of damage. Every now and then people go a bit crazy with the application process and lose sight of how aggressive an applicator be, regardless of what product they're applying. This is how people manage to even go through their paint when getting overly aggressive by hand. Again, from your description that doesn't sem to be the case here so something else must be at play. I can tell you from first hand experience doing demos for major retailers with these two products on all kinds of cars - new,old, domestic, European and Japanese (including my own personal cars, one domestic one Euro) I've never seen this happen. But all cars I've used this on had factory finishes on them, none were redyed. You said you purchased this car lightly used from someone you know, correct? Can you double check with them regarding the possibility of them having been dyed?

Now, with me out of town "on assignment" until nearly next week I can't do a whole lot for you. It sounds like you're already planning on contacting our Customer Care Center tomorrow and I wrongly urge you to do so. Please let them know about this thread - I suspect they already do - when you speak with them. They'll do everything they can to help you sort this out.

Hi Michael,

Thank you for responding. I did indeed use the product as directed on the spray bottles. I used a clean microfiber towel. I basically sprayed the product on and then wiped it off. No scrubbing was needed as the seats were not that dirty. There surely would be no reason to scrub the leather at the top of the seat back. My main goal was to protect them from the hot Florida sun.

I should mention that I have a CARFAX on the vehicle. The only issue was when the van was rear-ended and had to have the bumper fixed. My point being there wasn't any incidents that would damage the interior.

I will be checking with my friend tomorrow.
 
Did you notice there was a problem after the first seat?

No, I didn't notice the problem until the drivers seat. It was very obvious. The area just below and to the right of the headrest when facing the chair.
 
Hard to tell from the picture- but is this the vertical or horizontal aspect of the seat? Looks like maybe you shooting picture towards the floor- so this part of the seat is be where the wrinkles / creases appear on the edge of the seat, near the doors?

The pictures show both the seat bottoms and seat backs (horizontal and vertical).
 
At this point, I'm not sure I care how / why it happened. Well... maybe I do. However, what I really want to know is how do I fix them? If they have to be redyed, how much will it cost? How do I prevent this from happening again?

Another question... to me it looks like the coating flaked / came off. If these seats were dyed, wouldn't the dye penetrate the leather?
 
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