Good intentions, bad result...OPC Help!

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mark2dx

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Hello all!

Just got my very first container of OPC, and figured I'd give it a whirl during my interior detail this morning. I diluted it 3:1 (75% Water/25% OPC) and had a few problem areas I wanted to try it on.

I did my first test on an arm rest on the passenger side that appears to be made of leather. After looking online at OEM Nissan parts for my car (300ZX) the center console and arm rests are in fact made of leather.

Anyhow...I sprayed a small amount onto the surface and began to agitate with a microfiber cloth. I then took a second microfiber which was damp with water, and wiped of the residue. I flipped the damp cloth to the dry side and then buffed it clean.

After I got the car into the sun to inspect the area, I noticed things became much worse:



I wiped the black spots away with just my fingertip, I'm not sure if that was dye from the leather or just dirt...?



Is there any way this can be remedied? I'm a bit disheartened with my first use of a product whose bottle says to "use it on anything!". :(
 
I have no experience with OPC. Hopefully Mark (07 z-oh-6) or Chris from Optimum will give some help, or any other forum members.
 
Thats a pretty strong dilution ratio, on a fairly clean interior 10;1 is generally sufficient. I use 4;1 on my tires and wheel wells... Also be careful spraying OPC diluted at any ratio on leather as it will streak and spot is not careful.
 
trerc said:
Thats a pretty strong dilution ratio, on a fairly clean interior 10;1 is generally sufficient. I use 4;1 on my tires and wheel wells... Also be careful spraying OPC diluted at any ratio on leather as it will streak and spot is not careful.
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That looks like what may have happened. I went 3:1 as that is what the bottle recommended - I also wiped it off quickly and then wiped over the surface again with water so I wasn't expecting it to finish out spotty the way it did. The black specks that appeared are a mystery too, no idea what it could have been other than dye.

EDIT: I just tried going over the area with a damp terry cloth, and it had no effect on the result.
 
As trerc mentioned about the 3:1 ratio being too strong. Maybe try diluting it 10:1 to remove the spots.
 
rider9195 said:
As trerc mentioned about the 3:1 ratio being too strong. Maybe try diluting it 10:1 to remove the spots.
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No luck with 10:1 :(

No further damage with 10:1 either though. That may be the correct dilution for the material.

Still curious about how to handle the spots :). I have a crazy idea that I'm not sure will work...maybe I can steam them out? I've taken water circles out of furniture by ironing a cotton shirt over the affected area and they came right out. I'm not sure if that would work on leather or just make things worse.
 
If this is not a one owner car it could be a dye. Take some opc straight on a rag an rub a spot somewhere that you have not already done that is not in plain sight and see if any thing comes off on your rag. just use one finger. if it does it could be a dye that some one sprayed on that is trying to come off. jonathan
 
ohmy34 said:
If this is not a one owner car it could be a dye. Take some opc straight on a rag an rub a spot somewhere that you have not already done that is not in plain sight and see if any thing comes off on your rag. just use one finger. if it does it could be a dye that some one sprayed on that is trying to come off. jonathan
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Tried a very small dab on an area that was not spotted, buffed for a few seconds, and then wiped away quickly with a damp cloth. No dye to be seen on the cloth, and no spotting left behind.

EDIT: It may be worth nothing that the leather on both armrests and the center console looked to be identical in shade and consistent with the year of the car. I've seen other 300ZX's with similar looking interior. So either it was a really good dye job by the previous owner, or the leather pieces weren't dyed :laughing:.

EDIT2: Perhaps an actual leather cleaner will work? I have some Meg's Gold Class Cleaner + Conditioner that works well for my seats. My fear is that it will just mask the spots, and they will come back once it wears down. I will hold off on this as well as the clothes iron trick until I hear from someone who has seen this problem before :D.
 
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Have you thought that the bright areas are just cleaner than the rest? I mean if it's an old car then there could be years of grime build up. 3:1 is safe on coated leather, however your material may be a little more delicate due to age and wear. For old interiors I would start around 5:1 just to be safe. 10:1 is going to be pretty weak in my opinion but each situation will be different. Another thing with leather or vinyl, especially with age, I would spray the rag and not the surface. Have you tried spraying 3:1 on your rag and wiping around the spots to see if you can brighten the rest of the surface? If this doesn't work you may have to move to full strength using caution, don't use tons of pressure. If you are dealing with dye transfer you don't want to remove all of it. She's old, be gentle with her :xyxthumbs:.
 
rwright said:
Have you thought that the bright areas are just cleaner than the rest? I mean if it's an old car then there could be years of grime build up. 3:1 is safe on coated leather, however your material may be a little more delicate due to age and wear. For old interiors I would start around 5:1 just to be safe. 10:1 is going to be pretty weak in my opinion but each situation will be different. Another thing with leather or vinyl, especially with age, I would spray the rag and not the surface. Have you tried spraying 3:1 on your rag and wiping around the spots to see if you can brighten the rest of the surface? If this doesn't work you may have to move to full strength using caution, don't use tons of pressure. If you are dealing with dye transfer you don't want to remove all of it. She's old, be gentle with her :xyxthumbs:.
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I had thought that too just as I pulled the trigger on the sprayer..."Damn, I should have applied this to my cloth first!". I'm not so sure about the bright areas being cleaner though...and the black spots seen in the picture are still very peculiar...and troubling.

I'll give 3:1 a go using directly on a cloth with gentle buffing. I'll also try Megs leather cleaner on one of the affected spots and see the result.

Stay tuned Im the MAN
 
mark2dx said:
I had thought that too just as I pulled the trigger on the sprayer..."Damn, I should have applied this to my cloth first!". I'm not so sure about the bright areas being cleaner though...and the black spots seen in the picture are still very peculiar...and troubling.

I'll give 3:1 a go using directly on a cloth with gentle buffing. I'll also try Megs leather cleaner on one of the affected spots and see the result.

Stay tuned Im the MAN
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Wait, are you saying the OPC caused those black spots? Interesting. I can honestly say that I have never used any interior product that when I sprayed it on the surface it caused black spots. Shake your product every once in a while, regardless if it's a custom mix or something off the shelf. Let me see if I can get Chris over here, hang tight.
 
rwright said:
Wait, are you saying the OPC caused those black spots? Interesting. I can honestly say that I have never used any interior product that when I sprayed it on the surface it caused black spots. Shake your product every once in a while, regardless if it's a custom mix or something off the shelf. Let me see if I can get Chris over here, hang tight.
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Yep, that's what I'm saying. The black spots appeared about 10 minutes after the "hard water" looking spots appeared. I was able to buff them out with my fingertips and they've yet to return.

This was a 3:1 diluted ratio with what I believe is the "new" OPC. I made the bottle fresh this morning about 15 minutes before I sprayed it, and made sure it was nice and mixed before I put it to use.

I tried 3:1 again, except this time applied directly to a microfiber. No results on the "water spots', but no further spotting occured.

I then tried Meg's Gold Class Leather Cleaner + Conditioner, and it looks like it may have done the trick. I've used this product quite a bit in the past though, and I know it has a tendency to hide leather stains rather than clean them.

I did get a good amount of feedback on my cloth after the test, which is a good thing as the color did not appear to change at all. This means it is most likely dirt on my cloth :).

Unfortunately I was foolish and decided to apply the Meg's to my center console and other leather armrest, so the amount of "dirt" on the cloth may be a bit exagerated. I'm letting the product dry for a bit in the garage right now, and I'll go out in a few minutes to see how things turned out.

Here's my cloth after the Meg's + OPC (I used one small area with OPC, folded that area out of the way, and then used the unused sections with the Megs).

 
I only have spotting like that when I spray it directly on the leather vs on the towel first, but easily fix the problem by cleaning the remainder of the area again. If it's dye coming off you will see a layered effect which doesn't look like your problem, your problem looks more like a ph balance shock caused by spraying directly onto the surface. Watch cleaning leather anyways with a mf towel as some can get grabby and start to remove material if your downward pressure is to rough. Personally I'd try cleaning the area again with a tooth brush, light pressure and Opc @ 4:1 which makes the ph lvl of your cleaning solution very close to the common ph of finished leather. If this doesn't fix the problem, wash the surface with water and wait a few days after your cars sat outside and the leathers had time to completely dry out and take another look at it, it shouldve corrected itself if you followed the above instructions :)
 
Nvm after typing this out over my phone I see you've already gotten close to fixing it :)
 
Here's the after pictures. Not quite 100% where I want it, but not as much of an eyesore in direct sunlight as it was before. So I guess I can't complain too much :P. It's more noticeable in person than what I was able to capture in the pictures, and I just have this feeling that the Meg's is masking the spots rather than having removed them.

I may just take some 4:1 OPC on a cloth and strip the product down to see whether that is true or not. I'll give that toothbrush trick a shot too in the coming days. It sounds like it may just get me where I want to be :D.

And I would still love to hear feedback from Chris@Optimum on this issue :props:



 
I would use a leather scrub brush or toothbrush like earlier stated. Cleaning leather that is old and dirty with a towel is basically useless. Leather has a grain and a towel just cleans the top of it.

also, if you have been using greasy products that collect dirt like the megs leather products its very likely that your leather upholstery is imbedded with dirt and really needs a thorough cleaning.

this seems like a common scenario we are seeing lately when people are spraying OPC on leather and its cleaning intensely where the spray landed, than its evened out with a towel.

Again, I strongly suggest you go back with the 3:1 dilution and a toothbrush or a stiffer leather/vinyl specific brush.
 
Its also VERY possibly that these stains are from an earlier caused problem and are now being revealed by a thorough cleaning with the OPC.

Its possibly that OPC is cleaning far more than any other product you have previously used and you are now seeing previously masked problems (as you stated your experience with Megs leather products that mask issues).

keep that in mind as well.

the last option would be that OPC is a dangerous cleaner and you are the first to find out even after the professional formulation and testing by the Optimum team which yielded leather safe results.

I find the latter to be unlikely though.
 
mg6045 was spot on with his 3:1 dilution + toothbrush advice. I'm sure 4:1 would have worked just as well, I just didn't have any mixed at the time - so solid suggestion on that as well Perfections :props:.

I'll have a picture up shortly. The leather looks a bit malnourished after the OPC, so I went over it with a damp microfiber and plan on putting the Meg's leather stuff on for temporary protection. I think it may be time to invest in another leather product after this ordeal, too - I can't say I'm a fan of how the Meg's makes my seats feel after application.

BUT FIRST: I will take a picture after the OPC has worked it's magic :buffing:
 
mark2dx said:
mg6045 was spot on with his 3:1 dilution + toothbrush advice. I'm sure 4:1 would have worked just as well, I just didn't have any mixed at the time - so solid suggestion on that as well Perfections :props:.

I'll have a picture up shortly. The leather looks a bit malnourished after the OPC, so I went over it with a damp microfiber and plan on putting the Meg's leather stuff on for temporary protection. I think it may be time to invest in another leather product after this ordeal, too - I can't say I'm a fan of how the Meg's makes my seats feel after application.

BUT FIRST: I will take a picture after the OPC has worked it's magic :buffing:
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glad to hear this mark2dx !

for protecting the leather I highly suggest Optimum Leather Protectant. Its one of my favorites for upholstery and has light cleaning and strong protection. after using OPC its all that will be needed to maintain your leather monthly.

Optimum Protectant Plus offers complete protection for interior leather, vinyl, plastic & rubber dressing. vinyl and rubber dressing, vinyl

like you noticed, your leather is going to need a conditioner after being cleaned with powerclean.
 
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