I think I ruined my leather seat

dudley07726

dudley07726

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Tough to see in images. Driver seat was dirty so I attempted to clean it with Griots 3 in 1 ( as I have done in the past with no problem). But this time, instead of cleaning it away, the dirt seemed to spread the more I wiped it with the microfiber cloth. I then tried Sonus leather cleaner which didn’t help at all. Tried Griots again with no luck. I think I ruined it. Would appreciate some advice from those detainers who know how to deal with this type of issue. Thanks
 
Tough time seeing your issue, but we use the little yellow brush that has a velour face (I believe it's velour, if not it's velour like). Just spray on a liberal amount of a mild APC and go to town with the brush. Keep the surface well hydrated and when you've worked the entire area, remove with a clean microfiber towel. Nothing gets dirt and grime out of the grain like that brush and it's harmless to the leather unlike a hard bristled brush.
 
What is it that makes you think you ruined it? I find it hard to believe you could do much damage with designated leather cleaners (unless the seat had been compromised before). If anything it seems like they might be conservative enough that they’re just not getting the seat fully clean.
 
dudley07726 said:
Tough to see in images. Driver seat was dirty so I attempted to clean it with Griots 3 in 1 ( as I have done in the past with no problem). But this time, instead of cleaning it away, the dirt seemed to spread the more I wiped it with the microfiber cloth. I then tried Sonus leather cleaner which didn’t help at all. Tried Griots again with no luck. I think I ruined it. Would appreciate some advice from those detainers who know how to deal with this type of issue. Thanks
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Because the grains of the leather still seem to have the original color, I think your issue was caused more by abrasion, than some chemical reaction with the product you've used. If it would be the latter (ie. that you used a very thick dilution, which possible attacked the leather and damaged it), then it would have to be the lower parts of the grain that were more effect by it, because that's where the product could have settled and affected the material more, than on the higher parts, where you obviously wiped it off easily without leaving any of the product back.

/me thinks that the dirt build-up on the affected place was caused by the protective upper layer of the leather already being gone there, and deeper layers of the leather "fabric" being exposed in the first place. And by cleaning it you've just removed that dirt, but didn't affect the structure of the leather. In other words: it wasn't you who ruined it, you just exposed the damage below the dirt. If that makes sense to you, also considering the "before" state of the leather, which we don't have a picture of, so can't include that in our judgement.

Of course if you scrubbed too hard, then it could be very well that you caused or at least contributed to the damage.
 
I used a very soft Sonax brush to clean it. It was very weird. The more I tried to wipe it off with the Costco yellow microfiber towel, the darker it became. The seat bottom was not compromised before.
 
dudley07726 said:
I used a very soft Sonax brush to clean it. It was very weird. The more I tried to wipe it off with the Costco yellow microfiber towel, the darker it became. The seat bottom was not compromised before.
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It could be that your leaving some dye from the mf. Re-clean and wipe with a white terry towel.
 
I was going to suggest the same thing about using a white terry cloth towel. It has a deeper nap that will pick up the dirt and not leave anything behind. The Sonax soft brush is the right tool. Just make sure to wipe up the section while it is still wet.
 
Here’s a better pic. The dark spot comes out much better when wet. Notice how it’s just that area even though the whole bottom was cleaned with a diluted apc and then a conditioned? Why doesn’t the whole seat look like that? Obviously, it doesn’t look as bad when dried as you saw in the earlier pictures. This bothers the hell out of me.
 
It looks like you were too aggressive and removed some of the protective coating and even a little bit of dye leaving it unprotected which is why it gets darker when it gets wet. The water is being allowed to actually reach and penetrate the leather. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do about it. The seat would have to be redyed and recoated and would cost more than buying a brand new replacement seat. From the dealer.
Actually, you could buy just the seat bottom cushion cover but it would never match the seat back.
 
I think you removed the coating. I've seen that before it looks exactly like that.
 
I removed the coating with the Griots, the Somax soft bristle brush and a microfiber cloth? It began with just the Griots and cloth.. how could the cloth remove the coating?
 
Maybe the coating was already starting to fail, possibly from wear, possibly from the cleaning you did. You asked for help and several people have told you what it looks like. I don't know what caused it, but if it only shows up really bad when it's wet, it's not dirt, it's the leather directly being hydrated and changing colors.
 
The
Griot's 3 in 1 is nowhere near aggressive enough to do that unless a wire brush was used. I'm leaning towards the surface being compromised prior to the 3-1 being used.
 
That would be my guess too. We've worked on a few vehicles like that.
 
dudley07726 said:
I removed the coating with the Griots, the Somax soft bristle brush and a microfiber cloth? It began with just the Griots and cloth.. how could the cloth remove the coating?
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Depending on how long you left the product on the seat and how agressively you rubbed the area, the 3 in 1 could have definitely penetrated the coating. Did the area that gets darker when wet, get dark when you got it wet prior to the issue in question? If not, then the coating was penetrated with the latest cleaning. If so it was already compromised.
 
Coach Steve said:
Depending on how long you left the product on the seat and how agressively you rubbed the area, the 3 in 1 could have definitely penetrated the coating. Did the area that gets darker when wet, get dark when you got it wet prior to the issue in question? If not, then the coating was penetrated with the latest cleaning. If so it was already compromised.
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At first it looked like dirt so I attempted to clean it as I always had done in the past. And it always went away. This time the “dirt” never went away. Bringing it in to Audi since the car is under warranty being 2 years old with 12k. Never experienced this in 30 years with any other auto.
 
if you're interested in deep-cleaning it, use the Leatherique Products/Solution. doesn't get any better.
 
I’ve heard microfiber is more aggressive than cotton terry when it comes to wiping down leather seats with leather cleaner, is that true?
 
I find that really hard to believe since terry feels like 200 grit sandpaper compared to mf.
 
There's a whole spectrum of types of cotton that could be in a cotton Terry cloth. Some are very soft.
But as a general rule, I would think most microfiber is less aggressive than most cotton terry.

As aside note, I regret buying bulk cotton towels. With the price Costco and department stores (after their multiple discounts) charge for top quality cotton terry. I should have just bought towels; used them for a while and then cut them up for rags. I would have better rags and better bathroom towels.
 
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