S2K
New member
- Jul 8, 2010
- 990
- 0
I recently purchased the Leatherique 32oz kit from AutoGeek to clean and help restore my 9 year old leather seats.
The kit was nicely packaged and included:
32oz Rejuvenator
32oz Pristine Clean
2 Cobra Microfiber towels
2 microfiber foam applicators
1 Tampico brush
I did not use the MF applicators, instead I used a piece of foam and for ease of use I transferred the Rejuvenator to a plastic squeeze bottle and the Pristine Clean to a spray bottle
I had cleaned my seats a week earlier and applied 303AP to them. Not knowing if the 303 being it is a protectant would affect the effectivness of the Rejuvenator I cleaned the seats with Meguiars APC+ before starting to try and remove the 303. The seats should already be nice and clean so we will see how the Leatherique does at cleaning them deeper.
My seats have some minor spiderweb cracking and feel kind of dry and stiff. My goal here is to help soften the leather so that the cracking does not get any worse and eventually break through.
Before:
Following the manufacturers directions, I liberally applied the Rejuvenator all over the seats using a piece of foam, rubbing it into the seams very well. After spreading with the foam I ended up just massaging it in with my hands completely covering all of the seats. This step gets kind of messy and I tried to not get it all over the plastic trim and carpet and everything surrounding the seats. In a small tight car like this it wasn't easy. Leatherique says it will not harm plastic, rubber, vinyl and other surfaces but I didn't want to have to clean everything else afterward. I did get some on some trim and it cleaned off easily and did not stain or discolor or seem to affect anything I got it on.
Here is what it looks like right after applying the rejuvenator:
After applying I put the top up, put the windows up, shut the doors and left it in the driveway to "steam" in the Georgia heat all day while I went to work at a Boy Scout Eagle Project.
After about 8 hours in the heat I looked in on it and you can see how it seemed to really soak more into the areas that are worn and cracked than the good areas. As I was tired from working in the heat all day I decided to apply some more Rejuvenator to the dry looking areas and clean it off in the morning.
After 8 hours:
The next morning, following the manufacturers directions, I liberally sprayed the seats with the Pristine Clean and worked it in using my hands and the Tampico brush. After coating the second seat with the Pristine Clean I went back to the first and using a bucket of warm water and a terry cloth towel I wiped off the seats rinsing the towel very often. Remember I had cleaned these seats using APC+ twice in one week so I wasn't expecting that much dirt but here is what the rinse water looked like after the first seat:
I changed my rinse water and cleaned the second seat and the water looked about the same after it. I'll have to say the Leatherique really does a deep clean to your leather.
After cleaning, the seats really didn't look any different and felt maybe just slightly softer, but I knew they were getting clean. It was still early so I decided to do another application. I did just as I did the first one and let it steam all day then went out in the early evening and cleaned just like the first time. This time my rinse water was dirty but not as bad as the first cleaning. (I was losing daylight so i didn't get a picture of it) After completely wiping down the seats I gave them a good buffing with a microfiber towel.
The finished result. Being the seats are black I didn't see a real noticeable difference but they did have a real nice satin look to them and did look cleaner. There wasn't a big difference in softness but I could feel it, especially on the perforated parts of the seat. Before it sort of had a cardboard feel, like if you pushed your finger in the middle the whole panel would push down instead of making a dent in it. Now I can push my finger on it and it actually dents in. I am happy with the result, I know they are clean, and I feel like they have received some conditioners and hope it will add some life to them. I plan on applying Leatherique once or twice a year for a deep cleaning and conditioning.
It is a time consuming process, mainly because you have to let it "steam" for so long, and it can get kind of messy but if you want clean seats that will last longer I think it is worth spending a weekend on.
After 2 applications:
Thank You for looking and I hope this will help anyone contemplating using Leatherique.
The kit was nicely packaged and included:
32oz Rejuvenator
32oz Pristine Clean
2 Cobra Microfiber towels
2 microfiber foam applicators
1 Tampico brush
I did not use the MF applicators, instead I used a piece of foam and for ease of use I transferred the Rejuvenator to a plastic squeeze bottle and the Pristine Clean to a spray bottle
I had cleaned my seats a week earlier and applied 303AP to them. Not knowing if the 303 being it is a protectant would affect the effectivness of the Rejuvenator I cleaned the seats with Meguiars APC+ before starting to try and remove the 303. The seats should already be nice and clean so we will see how the Leatherique does at cleaning them deeper.
My seats have some minor spiderweb cracking and feel kind of dry and stiff. My goal here is to help soften the leather so that the cracking does not get any worse and eventually break through.
Before:
Following the manufacturers directions, I liberally applied the Rejuvenator all over the seats using a piece of foam, rubbing it into the seams very well. After spreading with the foam I ended up just massaging it in with my hands completely covering all of the seats. This step gets kind of messy and I tried to not get it all over the plastic trim and carpet and everything surrounding the seats. In a small tight car like this it wasn't easy. Leatherique says it will not harm plastic, rubber, vinyl and other surfaces but I didn't want to have to clean everything else afterward. I did get some on some trim and it cleaned off easily and did not stain or discolor or seem to affect anything I got it on.
Here is what it looks like right after applying the rejuvenator:
After applying I put the top up, put the windows up, shut the doors and left it in the driveway to "steam" in the Georgia heat all day while I went to work at a Boy Scout Eagle Project.
After about 8 hours in the heat I looked in on it and you can see how it seemed to really soak more into the areas that are worn and cracked than the good areas. As I was tired from working in the heat all day I decided to apply some more Rejuvenator to the dry looking areas and clean it off in the morning.
After 8 hours:
The next morning, following the manufacturers directions, I liberally sprayed the seats with the Pristine Clean and worked it in using my hands and the Tampico brush. After coating the second seat with the Pristine Clean I went back to the first and using a bucket of warm water and a terry cloth towel I wiped off the seats rinsing the towel very often. Remember I had cleaned these seats using APC+ twice in one week so I wasn't expecting that much dirt but here is what the rinse water looked like after the first seat:
I changed my rinse water and cleaned the second seat and the water looked about the same after it. I'll have to say the Leatherique really does a deep clean to your leather.
After cleaning, the seats really didn't look any different and felt maybe just slightly softer, but I knew they were getting clean. It was still early so I decided to do another application. I did just as I did the first one and let it steam all day then went out in the early evening and cleaned just like the first time. This time my rinse water was dirty but not as bad as the first cleaning. (I was losing daylight so i didn't get a picture of it) After completely wiping down the seats I gave them a good buffing with a microfiber towel.
The finished result. Being the seats are black I didn't see a real noticeable difference but they did have a real nice satin look to them and did look cleaner. There wasn't a big difference in softness but I could feel it, especially on the perforated parts of the seat. Before it sort of had a cardboard feel, like if you pushed your finger in the middle the whole panel would push down instead of making a dent in it. Now I can push my finger on it and it actually dents in. I am happy with the result, I know they are clean, and I feel like they have received some conditioners and hope it will add some life to them. I plan on applying Leatherique once or twice a year for a deep cleaning and conditioning.
It is a time consuming process, mainly because you have to let it "steam" for so long, and it can get kind of messy but if you want clean seats that will last longer I think it is worth spending a weekend on.
After 2 applications:
Thank You for looking and I hope this will help anyone contemplating using Leatherique.
I've used Leatherique twice in the 9 months I've owned my car...so yeah, I kinda like it. :cheers:
(Sky)