Need a leather cleaner but there are too many options

Bill1234

Bill1234

New member
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
2,647
Reaction score
0
I feel I am pretty much set in my arsenal of supplies other than leather care. I have used Chem guys (did not like really) and lexol in the orange bottle (better but not that strong) Any ones I should look at that is not expensive? I will be working with Nirvana leather in an explorer platnium soon and more brands of manufacturers if that helps
 
paul_g said:
I use Pinnacle.
Click to expand...

Good to know. I know AG brands are quality,but there are alot of options. Lexol does a decent job. I feel Maybe I should keep looking but those are an option. I heard sonax leather foam is good.
 
I had good luck with the Wolfgang leather cleaner and leather conditioner using a soft brush to work the cleaner in and then wipe with mf towel and follow with the conditioner.

The cleaner gets a nice little foam as you agitate it and it seems to pull a lot of dirt out. You just have to make sure to wipe it up with a mf towel before the cleaner and dirt dry right back on top.

Now I'm using leatherique and that's been the best for me but also a lot of work and not cheap either.
 
Nothing fancy but I have been using Collinite 885.

Dave
 
I too have been on a quest to find a good leather cleaner, and agree that it seems ther are endless options. Have not found a favorite yet, have some more on the way after the recent AG sale, but here are my thoughts on what I have used. For all products I used a soft bristle raceglaze brush and a swissvax brush, wiped off with MF towels initially.

CG leather cleaner. Diluted per the bottle. Was easy to use, foamed up a bit. Wiped off fairly clean, but left the surface tacky. Required a couple follow up wipe downs with a damp terry cloth towel and then buff dry. Too much effort. Abandoned this one.

Duragloss leather cleaner. Nice product, but also left slightly tacky surface that required going over with damp terry towel, but only once. Came off cleaner than CG.

OPC. Diluted about 7:1. Dampened seats with a mist of water first, then sprayed OPC in small area and agitated. Very strong cleaner, even at that dilution. Still went over it with damp towel afterwards. This is process I would use on seats that have not been cleaned in a long time.

Ultima interior gel. My favorite in that after a MF wipe, seats felt smooth and clean. No residue. One odd thing in my experience with this product. While agitating, the product dries out very quickly. I now agitate in about a 6" square area at most, and saturate the brush before agitating. I normally spray the brush with all products and immediately wipe the area that I misted from the cleaner to avoid runs of product on the leather. Great results from this product, but a little more picky to use, great scent. Might be the warm dry climate here in SoCal. Wondering if others have experienced this.

Seats are black BMW Dakota leather. Next up will be Sonus that is on the way, then maybe leathermasters, then maybe leather Doctor. Until of course I find the one that vanquishes all others and I can quit buying products that get only a couple uses.

Leather Protestants/coatings, now that is another ongoing quest.

Oh, also, leatherique. Totally involved and time consuming process. Amazing results on my last car as it got older and seats experienced more wear. Current car is much newer, and leatherique didn't show the same kind of result. Excellent smell though. There are lots of opinions and threads about the usefulness of something like leatherique on newer coated leather seats, which topic is a bear that I don't want to poke with a stick here. But my experience with it on this car wasn't worth the effort required at present.
 
This may not be "popular" but I deep clean leather with 1z plastic cleaner followed by a good conditioner from a competitor.
 
I've had pretty good luck with most leather cleaners. However, I'm only cleaning my own seats - which stay pretty clean. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the filth that is on some of these leather seats. What is coming off these peoples' bodies? Filth? Sludge? Do they shower every day???

Anyway, I've tried a bunch. Leather Masters is good. But I think AG sells only the foam versions now - which are prolly expensive per use. The liquid stuff is like water. A little too drippy.

A lot of APCs are high pH products. It's up to you if you want to use them on your leather. On most cases, it's prolly OK. But, I try to stick to pH neutral type cleaners.

I've recently discovered the Sonus leather cleaner. It's cheap, has a good consistency, cleans well, smells good, foams up well, and is close to pH neutral. I'm not sure what else someone could ask for?

Leatherique is a restoration type product. I don't recommend it on modern decently maintained cars.
 
Believe it or not, I use Meguiar's Super Degreaser.... diluted to suit. Honestly, it cleans well (as it should) and I use a very good conditioner. All is good and have been doing this for over a year on black very soft leather. YMMV..... always do a test spot first.
 
Never used any AG brands or other brands they carry.

I have used Tanner's Preserve for years and for maintenance I like it, but I'm not really sure how it would stack up for cleaning even mildly soiled leather. Does smell like leather though and the conditioner is nice. If you've ever walked into a saddle shop or Silver Spur boot store that's what this stuff smells like, real leather. It can be found at cyclo dot com and Pep Boy's used to carry it.

It's mainly for new leather very light cleaning and conditioning. Never really had the opportunity to see how well the cleaner would work on soiled leather.

If you're looking for something to clean soiled leather then you may need a stronger cleaner, though the conditioner should serve nicely.

Eagle Ottawa Tanner's Preserve Leather Cleaner and Leather Conditioning Cream...2 products

"Recommended by Eagle Ottawa, the Leading Leather Supplier to the Automotive Industry."

"At Eagle Ottawa we know leather. We've been making it since 1865. So we also know how to take care of it..."

Again, I'd use this on newer leather to keep it nice. For more soiled leather, Leather Masters may have a stronger leather cleaner. Leatherique has a big following, but the process is much more involved.
 
shagnat said:
Believe it or not, I use Meguiar's Super Degreaser.... diluted to suit. Honestly, it cleans well (as it should) and I use a very good conditioner. All is good and have been doing this for over a year on black very soft leather. YMMV..... always do a test spot first.
Click to expand...

:iagree:ON EXTREMELY DIRTY LEATHER ONLY!

I use Meguiar's APC for general leather cleaning.

One recommendation I will make, stay away from 2in1 cleaners/conditioners in one product. Use dedicated cleaner and dedicated conditioner.
 
I love Meguiar’s All Purpose Cleaner. My leather only sees a 10:1 but I have used at 5:1 on a few nasty cars lately and its fantastic! Followed up with some good old Lexol conditioner...
 
Did not really think I could use apc on leather. So I have simple green, what dilution could I use for that?
 
Bill1234 said:
Did not really think I could use apc on leather. So I have simple green, what dilution could I use for that?
Click to expand...


Is it safe to use Lemon Scent Simple Green All-Purpose Wipes on leather?

The rule of thumb is, "If it is safe to pour water on it, you can clean it with Simple Green." Most leather will not tolerate water. It becomes hard and dry. Therefore, it is not a good idea to use Lemon Scent Simple Green All-Purpose Wipes on leather, suede, dry-clean only fabrics such as some silks, velvets, etc.

Frome their Web site...
Google "simple green for leather seats"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top