Hi All,
As the proud new owner of a Mk2.5 2004 1.8 Euphonic I would like to clean the lovely two-tone leather seats (red centre / black outer). However, my worry is that if I use a cleaner on the black section the colour will “bleed” onto the inner red section - am I just being nervous (never had leather seats before) or can someone please reccommend the correct process / product to enable me to get them to tip-top condition.
The seats are not torn or ripped or badly creased or split (there is the usual scuff marks on the outer side of the seat bolster - but nothing major) and I would really like to keep them this way!!
Would appreciate any hints or tips ![]()
You will find that the leather is probably sealed. I use Mothers Leather Care, good stuff.
I can’t say about colour bleed as my seats are all one colour however while my seats on the car I bought are fairly torn I did reckon I should clean them so started investigating cleaners for the mx-5.
I saw Glipstone leather cleaner and conditioner recommended on a forum (may have been here) and bought some from eBay the other week.
Nice thing about that was the person tjsleathercare also (didn’t know this till the order arrived) included two free soft cloths and a soft nail brush with the two bottles since they’re what the bottle instructions suggest you use.
Now I can’t tell you about how good the cleaner is because after reading the Harmful rating on the bottle and seeing that it advised you to use gloves, eye protection and a mask! for applying it I chickened out and risked using the dregs of my old bottle of Astonish leather cleaner on my seats, this worked well so I may just stick to the Astonish in future.
I did however use the conditioner and it did do what it said on the bottle, left the seats with no greasy residue and smelling of (apparently) old English leather.
I may have been slightly excessive in my use of the conditioner as my hands stank of the stuff inspite of much cleaning. In the end a mixture of fairy liquid and strongly perfumed hand wash eventually got rid of most of the smell - something to be aware of if you buy it.
These leather seats don’t require a cream conditioner as they, since 1990 (All Car Seats), have a vinyl coating. its simply a waste of time and product
All you need is a leather cleaner and, perhaps a liquid conditioner, which may get through…BUT IME…Its not needed either
I use Gliptone Leather Cleaner…Works really well and smells great
My advice would be to use a good dedicated cleaner - don’t use harsh APC’s for example.
This should help with any soiling and avoid the leather becoming too shiny with age.
Thereafter - apply conditioner to help maintain. For your conditioner - be sure that is has a dedicated UV protection.
HTH.
My attitude is to protect the outer coating, keep the seats clean. Dr Leather wipes and their Dye Transfer /Block leaves an OE finish. Cream conditioners sit on the outer coating and the seats end up looking shiny.
I agree with ChrisRs, the Gliptone cleaner is very good and gives you a great new leather smell. If you really want to enhance that you can buy leather impregnated air fresheners or a large underseat impregnated pad that keeps the car smelling like new! However, a word of caution, it can be a little overwhelming when you first use them ![]()
+1 for Dr Leather wipes - i keep them in the glovebox of our other car - very useful too! ![]()
I was advised some years ago, by someone who’d spent his life in the leather trade, that a pure soap was all that’s needed to clean leather. I use a bar of simple. Just avoid getting the leather too wet, keep the water to a minimum, and allow it to dry naturally. If you look at leather cleaners you’ll see it’s mostly glycerine (soap) and aqua (water) plus something to make it look and smell nice. A single bar of soap will last a long time and cost practically nothing. If you must buy a specialist cleaner, go for the ‘gliptone’. It’s worth it just for the smell.