Leather treatmen

[madboy]

Hey all

Can anyone recommend a treatment or product to use on leather seats? i have a jdm BRG and tan NA6, the seat leather is getting quite hard and I noticed today some of the stitching is stretching, is there a good product that can help soften it up again?

Unfortunately, re trimming is simply not in the budget right now, i would like to get a few more years out of the leather before it gets to that

cheers
MB

[Jimmy]

This may help; i was after similar info back when i got mine.

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=32650

I've been in the leather business for over 35 years and I've never heard of any clear, self adhesive strips that will do the job.
Leather breathes and as such, oils and other things will ooze out of the leather over time and the adhesive won't hold for very long.
In fact, even in shoe factories where they glue parts of the shoe together, they always have to rough up the surface with sandpaper to get a good bond, as the grain side of the leather (the smooth side) just won't glue properly without having the surface removed.

Don't waste your money on expensive leather cleaners and nutrition either, just use good old Mr Sheen, in the spray can - and sparingly, and your leather will look good almost indefinitely.
Just spray a very fine mist and rub it in with a dry, soft cloth. Leave it for a few minutes, then buff with another soft, dry cloth, and they will come up a treat.
It will leave the leather soft and supple, and get rid of most of the dirt and dust for you.

I'm currently using Autoglym Leather care atm until I finish the bottle. Then i will be following Bennys advice on using Mr Sheen.

Jimmy.

[Mr Morlock]

There are a number of products for leather but once leather starts to dry and crack it is not easy to rescue it. Horse riders use products on saddles bridles and reins and it needs to clean and not soil the clothes and hands. Lyddy's Dubbin works well on boots but whether it is the right thing for car seats I am not sure. The key thing to look for is that a product is specifically recommended for the end use- this should be listed on the product. Manufacturers often will give advice.

[mx52nv]

This may help; i was after similar info back when i got mine.

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=32650

I've been in the leather business for over 35 years and I've never heard of any clear, self adhesive strips that will do the job.
Leather breathes and as such, oils and other things will ooze out of the leather over time and the adhesive won't hold for very long.
In fact, even in shoe factories where they glue parts of the shoe together, they always have to rough up the surface with sandpaper to get a good bond, as the grain side of the leather (the smooth side) just won't glue properly without having the surface removed.

Don't waste your money on expensive leather cleaners and nutrition either, just use good old Mr Sheen, in the spray can - and sparingly, and your leather will look good almost indefinitely.
Just spray a very fine mist and rub it in with a dry, soft cloth. Leave it for a few minutes, then buff with another soft, dry cloth, and they will come up a treat.
It will leave the leather soft and supple, and get rid of most of the dirt and dust for you.

I'm currently using Autoglym Leather care atm until I finish the bottle. Then i will be following Bennys advice on using Mr Sheen.

Jimmy.

+1 for Benny's advice on using Mr Sheen. I did it to my whole Connolly tan leather interior a few months ago and it never looked better. Thanks Benny for the great advice!

[Benny]

If the surface of the leather is brittle and hard, and cracks easily, then it's time to have the finish on the leather (the coloured surface) removed and a new finish sprayed onto it.
Sure, you can rub in oils and things into the leather and it may improve things a bit, but it won't cure the problem.
If the leather has been allowed to dry out, then almost nothing will save it.

[madboy]

Cheers for the advise, I'll try the Mr Sheen, if it improves it, then bonus, but to get them retrimmed is way way out of the budget for this old car

[Benny]

You can always buy a set of seat covers for it.

Some of the new ones look pretty good too.