How To Clean Leather Seats
Most people think cleaning leather seats takes a detailer to do or a lot of “know how”. Although in reality, it's really simple! In this blog we will take a deep dive into what exactly leather is and how to go about cleaning it!
First off, let's answer the question: “what is leather?” It sounds simple right? Well…not exactly. You see, there was once a time when leather seats were literally the skin of an animal and nothing else, however, it has changed a lot to become what it is today. Modern leather usually has two main layers:
The leather itself.
2. Clear Coat on top of it.
Believe it or not the clear coat is actually what makes the leather even possible to clean without completely ruining it! See…if leather seats were JUST leather, once you cleaned them with a chemical cleaner and they dried, they would be stiff and dried out. It’s important to keep in mind that there are also vinyl seats which look similar to leather but without the supple feel. This is because they are essentially just plastic, which is actually more durable than leather but doesn’t have the same soft feel.
Ok now that we have a basic understanding of leather we can move on to exactly how to clean it! First off though, if you do have vinyl seats all you need to do when cleaning them is vacuum, then scrub with APC (all purpose cleaner) and move on. You can treat vinyl seats like your plastic door panels. Back to the leather though:
First off, we need to vacuum out the cracks. (you might be surprised at how much dirt gets in there).
2. Next spray APC or dedicated leather cleaner into a detail brush and work it into the surface.
3. After you’ve cleaned the entire seat, you can wipe down with a damp towel.
4. Finally, protect the leather with a leather conditioner or a leather ceramic coating for maximum longevity!
Regularly cleaning and protecting your leather seats is something that not only makes your leather stay nice and supple, but also, makes your leather last longer without cracking or fading! For more info on leather, ceramic coatings, or anything auto detailing, feel free to give us a call!
