alabbasi

I recently bought a car that has leather seats and the front passenger seat is as hard as a rock. I've been using a conditioner to soften it but I've not been making much progress with the stuff that i'm using (leather honey).

I've been doing some reading and I understand that Neatsfoot Oil is used to soften leather saddles and baseball gloves.

Fiebing's 100% Pure Neatsfoot Oil, 32 oz. - 5019779 | Tractor Supply Company

Has anyone tried using it on automotive leather?

I'm not bothered about the color getting darker as the seats are black.

Opinions are gratefully appreciated.

Tom. M

Someone may have "painted" your seat. Get some acetone and test in a small area.. if it comes off black then you'll have to rub the whole seat down with acetone to get rid of the paint, re-dye, and soften...

alabbasi

Thank you. I guess that it's worth a try.

Dave928S

For conditioning the leather I've used Leatherique with good results, and I've also used Gliptone which works well too, and restores the nice leather smell. My GTS seats have gone from a bit hard and flattened to as soft as new. Best is to apply the conditioner and work it in with your knuckles, and then sweat it into the leather in warm conditions, using plastic cling wrap, like this .....

17prospective buyer

Saddle soap is a good product for treating automotive leather. I applied it on my 87 S4's black seats everyday until they were more pliable and soft, it's basically a mix up of neatsfoot oil but with mild detergents so it cleans as well.

N.Masco

Neatsfoot will work well to soften hard leather, but it does not have a very good smell like the boutique leather conditioners. You'll probably want to follow up with the expensive stuff for that reason alone.

alabbasi

Thank you all. My 1988 S4 has sat in the sun for a few years. The leather on the passenger side, particularly the last bolster (the one that touches the back of your knees) is as hard as a rock as it's most exposed to the sun. The seats themselves are crack free as the car only has 77k miles.

My goal is to soften the seats as much as I can before anyone sits on that seat so that they do not get ruined.

I have lexol, meguires and leather honey, but I need to find something that will aggressively treat it first.

dr bob

Virtually all the "conditioners" need time to make their way into the leather before they do ay softening. The seats are 'painted' from the factory rather than vat dyed, mostly so the color will be even. So whatever product you choose, plan on letting it soak in for days rather than minutes. Dave's pictures of the sets shouded in plastic give the best clues. You can do the same with trash bags, and it's a whole lot easier with the seats out on the worktable so you can treat all the leather bits completely. Leatherique is probably the most popular product for this task. After the conditioner, use their "pristine cleaner" to remove the old dirt and other junk that will be on the surface. I've also used Lexol with OK results, and that's usually available at local stores vs the online order for Leatherique.

Just keep in mind that the any product will need to find its way through the painted/sealed surface before it starts working. That's what will take a while. I've treated my seats a few times, black plastic trash bags and sitting out in the warm sun for a week. The results are impressive, but that's starting from 'OK' and not from 'extra dry'. Patience is king. And there are some leathers that have dried out so much they cannot be recovered.

Good luck! Post pictures of the before-and-after and also of your process so that others can learn.

antlee928

I.m with Dave in Tassie. I have used the Leatherique products for some time now and find they deliver good results. Although I might give the Gliptone a go since I am told it brings back the lovely leather smell. Hmmmmmmm!

Cheers

alabbasi

Gentlemen, thank you again. I bought a gallon of neatsfoot oil for $15 at Tractor supply (my fist visit and what a cool place!). I should be set for all of my cars for some time.

outbackgeorgia

I use Neatsfoot oil? Old school.
Dave

dr bob

Neatsfoot oil is OK for raw leather. Baseball glove or saddle it's the right choice. Car seats, not that great. It doesn't smell that great to start with, and it will go rancid over time. Fair warning!

Dave928S

+1 on those comments ... listen to the Doctor. Once it's on your saddled with it (excuse the pun).

Tried and true products known to be good and referred to a lot here are the way to go, to be safe.

sportster_restorer

I've got a motorcycle jacket that I use neatsfoot oil on. Although it shows a little wear, the neatsfoot has kept it pretty nice and soft. I agree it doesn't have quite the perfume that some of the commercial leather preps use.

I can't complain as the leather jacket is only 42 years old..............

alabbasi

All, a quick update on this. I used lexol cleaner which is basically saddle soap to clean the seats last Thursday and then applied neatsfoot oil using a microfiber applicator. I did not soak the leather in it, but instead applied an even coat all over the seats so that they had a shine. I then covered the car back up and left it.

I stopped by on Sunday to check on it and for the most part, the seats soaked up most if not all of the oil. The dryer the area, the more it took. My biggest concern was the last bolster (behind the knee) on the passenger side seat bottom which was like cardboard. This now felt considerably softer with only two smaller areas being cardboard hard.

I applied more Neatsfoot oil again that Sunday and will check on it on Thursday.

I've also applied on it on the seats in my 1969 Mercedes Benz 300SEL 6.3 which had sat outside for 10 years in a parking lot before I bought it. Again, I could feel the leather coming back.

Hopefully I can save the seats in both cars.