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Is there anything in the market that can lighten (as in dry out) the discolored perforations that become hydrated from the application of leather cleaner/conditioner? Even when using sonax cleaner conditioner (deemed to be safe) sprayed on a rag and wiped on the seat, this happens... or, am i better off trying to darken the rest of the perforations by more deeply conditioning the remaining light areas?
I am finding this extremely difficult as well. I have Agate Grey interior and find it quite impossible to make the seats look perfect. Tried multiple products and Sonax has been the best (or less bad) than the others. I would love to find a solution for this as well. Having a Targa as I do or a convertible most likely makes the issue even worse as dust etc. will collect in the little perforations.
Last edited by shammerman; 08-10-2018 at 11:47 AM.
Reason: add pix
are you referring to the little specs of dirt that get into the perforations or discoloration to the leather itself?
for the former, i have heard of people using tweezers or toothpicks to get at every hole
for the latter i think that leather in a bottle by zaino really does a great job and the best part is you put it on and dont do anything else, no rubbing required. i have been doing it and then parking the car outside on a warm day. and the odor is a great benefit. i have no discoloration on my leather.
are you referring to the little specs of dirt that get into the perforations or discoloration to the leather itself?
for the former, i have heard of people using tweezers or toothpicks to get at every hole
for the latter i think that leather in a bottle by zaino really does a great job and the best part is you put it on and dont do anything else, no rubbing required. i have been doing it and then parking the car outside on a warm day. and the odor is a great benefit. i have no discoloration on my leather.
I'm referring to the color of the leather inside of the perforations. They start out as tan/leather colored. If you get enough conditioner or other source of moisture on the leather, the raw leather inside the perforations soak it up and become dark inside. I hope this clarifies what I'm asking about. Zaino leather in a bottle is fine stuff, but it wouldn't correct this and would probably make it worse since it is "lotiony"- I feel like I need some sort of astringent/cleaner that will reverse some of the conditioning to dry out the leather inside the perforations.
My guess is most people condition their leather heavily enough so that all of the perforations become darkened and all looks even, if not like it looked when the car was new.
I'm referring to the color of the leather inside of the perforations. They start out as tan/leather colored. If you get enough conditioner or other source of moisture on the leather, the raw leather inside the perforations soak it up and become dark inside. I hope this clarifies what I'm asking about. Zaino leather in a bottle is fine stuff, but it wouldn't correct this and would probably make it worse since it is "lotiony"- I feel like I need some sort of astringent/cleaner that will reverse some of the conditioning to dry out the leather inside the perforations.
My guess is most people condition their leather heavily enough so that all of the perforations become darkened and all looks even, if not like it looked when the car was new.
oh i see. i dont know about a fix for that. i thought you were referring to the uniformity of the leather you can actually touch.
if you ran the ventilation and heat at the same time, would that not dry out and improve the tint
Yeah this is a real pain. My car had/has it too. My dealer and I believe it was drops from the sealant the dealership applies and then uses to sell you fabric protection policy. We believe someone just got sloppy.
I had his seat repair gentlemen look at it and he said first he wanted to try to clean and if that didn't look good enough he could redye the areas. I opted not to do that. I had tried using Leatherique oil in one area to darken and just be done with it. That didn't work out so well and I didn't like how it started too look from the rubbing. I did a reset and used Griots Interior details, and a lot of it with gentle but a lot of scrubbing. I am really really pleased how it came out. Before I did this I noticed the areas and it took away from the enjoyment of the visual of the inside of my 911. After the cleaning I would have to look hard to find where the stained holes were.
This was very rewarding because I pride myself in figuring out solutions to problems with my Porsches and I really thought this problem had me beat.
Is there anything in the market that can lighten (as in dry out) the discolored perforations that become hydrated from the application of leather cleaner/conditioner? Even when using sonax cleaner conditioner (deemed to be safe) sprayed on a rag and wiped on the seat, this happens... or, am i better off trying to darken the rest of the perforations by more deeply conditioning the remaining light areas?
This exactly my issue as well even if my picture above does not look the same. So far the best solution has been to apply Sonax with a heavy hand directly on to the seat letting it dry for a few minutes and then wiping the excess off. I even thought about using some type of a steam cleaning with warm (not hot) water to extract the dirt and excess leather treatment, but not sure if that's wise...
I have those seats and I do like the Zaino leather products. But I am using Gyeon product now I really like. Leaves a Matt finish not slick or slippery looking.
Gyeon Leather Cleaner and Leather Coat. Great stuff.
I have the perforated platinum grey leather. With 60,000 miles in a cabriolet, my leather looks perfect. I use Lexol Cleaner (orange bottle) and Zaino Z10. And this bush that is over 12 years old.
I have the perforated platinum grey leather. With 60,000 miles in a cabriolet, my leather looks perfect. I use Lexol Cleaner (orange bottle) and Zaino Z10. And this bush that is over 12 years old.
Are you saying with lexol the inside of your perforations are remaining light or have they darkened? I'd think with the brush you'd be definitely getting cleaner and conditioner in there making them dark.
Same issue with Cayenne and perforated leather. Drives me nutty. Have lived with it for now and am a bit concerned about trying to apply enough conditioner to make it "even". Feel like might just make it worse.
Are you saying with lexol the inside of your perforations are remaining light or have they darkened? I'd think with the brush you'd be definitely getting cleaner and conditioner in there making them dark.
Mreloc, my leather looks perfect. And looks nothing like your pictures.
Working inside all the perforation holes could drive a person mad. The soft brush approach is what I;ll try next.
For cleaning, a concours friend suggests using Simple Green sprayed on a towel. Not experienced enough yet to know if cotton or microfiber would work better. But it did seem to help.
Really simple fix, I had the same thing on my black sport plus seats, I took unscented hand sanitizer with alcohol, microfiber rag, liberally apply the hand sanitizer, spread it on the towel with you friend, and start rubbing that area. My seats had several of those "discoloration" area's, after the procedure, all gone. The problem is your conditioner dried up, and left an oily streak around the perforated area, and an alcohol based solution, although slightly harsh, will take care of the problem.
08-10-2018, 10:51 AM
Perforated seats - discolored perforations
