Great tip for softening black / dark leather seats
08-10-2012, 11:28 AM
#16
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Don't think so in this application; I did my hardbacks 3 months ago & they're fine.
08-10-2012, 11:30 AM
#17
I would think that a high quality leather shoe cleaner / conditioner would do a pretty good job on seats without having any effect on coloration. I use Allen Edmonds shoe cleaner / conditioner on my shoes before I polish them and have used it on some leather furniture on occasion with good results (keeps leather moisturized while also cleaning it up). I think AE even has free shipping on everything on their website, if I am not mistaken. I will test it out on my car seats and report back. They could use a clean.
08-10-2012, 11:37 AM
#18
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Matthew,
I will be very interested to hear how that works on your seats. Particularly whether it darkens the leather at all. My car is also Ocean Blue with Classic Gray and although the leather is in very good (excellent) condition, I'd like to "treat" it to keep it soft.
I will be very interested to hear how that works on your seats. Particularly whether it darkens the leather at all. My car is also Ocean Blue with Classic Gray and although the leather is in very good (excellent) condition, I'd like to "treat" it to keep it soft.
08-10-2012, 11:40 AM
#19
Drifting
While I'm no leather ace, I'm guessing that the darkening effect is a result of using the oils on tanned leather rather than dyed leather (for instance, the belt or a pair of boots). I doubt the oil would affect the color of the dye on leather seats. I have a few spare sets of seats from 928s and my 993, so maybe I'll give the neatsfoot oil a try since I have some for my boots.
08-10-2012, 12:28 PM
#20
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That sounds right to me.
08-10-2012, 03:50 PM
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Interesting. For those of us living in colder climates, is it a good idea to use a car cabin heater to generate heat in the cabin? I'm thinking of the Leatherique RO primarilly but also for the coconut oil. Maybe it's better to apply several layers of the RO over a longer period of time w/o heat, or just wait for next summer 
. Thanks for the tip btw.
. Thanks for the tip btw.
03-18-2017, 04:42 PM
#24
Burning Brakes
I have a set of heated hardback's that I'm planning on installing in the turbo (when I can finally decide on whether to paint the backs or not). They're in really nice condition, although the leather was far from 'supple' - especially on the center perforated section.
I tried a couple of applications of Leatherique & Lexol products with disappointing results and then came across an article regarding organic coconut oil being used to soften saddles & harnesses. Went and bought a jar from the local Whole Foods and tried it out on a few sacrificial leather items to see what happened. Impressed with the results, I decided to give it a try. All you do is place the seat / leather piece in the sun for a while to get hot & rub in the solid oil - I scooped it on to a micro-fiber cloth & schmeared all over each seat, then repeated. After bringing the seats back inside, I sprayed them down with the Leatherique conditioner (Lexol would work too) & wiped dry with clean micro-fibers to remove any excess oil and faint coconut smell.
The immediate difference was pretty amazing, but even better after a few weeks; both seats are much more supple.
NOTE: I only tried the oil on my BLACK seats & I would guess that you may see some slight color shift on lighter colors, so TEST a hidden area before applying on a noticeable area...!
Here's the stuff:
https://store.nutiva.com/coconut-oil...FQOd7Qod0FgAOg
I tried a couple of applications of Leatherique & Lexol products with disappointing results and then came across an article regarding organic coconut oil being used to soften saddles & harnesses. Went and bought a jar from the local Whole Foods and tried it out on a few sacrificial leather items to see what happened. Impressed with the results, I decided to give it a try. All you do is place the seat / leather piece in the sun for a while to get hot & rub in the solid oil - I scooped it on to a micro-fiber cloth & schmeared all over each seat, then repeated. After bringing the seats back inside, I sprayed them down with the Leatherique conditioner (Lexol would work too) & wiped dry with clean micro-fibers to remove any excess oil and faint coconut smell.
The immediate difference was pretty amazing, but even better after a few weeks; both seats are much more supple.
NOTE: I only tried the oil on my BLACK seats & I would guess that you may see some slight color shift on lighter colors, so TEST a hidden area before applying on a noticeable area...!
Here's the stuff:
https://store.nutiva.com/coconut-oil...FQOd7Qod0FgAOg
03-20-2017, 05:49 PM
#25
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i have used Lexol (Lanolin Based). I put it in a spray bottle and saturate the seat, let it sit overnight and buff in the morning. For really dry seat side bolsters that have shrunken and seem to pull off the hard back seat edges I have unhooked the leather edge and sprayed the back side of the leather. After a couple of applications, the leather becomes saturated and will not absorb any more.
I would advise against using cooking oil such as coconut oil as these oils go rancid over time and I would be concerned about them developing a bad smell. If possibly offered as part of a retail leather treatment I suspect some sort of stabilizer is added to mitigate the issue.
I would advise against using cooking oil such as coconut oil as these oils go rancid over time and I would be concerned about them developing a bad smell. If possibly offered as part of a retail leather treatment I suspect some sort of stabilizer is added to mitigate the issue.
03-20-2017, 06:12 PM
#26
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What do you guys recommend for dying Black Leather? What are people using recommending? My bolsters could use a little darkening but they are in excellent shape.
03-20-2017, 07:18 PM
#27
Race Car
Originally Posted by Gbos1
What do you guys recommend for dying Black Leather? What are people using recommending? My bolsters could use a little darkening but they are in excellent shape.
03-20-2017, 07:50 PM
#29
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03-20-2017, 07:55 PM
#30
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