Hello,

 

I have a 2021 superb with brown leather. The fronts have taken on a shiny appearance which I take to mean they're dirty, the back chairs are still pretty much new

 

Can anyone recommend a product or steps I can take to rejuvenate the fronts DIY?

Glypton or autoglym, the former does smell really good (very strong leather smell)

Usually 2-part, a cleaning (soap) solution followed by conditioner.

 

Gentle application with a folded microfibre cloth, or MF sponge if you wish.  Some soft nail brush if you must get some stubborn dirt off, but needs soft bristles.

When dryed, you can then apply conditioner, and it will aborb in.  Less = more, as too much and you will end up wiping off and therefore wasting money.

2 hours ago, Patent said:

Can anyone recommend a product or steps I can take to rejuvenate the fronts DIY?

Saddle soap; get it from a saddlers or a classic car firm.

5 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

Saddle soap; get it from a saddlers or a classic car firm.

https://www.leatherrepaircompany.com/pages/saddle-soap-dangers-leather-cleaning

It's usually highly alkaline (pH10+)

 

https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/gliptone-liquid-leather-cleaner

Made for purpose (ph neutral)

 

Saddle soap can clean it, but I wouldn't want to use it myself.

@varooom I don't suppose you also have a recommendation for a potion to use on the interior plastics in the footwells etc that get scuffed? May as well add that if I'm placing an order from that site

10 minutes ago, Patent said:

@varooom I don't suppose you also have a recommendation for a potion to use on the interior plastics in the footwells etc that get scuffed? May as well add that if I'm placing an order from that site

I will first apologise for sending you down the detailing rabbit hole, though I think you probably stuck your head in first.

 

No product will really protect you from scuffs, only clean dirt.  Like exterior protection also, only real useful method is to apply a sacrificial layer, ie wrap your car.  So for some places you are likely to kick, some clear/colour matched adhesive vinyl, I would guess will be good.

 

You can buy cleaners and/or protection products for plastic.  APC - All purpose cleaner, which can be used to clean carpets wipe over surfaces or sprayed on car as pre-wash.

But also many other similar type products can be used, I brought some bulk orange zest cleaner that can be diluted for cleaning and have used that on some cleaning tasks.  There are some products that have built in UV protection for covering over your plastics, if you are thinking they need it (kind of subjective as you cannot see them doing the protection)

 

 

I could probably write several hours on the subject, feel free to fire off any other questions you might have.

It's a company car so I want to strike the right balance between having a clean car and sinking money into something I don't own

 

On the lower door plastics (sills and lower speaker grills etc) my issue is I can scrub them etc but they always look like they've got some ingrained dirt. I just want to clean that off, I'm happy to do that regularly if it works 

 

To be fair if you do spend a bit of time in the car, then having it look nice is good.  Door cards do tend to get kicked, even when being careful (tight car parking spaces)

 

Use of an old toothbrush and some microfibre cloths will probably keep it close to looking good, fair wear and tear is accepted.

Certainly cannot go wrong with APC, covers inside and out, bit like a Swiss army knife.

 

You can screenshot your order if you like if you want alternative suggestions/check what might be missing.

I've gone for the gliptone cleaner and conditioner and a bottle of the APC

1 minute ago, Patent said:

I've gone for the gliptone cleaner and conditioner and a bottle of the APC

I guess you have some microfibre cloths (easy to pickup from shops)

Yeah a tonne of those! I've got perforated leather upfront so will have fun poking it all out. Will post a before and after

16 hours ago, Patent said:

I've got perforated leather upfront so will have fun poking it all out.

 

The seats in my Treg are perforated and the AutoGlym care balm I use just soaks into the leather and you don't need to poke out the perforations, just a light buffing with a MF cloth

17 hours ago, Patent said:

I've gone for the gliptone cleaner and conditioner.... 

 

That's what I use 

 

 

Gaz

2 hours ago, Gaz said:

 

That's what I use 

 

 

Gaz

Love that stuff, Patent will be happy with that purchase.

1 hour ago, varooom said:

Love that stuff, Patent will be happy with that purchase.

Yep, and less is more. These are the same two bottles I had when I had my first Skoda (Mk1 Superb) ten years ago. One of my best purchases for car care.

 

G

 

 

Edited 19 August, 20223 yr by Gaz

They do look a bit retro

One thing to note with leather is it comes in many flavours. Traditional leather such as aniline or nappa will benefit from leather creams, feeding etc and is typically ungrained or only lightly embossed.

 

The leather you get in an average non-premium brand car is not likely to be those types though, it's more likely painted and then plastic coated for more durability. Some of the trim may well be entirely synthetic. Leather creams and feed will just make coated or painted leather sticky and attract dirt since they cannot be absorbed through the plastic coating, and this dirt will wear them out quicker.

 

However, you can be a bit more aggressive cleaning coated/painted leather and throw dilute APC at it with a soft upholstery brush, and then afterwards treat it as you would plastic; I find a solution of CarPRO PERL works well as this leaves a matt, non-greasy finish on all interior plastic and modern leather. I actually use my face degreasing wipes for cleaning my interior leather and pleather and it seems to work well.

Edited 1 September, 20223 yr by ckyliu