The Best Leather Conditioners and Cleaners (Review & Buying Guide) in 2018

While it is not unusual for some car detailers to recommend the use of mild soap and lukewarm water in cleaning your leather, a much better approach is to use leather type-specific cleaners and conditioners that will help you clean and restore the beauty and elegance of your leathered items. If you’re lost as to which leather conditioners and cleaners to buy, then read on.

 

Why You Need Leather Cleaner

Leather materials require a more tender loving approach to their care. Compared to vinyl or plastics or even metal that are so easy to maintain, leather can be likened to your skin since real authentic leather is actually sourced from animals. That being said, caring for these kinds of materials is a must if you want to retain its elegance and functionality. You have to understand that over time and with exposure to a variety of factors, the overall integrity of leather can also degrade. Factor in the occasional spills, leaks, and scratches and you have leather that looks faded, cracked, dried, and worn. In short, it simply isn’t what you would call fine quality leather product anymore.

Leather cleaners help you restore the beauty of such materials in your car and in your home. Many of these solutions remove dirt, debris, and oils that conventional cleaning simply cannot remove. Moreover, the use of leather conditioners actually breathes life back into these materials so they will look like new again. There are also protective sealants as part of the cleaning system. These products will give your leathered surfaces protection against spills, UV radiation, and what-have-yous.

Types of Leather Cleaners

As you may have already guessed, there are different types of leather cleaners typically corresponding to the type of leather material that is found in cars and home furniture upholstery. Your choice of the correct product lies in the type of leather material you have. Here are some of the more common types of leather cleaners.

• Pigment or protected leather cleaners

These are generally called all-around cleaners owing to the unique characteristics of protected or pigment leathers. These are leathers that come with a durable top coating, typically silicone or polyurethane, giving the leather superb waterproofing and dirt resistance. As such, almost any type of cleaner will work on protected leathers. The other good news is that 95% of all cars will have protected leathers in them, making their cleaners a lot more available.

• Aniline leather cleaners

These products are specifically made for aniline or semi-aniline leathers that are typically characterized as having a very rich look and feel which is basically the epitome of elegant leather. The kind of cleaners for this kind of leather material should be able to prevent staining of the delicate leather especially if a protective sealant was not used. You should understand that aniline leathers are much more difficult to maintain as they are quite fragile compared to pigment type leathers. Aniline materials are more susceptible to the effects of accumulated dirt, moisture, and oils often leading to staining, if not damage. Aniline leather cleaners typically contain a protective sealant component to afford some degree of protection for the leather.

• Nubuck leather cleaners

This type of cleaner is somewhat similar to aniline leather cleaners since nubuck shares quite a handful of characteristics with aniline. Technically, nubuck is full aniline and is also known as distressed or suede. The good news is that these leathers are a lot easier to maintain than semi aniline. But of course, they simply cannot compare to the ease of maintenance of pigment leathers. Nubuck cleaners, like aniline, contain protective sealants.

How to Clean Car Leather Interiors

Cleaning leather car seats as well as other leathered surfaces is an important aspect of maintaining the integrity of your car’s interior. This helps keep its aesthetic value while giving you a sense of pride in your possession. Here’s how to clean your car’s leather interior.

• If you are going to use commercially available leather cleaner, make sure to try it first in an inconspicuous section of your car leather interior. This is to help minimize mistakes or errors of application and to determine whether the cleaner is safe to use on your car interior. That being said, it is also wise to identify the kind of leather that your car interior has. This way, you will get and use only the correct product for your material.
• Pick up larger debris and particles that you can see on all surfaces. Once you’re done, you can start vacuuming the whole place and wiping them with damp cloth. Dry the area completely using paper towels or a clean piece of cleaning cloth.
• If you don’t want to use commercially available leather cleaners, you can use a really mild soap with lukewarm water to form a soapy solution. Work up the soap suds using a soft microfiber cloth. Rinse this with lukewarm-moistened microfiber cloth.
• If you’re using commercial-grade leather cleaner, apply a generous amount of the cleaning solution onto a moistened sponge. Work the sponge until it foams. Apply the foam over a section of the leather surface. Always apply the foamy solution on a single panel at a time. Always work in smaller sections. You can also use a soft-bristled brush to gently rub stubborn spots. Wipe the area clean using your microfiber cloth to remove any of the residue.

It is important to follow the manufacturer’s directions for its use. Make sure to never deviate from these directions since leather treatment for cars have been tested using the exact same procedure printed on the label.

• Devise a system that will let you work with greater efficiency. You can start with the leather seats and work your way to the leather trims on the door panels and the dashboard. Determine which system works best for you.
• If you wish to apply a conditioner afterwards, you may do so. You can also add a leather protectant solution to help extend the lifespan of your leather material.

 

How to Protect Your Car Leather Interior

Cleaning leather car seats and other leathered interior surfaces is just one way to keep the integrity of these modern automobile components. Equally important is knowing the right leather treatment for cars to make sure that they are adequately protected from the elements. While leather is technically a strong material, care should be exercised in protecting it from moisture, abrasive forces, and heat. These can significantly impact the lifespan and the quality of your car leather interior.

When it comes to protecting the leather interior of your car, it is important to use a protectant. This is different from a cleaner and a conditioner. Protectants provide your leather with an additional layer that helps repel water and moisture, protect it against the harmful rays of the sun, and toughen the topmost surface of your leather against abrasive forces.

Of course, when it comes to protecting your car against these factors, it is usually wise to avoid exposing your leather interior to these forces. A protectant’s job is to minimize the effects of such forces from exerting their damaging effects on your leather. It is still up to you to take definitive measures to avoid such forces.

Things to Consider When Buying Leather Conditioners and Cleaners

Picking the right leather conditioner and cleaner for your car essentially means taking into consideration the following things:

• Type of leather in your car

We already mentioned above that there are different types of leather. Aniline and nubuck leathers easily scratch and can readily absorb water. They also come in little variations of color and hue often complete with natural markings, scars, and bites. On the other hand, pigmented leather will have a more uniform color and hardly-recognizable natural markings. They are water-repellent and won’t scratch easily, too. Pigmented leathers will usually feel slick, almost similar to vinyl. Nubuck and aniline leathers, meanwhile, are more velvety and buttery, respectively. Knowing the type of leather in your car will help you identify the right leather conditioner and cleaner to buy.

• pH-balanced formulation

Whether your car’s interior is made of genuine rawhide leather or synthetic, it is imperative that the product you are going to buy to clean and condition these surfaces has a neutral pH. The reason is quite simple. Like any other material that depends on the correct balance of acidity and alkalinity, the integrity of leather is best kept if the pH of the cleaning solution is maintained within the normal or neutral pH level. However, be extra-cautious since it is quite easy to put a pH-balanced marking on the label. So before you start using these products, make sure to test them first. Alternatively, you can read consumer reviews about their own experiences.

• Presence of additives or harsh chemicals

It is inadvertent that some companies will include additives and other chemicals in their formulation. These are typically intended to lengthen the shelf-life of the product, extend its deep-cleaning properties, or even enhance the color it provides to the material. While there really is nothing inherently wrong with using these products, you simply cannot tell how such chemicals will impact your car leather. Even so-called lab-tested products have figured in case of leather damage.

• Product limitations

Always read the label. Most manufacturers explicitly disallow the use of their products on certain surfaces such as faux leather and suede, among others. While there are also products that can be used on vinyl materials, it is still important to double-check on the specific kind of vinyl surface that the product is intended for. This way you save your car leather and your pocket, too.

• Ease of application

Some products are so complicated in their application that you’d be better off just discarding them altogether. The point in cleaning and conditioning your car leather is to make it easy so that you will find the correct motivation to do it regularly and more frequently. As such, you have to look for leather treatment for cars that feature ease of application. You can actually check customers’ reviews as they will usually be sharing their experiences about a particular product.

Essential Car Leather Care Tips

The leather in your car is what gives this automotive engineering marvel a touch of class and elegance. It gives your ride a look and feel of luxury. Compared to vehicles that have their interiors flooded with everything made of plastic and fabric, having leather lining every inch of your vehicle’s interior can soothe your ego for having a really nice ride. As such, it is imperative that you know how to care for your car’s leather trim. Here are some tips:

• Protect it from moisture

Leather is made from the skin of certain animals or it can be man-made. One of the essential characteristics of leather is that it is porous, resembling the pores of the skin. That is why leather-loving folks always say that leather breathes life. In this regard, one of the things you have to protect it from is moisture.

You see, extremes in humidity can be damaging to the internal structure of the material. If there is too much moisture in the air, you’re risking your car leather of rotting. If the moisture content of the air is excessively low, such as what occurs in dry air, your leather material has the tendency to dry out and form cracks. This occurs because the dry environment will try to draw moisture, even the natural ones, from everything including your car leather.

While it would be impossible to monitor the humidity levels of your car’s interior every minute of your driving life, you can somehow reduce the likelihood of moisture-related damage by protecting your leather materials with appropriate moisture-proofing products. You may also want to make sure that water spills and leaks onto your leather car seat are wiped off and dried up immediately.

• Consider waterproofing your leather once a year

While leather is exceptionally durable and strong, it does require some level of protection as we have already mentioned above. Applying a coat of appropriate waterproofing material at least once a year should help protect your car leather from the effects of moisture as well as accidental spills in the case of car seats.

• Avoid exposing it to direct heat and sunlight

If ever you spill your drink on your car leather seat, make sure to wipe it off immediately. Don’t ever make the mistake of blow drying it since the application of heat will shrink the material and dry it out, too. As such, it is imperative that you wipe the spill dry. Also, as much as possible, invest in a good sunshade that will help protect your car leather interior from UV rays. It goes without saying that you should also park your vehicle in the shade. The sun’s rays can speed up the fading of your leather material while also increasing the risk of cracking and drying.

• Always test leather cleaning and conditioning products first

If you have to use products to clean and condition your car leather, make sure to test these products first in a small section of your car leather interior, preferably somewhere not easily seen. There is always the risk of changing the natural characteristics of your car interior because of the various chemicals present in these products, regardless of how safe manufacturers claim them to be. Test a product on a small section, leave it for a full 24 hours, and evaluate the results the following day. If you’re satisfied with the results, then you can proceed to the application of the product to the rest of your car’s leather surfaces.

• Choose leather cleaning products with neutral or natural colors

There are certain leather creams and polishes that come with added dyes believed to liven up the faded sections of any leather material. Unfortunately, if your car leather interior happens to come with a slightly different hue, you might end up with a patchwork of colors. As such, it is best to stay neutral. Or if you can get a product that has the exact same color as your leather interior, well and good.

• Clean it regularly with a damp cloth

One of the best ways you can maintain the integrity of your car leather is by cleaning it regularly with damp cloth. It should not be soaking wet, just a bit moist will do. While we did say not to leave your leather surfaces wet, cleaning with damp cloth can help remove dirt, dust, debris, and other particles a lot easier since these particles can cling on to the fibers of your cloth if it is damp. Once you’re done cleaning, you can then wipe the surface dry with paper towels or clean piece of cleaning cloth. We strongly recommend cleaning your car leather interior at least once a week.

Keeping the integrity of your car leather interior is made super easy with the right leather cleaner and conditioner. With this guide you’re now much closer to maintaining the elegance and functionality of your ride.