[creeker]

I read about using disolved dove soap for cleaning and treating leather
upholstery,I cant find the thread,would some one please tell me how to dilute it?,
how much water to a bar of soap,I remember it has to sit for two days,after it is put on,do you wipe it down,or just leave it?,tnx

 

[turbomangt]

Please tell me you are kidding me? leather is animal skin, dyed to match your interior. you need to use a PH balanced cleaner (say 9.0) so it doesn't remove the dye in the leather, next you need to condition it so it doesn't dry out and crack. soap will clog the pores of the leather making it harder to breath. vist my web site for more info on this and to find the right products to use., Gary

 

[Submariner409]

If you're in B.C., surf around "leather...conditioner...saddle soap...." and find a local outlet for real saddle soap. Not a pun...there is such a thing, and it is kind to leather, a tin lasts forever, and it's inexpensive.

 

[creeker]

there was definetly quite a long discussion in this section about using dove soap to condition leather, about a month ago, maybe someone else will come to my defense. tnx

 

[dp102288]

^^ I tried to search for a dove leather thread, but I didn't get anything.

Try searching or use a google search on this site.

 

[creeker]

I found an article on dove soap on google I typed in "cleaning leather with dove soap" .It describes dove as being a moisterizer type soap,and when you use it,do not rinse off as it also acts as a moisterizer for the leather.
the person who wrote original article in this website said he worked for a car
dealership and the old guy in the detail shop always used dove for cleaning
leather.I know it sounds strange,that's why I remembered it.

 

[Elvis]

It's okay if you're talking about a one-time only restoration. Sometimes leather gets some nasty oily greasy stuff on it and there's nothing else that will work.

But once you get it clean, replenish the oils with a natural leather cleaner, protect it, and treat it regularly. You'll never have a problem again.

 

[turbomangt]

I talked to my distributor who sells chemicals for reconditioning cars for some huge dealerships, and like Elivs says, a one time cleaning for dirty leather is ok, but not for an on going program, todays automotive leather is made of a combination of leather, leather composites, plastic and vinyl. Depending on the manufacturer, type of car (and what you paid) will depend on how much % of leather your seats have. you can get away with soap if the seats have a low concentration of leather and more plastic / vinyl, But with the high end cars using more leather material in the seats, proper PH balenced cleaning is recommended along with conditioning with products designed for leather. Have you ever say seats with lines in them, this is the early stage of what happens when seats dry out, they start to crack and split. My conditioning you will prolong the life of the leather and the beauty of the seats, Hope this helps some, Gary

 

[JRau]

there was definetly quite a long discussion in this section about using dove soap to condition leather, about a month ago, maybe someone else will come to my defense. tnx

The guy's forum name is Sandy, and yes, there was a lengthy discussion on the treatment of leather. Find a post of Sandy's, and you can go to his profile and find all his posts. I think he hangs out in the Front Wheel Drive DeVille section, as he has a fairly rare early '90's Sixty Special.

I, too, was somewhat hesitant on this treatment--I think they recommended spraying the seats with a furniture polish (can't remember the brand). They said the furniture polish was good for the leather after it was cleaned.

Good luck.

JRau in central Iowa

 

[creeker]

I tried to find the actual p.h. for dove soap,no luck, but it did say it's "p.h. neutral" does that mean it doesn't have any p.h.? would this indicate it's less than 9.0%. It also said it contains 25% of moisturising cream.

 

[Superior Detailing]

I, too, was somewhat hesitant on this treatment--I think they recommended spraying the seats with a furniture polish (can't remember the brand). They said the furniture polish was good for the leather after it was cleaned.

Good luck.

JRau in central Iowa

Whoever is recommending DOVE and FURNITURE POLISH is a moron, I'm sorry. Dove is a soap...for your skin. Furniture Polish is a cleaner and protectant...for your furniture, not your CAR!!! Whoever uses these products has no knowledge of what they are doing to the cars they are using them on. Yeah ok, it may clean seats, and it may make it look nice, but why not use a dedicated leather cleaner and conditioner? probably because whoever suggested this to him is poor. I used furniture polish while detailing when I first started at the nastiest detail shop I've ever worked at. The kind of place that charges only $50 for a "whole detail." Do it at your own risk.

 

[SL1CK]

I tried to find the actual p.h. for dove soap,no luck, but it did say it's "p.h. neutral" does that mean it doesn't have any p.h.? would this indicate it's less than 9.0%. It also said it contains 25% of moisturising cream.

No, neutral means the pH is 7.

The pH scale ranges from 1-14, with 7 being neutral cuz its in the middle (makes sense). Acids and bases are measured on this scale. The more acidic a substance, the less pH level it has. If its a base, it'll be up past 7.

 

[turbomangt]

I have to agree with Superior on this one, speaking as a professional stick with products designed for what they were intended. gary

 

[dp102288]

I have seen furniture polish applied to the insides of a car, and it was not pretty. :nono:

 

[OffThaHorseCEO]

here it is, it was kinda obscure, pledge and dove

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...ther-cleaner.html?highlight=pledge#post461626

 

[behind-bars]

If you look at a bottle of pledge it actually says its recommended to use on leather.

I tried the dove and pledge method, worked ok, haven't used it in a while though since I got some meguiars and eagle one cleaner/conditioner.

I may try it again one day since my car is a 93 deville and is mostly vinyl and fake leather. It will need to be reupholstered eventually, I'm just trying to prolong it some, The back seat is pretty stiff probably since it rarely ever gets used.

 

[90Brougham350]

Now that I've read that whole thread I'm curious. I just use Simple Green on the tough spots and Eagle One leather conditioner.

 

[Superior Detailing]

Simple Green diluted AT LEAST 10:1 (10 parts water to one part SG) should be safe. I'd probably do at least 15:1 or 20:1, and clean it more often. Eagle one conditioner isn't the best but sure is better then nothing.

Gary please chime in here and help prevent others from taking this gentlemans advice here http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...-off-shelf-leather-cleaner-10.html#post885497

 

[COBlackZ06]

At the risk of weighing into a debate that's becoming somewhat contentious, I feel I should offer a testimonial that supports Sandy's recommendation.

I have a '93 Sixty Special that I purchased in February '06, with 117,000 miles on it. I have no idea if the previous owners of this car were as meticulous about keeping a leather interior well cleaned and conditioned as I, so I went to work on the interior myself. Over the last ten months, I've tried both Lexol cleaner and conditioner on the interior leather seats, and Zaino's all in one leather cleaner/conditioner. While it certainly improved them, it left them feeling "tacky" for several days, despite going over them multiple times with dry microfiber cloth.

Sandy sent me a PM with a link to the thread on this subject, and suggested I give it a try. I did so, about a month ago. And I can say this method (dissolved Dove soap and Pledge) worked better than the Lexol and Zaino. It was also less time consumptive, and considerably less expensive.

Now, is this a long term, regular treatment? I'm certainly willing to entertain the idea that as a one-time application, it's okay, but that it shouldn't be done regularly. I'd need to hear some other testimonials on that. All I can tell you is that in the month since I tried this treatment, my Sixty Special's leather interior has never looked better, nor felt more supple. So at least at this point, I'm inclined to think Sandy may be on to something.

-Patrick

 

[Frost]

To get this back into some form of context, the car that Sandy is doing this to IS A SHOWCAR so for the most part. It sees VERY LIMITED use. As such, using products that make it look pretty is fine - because, it's main function is to act like a 2 ton paperweight, holding down the floor of some garage.

Yes, the car is a ultra-low mileage beauty. Yes, whenever it sees the sun (never rain., let alone more inclment, winter-type weather) it gleems like a many faceted jewel. The sun's rays bounce off the mile-deep shiny purple paint and the bright white interior leather virtually sparkles in it's pristine condition - so white, it's enough to make a dead man's eyes bleed,,,,,.

I doubt even tooth decay could penetrate the products that Sandy has layered on that car - for preservation of his classic. But as a daily driver - use the products that cars in general are meant to have used on them. In the case of leather, that's leather cleaners and conditioners.

Leatherique makes the best I've ever used.