I have used alot of cleaners and honestly the best one I've found (by accident) was Toyota's OEM Leather & Vinyl Cleaner from the dealership.
I've used Meguiar's, Mother's, etc. Now Toyota has stopped producing them and replaced it with Lexol brand which I've never used. I've heard Murphy's Oil Soap and warm water is the best but any suggestions?

 

Murphys is hard to beat since it is so damn cheap, and has been around forever. I use a high quality, soft, NATURAL bristle brush to GENTLY work it into the leather.
Don't put a lot of force on it and let the bristles loosen the dirt by going in small, tight circles. Rinse the brush frequently with clean water as you scrub from top to bottom. Do small sections at a time. Mop up any soap that dribbles immediately.

Do not use syn bristles since it will scratch the leather and remove the top color. (unfortunately they did not vat die our leather) Go easy on the water, and do not let it sit so that it saturates. What you want is a "lather". Wipe off immediately. It's hard to find a high quality natural bristle scrub brush, they're expensive but worth it - about $20.00!, but if you take care of it they will last a long time (just like buying good paint brushes).

Massage in with your fingers (seriously) a little Lexol preservative or Hide Food $$$ and it's about as good as it gets, buff with a 100% cotton terry or microfiber towel. Do the cleaning once a year and the Lexol four times a year. You've just doubled the life of your seats.

OR, if you're in a hurry just use Formula 409!(j/k)

 

Thanks! So i was on the right track with the Murphy's?

 

I've used lexol and it works very good.

 

okay, I'll try it.......thanks!

 

I've used lots of leather cleaners and conditioners, and through trial and error, this is the absolute best I've come up with.


Best Leather Cleaner:

- Tanner's Preserve Leather Cleaner by Eagle Ottawa.
I bought it at a local automotive supply store, I think
it may have been Pep Boys, so it shouldn't be too
hard to find.


Best Leather Conditioner:

-Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil.
I found out about this stuff from the Lotus guys. A lot of
Rolls Royce owners also use it, so you know it's got
to be good. I bought it by calling an 800# that was
listed on their website, which I think is
www.Leatherique.com
It's fabulous stuff. It's got collagen and natural oils in
it. Seems to almost heal up cracks in the leather, and
doesn't leave any greasy or shiny residue.

 

I actually have the tanner's sitting in my closet.....full. Not that much better than the others IMHO. My seats are in very good condition and honestly, the factory Toyota Leather & Vinyl Cleaner WAS the best I've EVER,EVER used. It was one those those things I found out by accident. I work for BMW/Mini and we have alot of Extra Duty, Extra Foam, etc. all purpose commercial cleaners (which are awesome) and the Toyota was still the best! Too bad not made anymore!

 

Well, the Tanner's Preserve is a mild cleaner, which is why I like it. Some of the others are a little too harsh for my taste. But then I never let the leather get too bad to begin with, so I haven't had to take out any tough stains with the Tanner's Preserve. Actually, I use the Leatherique much more often. It's supposed to act as a cleaner too by displacing contaminants which have soaked into the leather and floating them to the surface. It seems to work pretty well at this, though again, I haven't tackled any really bad stains with it.

 

I'm using the Tanner's cleaner and conditioner. I can't say the cleaner worked that well but I like the conditioner. It made the seats softer but not greasy at all.

 

I thought the interior of my car was immaculate untill i used the interior cleaner from griot's garage (www.griotsgarage.com). I sprayed it on and the dirt just seemed to drain right off the seats and door panels especially. I wish i had a before and after picture. It was almost addicting. I went a second time around and used close to the entire bottle while this time also using a natural boars hair brush included in one of the interior cleaning kits and agitated the leather to release all dirt and small stains. My white 1' x 2' cloth was brown in the end after i buffed it all out. It was also so much easier than any other cleaner i had tried. It contains no harsh chemicals and has a natural leather smell as well. The leather dressing comes with the kit as well and together the cleaner and dressing was the best thing i've ever done to my car.

 

Griots sells good stuff, but I still think Murphy's Oil Soap can't be beat. It's dirt cheap.

I use it on my bald little head to keep it soft and supple. Vin Diesel uses it, and now he's getting $20 mil per picture.

It's what YO MAMA used.

 

No wonder why my momma is bald.

 

 

Great posts!

 

i use Lexol, and always will.

its the best.

 

Sorry this is slightly off topic but does anyone know of anything to repair small cracks in leather seats? I have a small crack that is hard along the edges on my passenger seat right by where you legs go over the front of the seat. Nothing I've tried will soften up the leather and I'm afraid it's just going to continue to get worse. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

meguires is pretty good. they *** in
whipes and liquid form.
-tBoWzeR

 

About the best you can do is have it repaired at an upholstry shop with a new piece of leather. They can match it pretty close usually. There is no way I know of to fix a crack that won't show up as bad as the original damage.

 

mothers

 

Thanks for the info, I'll stop by a shop and see what they say.

 

And, do these dress up the slightly worn off-color spots on the black leather seats? Or is there a colorant to use with them?

 

I took a chance and used plain old black liquid shoe polish. It worked great and soaked into the leather so that even when I rubbed it with a cloth to make sure it would not ruin clothes of passengers, nothing visible came off on the cloth. (If leather is moist, your results may differ...)