Cleaning & Preparing Leather or Vinyl

Cleaning & Preparing Leather or Vinyl

Preparation is a bit more than a just a quick wipe over with a damp cloth

Preparation is key to a long-lasting finish.
Incorrect preparation can cause any repair to fail or be short lived.

If when cleaning the leather, you see the colour is coming off then proceed with caution. This usually means the clear coat applied to all leather surfaces has been warn away and you are now in direct contact with the colour. You can reapply a sealer to protect the leathers colour. We offer BL9 Super Matt Sealer or BL10 Gloss Sealer.

If the colour looks like it is flaking off, then there is a good chance the leather has been dyed previously. Unfortunately, there are many interiors that have been prepared badly or had dye incorrectly applied. If you find yourself in this situation, please contact us and we will offer advice for the best way to resolve this.

Section 1: Leather General Maintenance

Section 2: Leather Deep Cleaning

Section 3: Vinyl General Maintenance

Section 4: Vinyl Deep Cleaning

Section 1: Leather General maintenance.

Items required:
1. BL3 Maintenance Cleaner
2. BL2 Conditioner (or BL5 Repellent conditioner for leather exposed to the elements
3. Cleaning cloth (use damp)
4. Drying towel

With new leather or recently renovated leathers, you do not need to condition. The conditioner has nowhere to go and will just sit on top, attract dust and grime and in the case of renovated leather, can remove the dye. This is because conditioners are tacky and the twisting motion when using leather can cause it to grab at the dye and either weaken it or cause it to fail.

If you are maintaining newly renovated leather then we recommend you do not condition for at least 6-8 months. For new leather we also recommend using it after 6-8 months.

For periodic maintenance use BL3 cleaner with a damp cloth. Apply to the top of your seats first and work your way down to the seat base. It is best to use a damp cloth as this will help disperse BL3. Wipe over the leather with the damp cloth and finally use a towel cloth to dry

If the leather is over 12 months old we advised lightly conditioning.

Once you have used BL3 to clean the leather, apply a small amount of BL2 Leather conditioner  and wipe over the seats. There is no need to use large amounts of conditioner on leather as only a very small percentage soaks in. Once you have conditioned you can leave it to soak in overnight.

We advise that you clean the seats again after you have allowed the conditioner to soak in. This will not remove all the conditioner you have applied, only the residual condition that is sitting on top. Residual conditioner can attract dust which can result in the pores of the leather becoming blocked, thus inhibiting the leathers ability to breath and ultimately can cause the leather to dry out.

You can change BL2 Leather Conditioner for BL5 Repellent conditioner which has been specifically developed for use on leather that is exposed to the elements, such as cars with no roof.

If when undertaking periodic cleaning you find that the seats still appear dirty please move on to section 2

Section 2: Leather Deep cleaning.
Deep cleaning is undertaken prior to colour application (the use of leather dyes) or if your leather is very dirty.

If you are not looking to recolour the leather after deep cleaning, then you need to keep in mind the thickness of the colour applied onto the leather. Over time, the thickness of this will be reduce through use. If re-dying the leather then this is not an issue.

Items Required;
1. BL1 Intensive cleaner
2. BL2 Conditioner (or BL5 Repellent conditioner for leather exposed to the elements
3. Scrubbing brush
4. Scouring pad (Green only)
5. Cleaning cloth (use damp)
6. Drying towel
7. Bowl of warm water

Put the scouring pad into the bowl of warm water along with a scrubbing brush until you are ready to use it.

Spray a mist of water or wipe over the leather with a damp cloth (do not soak). It is important that you do not allow the cleaner to dry out whilst deep cleaning.

Do not use any other colour of scouring pad apart from GREEN. If you use red, orange, yellow etc then the pigments of the pad can transfer onto your leather. In our experience the only colour that does not transfer is green.

BL1 Intensive cleaner is quite thick. Water will help BL1 cleaner disperse enabling it to get deep into the pores.
Apply BL1 Intensive cleaner to a wet scouring pads and apply light pressure to clean. You may find that this will develop a foam which will help lift grime from the leather.
If you are preparing your leather surface for the application of dye then you can exert more pressure to get a deeper clean. NEVER let the cleaner dry, always wet the scouring pad, (reapply cleaner if necessary).

The scrubbing brush is to help clean in the stitched areas where the flat scouring pad may have difficulty reaching. Again, make sure the scrubbing brush it wet and apply a small amount of cleaner. Work the cleaner into the stitch areas or join stitch areas.

Once you are happy that you have scrubbed the leather, use 1 or 2 damp cleaning cloths to remove the initial grime that the cleaner has lifted. Finally towel down the leather.

If you are going to apply conditioner to your leather then its best done before the leather completely dries. After deep cleaning, damp leather will help draw the conditioner in. Only use a small amount of conditioner. If you want to apply more conditioner then its best to leave each application a few days to enable to it soak in.

Remember that once you have allowed the conditioner to soak in, you will need to remove any excess that is sitting on top of the leather. If you are intending to recolour your leather then it is very importation that you remove all residual conditioner or the dye you apply can fail.The second clean (after conditioning) does not have to be as vigorous as the initial deep clean.

Interior Plastics
BL1 Intensive cleaner is also great on interior plastics. Such as dashboards, doorcards, carpet kick panels. Again, use as instructed above

Section 3: Vinyl General maintenance.

Items required:
1. BL4 Vinyl Cleaner
2. Cleaning cloth (use damp)
3. Drying towel

Vinyl is very easy to look after.

For periodic maintenance use BL4 Vinyl Cleaner with a damp cloth. Spray the top of your seats first and work your way down to the seat base. It is best to use a damp cloth as this will help disperse BL4. Wipe over the vinyl with the damp cloth and finally use a towel cloth to dry.

If when undertaking periodic cleaning you find that the seats still appear dirty please move on to section 2

Section 4: Vinyl Deep cleaning.
Deep cleaning is undertaken prior to colour application (the use of dyes) or if your vinyl is very dirty.

Items Required;
1. BL1 Intensive cleaner
2. Scrubbing brush
3. Scouring pad (green only)
4. Cleaning cloth (use damp)
5. Drying towel
6. Bowl of warm water

Put the scouring pad into the bowel of warm water along with a scrubbing brush until you are ready to use it.

Spray a mist of water or wipe over the Vinyl with a damp cloth (do not soak). It is important that you do not allow the cleaner to dry out whilst deep cleaning.
Do not use any other colour of scouring pad apart from GREEN. If you use red, orange, yellow etc then the pigments of the pad can transfer onto your Vinyl. In our experience the only colour that does not transfer is green.

BL1 Intensive cleaner is quite thick. Water will help BL1 cleaner disperse.
Apply BL1 Intensive cleaner to a wet scouring pads and apply light pressure to clean. You may find that this will develop a foam which will help lift grime from the vinyl.
If you are preparing the vinyl surface for the application of dye then you can exert more pressure to get a deeper clean. NEVER let the cleaner dry, always wet the scouring pad, (reapply cleaner if necessary).

The scrubbing brush is to help clean in the stitch areas where the flat scouring pad may have difficulty reaching. Again, make sure the scrubbing brush it wet and apply a small amount of cleaner. Work the cleaner into the stitch areas or join stitch areas.

Once you are happy that you have scrubbed the vinyl, use 1 or 2 damp cleaning cloths to remove the initial grime that the cleaner has lifted. Finally towel down the vinyl.

Remember, if you have vinyl there is no need or point in using a conditioner.

The method described above is the same method we use when renovating interiors. If you have questions or concerns please contact us.