How to properly care for leather interior. Leather Monza, Nappa/

A leather interior is a sign of the high cost and quality of a car. But it is foolish to believe that if it is not fabric, it does not need careful care. After all, the condition of the car’s interior determines how pleasant it will be for passengers and the driver to be in it. In addition, reupholstering a leather interior is not a cheap procedure. Let's consider how to care for the leather interior of a car to maintain its attractive appearance for as long as possible.

What should you protect your leather interior from?

Of course, leather seats are better protected from accidentally spilled liquids, dust and dirt than fabric ones. But there are a number of dangers:

• Mechanical impact.

Do not forget that leather is a durable material, but it is easily punctured and torn. Particular attention should be paid to metal buttons and rivets on clothing, in particular on jeans. If they are exposed to the same places for a long time, they can damage the seats. Sharp objects, especially metal ones, should be transported with great care. It is advisable to wrap them in thick fabric, blankets or something that can protect your upholstery. You should also secure the items being transported well so that they do not move around the cabin during driving or sudden braking.

• Be careful with cigarettes.

Accidentally falling ashes are not as dangerous to leather as they are to fabric, but leather does not mean fireproof.

• In cars with light-colored seats, there is a risk of staining from clothing. Fabric dye pigments, when exposed to sweat or other liquids, can penetrate the pores of the skin. The result is ugly stains that are not so easy to remove even with special means.
• Try to wipe up accidentally spilled liquids in a timely manner, without waiting for them to be absorbed into the upholstery.

Make it a rule to keep special napkins in your car, or at least a piece of clean soft cloth, which you can use to wipe up accidentally spilled coffee.

• Natural factors.

Even if you are extremely careful and scratches, stains and punctures are not your thing, the leather interior must be protected from, perhaps, the main enemies - natural factors. Temperature changes, frost, ultraviolet rays, excessive humidity or dry air. We cannot prevent all this, but we can take measures to reduce the harmful effects. We'll talk about this in detail below.

Car interior care using sprays

Skin care in the salon

The leather interior is quite practical. Unlike leather used for furniture and shoes, automotive leather is distinguished by higher strength, fire resistance and wear resistance. Leather trim in a car can withstand long periods of use and at the same time retain its original appearance. But with all the advantages of this material, you should know that leather interior needs special care.

To clean the leather interior yourself, you will need a special cleaner (preferably based on aloe extract, with collagen, glycerin and vitamin E), a sponge, a soft rag, a brush with soft bristles, clean water and cloth napkins (dry rags).

Do not start cleaning leather upholstery if it is hot in the sun. The ideal temperature for using cleaning products is from +15° to +25° C.

If you want to remove stains from the seats, you should do this from top to bottom. Otherwise, particles of dirt or sand remaining on the seats may damage the leather covering. Therefore, before starting cleaning, you should remove the floor mats from the interior, vacuum the carpeted floor, and wipe the seats with a soft, damp cloth.

Before applying the product to leather, you should test its effect on an area hidden from view. If you notice negative reactions, you should refrain from using this product.

Shake the bottle with the cleaning product, then apply a small amount of the product to the sponge and rub the product into the surface to be cleaned in a circular motion. Remove excess product with a soft cloth, as too much product will cause stains. Dry the car seats after cleaning, and then treat the leather with a product with a moisture- and dirt-repellent effect.

If you use creamy products to treat the leather interior, make sure that they are completely absorbed. The older the leather upholstery of your car, the more saturated with oils the products for its care should be. Under no circumstances should you spray the product from an aerosol can directly onto the leather surface.

When cleaning the leather interior, do not rub it excessively, use hard brushes or use household detergents. All of these can cause blemishes and discolor the skin.

Pay attention to the quality of the cleaning products you choose and their expiration date.

Polyvinyl chloride film is often used to cover the leather upholstery of American cars. To check whether this is so, you need to drop water on the skin; if the water is not absorbed, then you need to use those products designed for vinyl surfaces to clean the interior

Kolodiychuk Andrey

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How to care for leather upholstery so that it retains its appearance for a long time

So, let’s determine the right approach to your car.

Experts agree that car leather is like human skin - the older it is, the more effort must be made to preserve it in its original form.

The upholstery of a brand new car that has just left the factory is impregnated with a special compound, it is soft and elastic. As a rule, in the first year or two of operation it only needs careful handling and cleaning.

The older the leather upholstery, the more it needs special creams with moisturizing oils. Otherwise, after a few years, your interior may crack, become covered with faded spots and bald spots. And turn from a luxurious car decoration into a rather pathetic sight.

How often does the salon need to be maintained?

First of all, remember that care should be regular. Just as there are maintenance regulations recommended by the manufacturer, there are certain recommendations for leather upholstery:

• During the hot season, upholstery suffers from ultraviolet radiation, low humidity and high temperatures. All these factors dry out the skin, it loses its elasticity, which increases the risk of cracks. Treatment with special means is recommended once every 1–2 months;
• In winter, due to exposure to low temperatures, the skin becomes tanned and again loses its elasticity. It is recommended to carry out treatment once every 2–4 months.

Is self-care possible or is it better to trust professionals?

As a rule, special car cosmetics, which can be bought at a gas station, supermarket or any auto parts store, can handle simple stains and regular maintenance. However, 1-2 times a year it is recommended to entrust your car to specialists, who have at their disposal a wider range of professional brand products that are not so easy to buy in regular stores.

Interior leather care using foam

Features of the material

The leather used for the manufacture of interiors is protected in every possible way from wear and tear before the vehicle is put into operation. For this, a special manufacturing technology is used:

• genuine leather is impregnated with oils and nutrients. This prevents rapid drying of the material, loss of elasticity and, as a result, cracking;
• The top layer of natural and artificial leather is covered with polished tan, on which the structure of the leather interior is subsequently formed by embossing. Without a protective polyurethane layer, the leather would wear off very quickly and be susceptible to mechanical damage;
• The polyurethane structure is coated with a protective varnish, which significantly increases the wear resistance of the coating.

It is worth recognizing that not all manufacturers are fully concerned about protecting the car interior, so car leather care primarily falls on the owner’s shoulders.

Car body care

Shampoo is considered the most common car cleaning product. Using it, you can clean your car with any degree of dirt. If the shampoo contains a special wax, then after completing the car washing procedure, it will be enough to wipe it with a cloth and get an amazing shine. When washing with shampoo, you must first remove large particles of dirt. Otherwise, grains that get between the sponge and the surface of the car can seriously scratch the paint layer.

Shampoo for car body care

If the weather suddenly turns bad, and you need your car to be perfectly clean, you can use the so-called “wash without water.” This is a new product that, due to its unique formula, gently envelops dirt, thereby preventing it from damaging the body when wiping the product. Outwardly, it is similar to a regular glass cleaning aerosol. This product costs an order of magnitude more than regular shampoos, but this price is completely justified. The resulting effect is impressive, and you really don’t need water for washing.

To protect the body from insects, dirt, gravel and other contaminants, experts advise covering the bumper with vinyl or a special film. Wax can be used as a temporary solution. It not only has good protective properties, but will also make the car more beautiful and shiny.

Body paint care

In the summer, many people seek to relax outside the city. But trips to nature are fraught with consequences in the form of scratches from branches or chips from gravel. To prevent rust, the body must be regularly maintained.

Depending on the depth and size of the scratch, body care may vary. Minor scratches that do not reach the ground can be masked using a special pencil. If you manage to find a paint that matches the tone, then a small brush or needle will come in handy.

Pencil for masking scratches

Various polishes are used to mask deep scratches. Wax polishes will help solve the problem for a short time. After just a few washes, the scratches will appear again. The effect of abrasive polishes is that they remove part of the varnish, thereby removing the scratch forever. But you should keep in mind that the varnish layer has a certain thickness, and if you use this method too often, it will become thinner and you will have to completely repaint the car.

Choice of product

Maintenance is divided into two components: cleaning the surface and maintaining it in the desired condition. The auto cosmetics market mainly presents care products that combine a number of parameters. For example, moisturizing and cleaning, protection from various types of influences. Here are some notes on car care products:

• Before treating the surface, you need to test the composition on a small area to avoid damage to the material;
• You should carefully follow the instructions in the instructions, because if you handle chemicals incorrectly, you can ruin your skin;
• Auto cosmetics come in the form of powders, sprays and creams.

To ensure high-quality care for leather trim, it is necessary to use only car care products that have a good reputation. You shouldn’t save a couple of hundred on the chemical composition, risking spending a couple of tens of thousands not redoing the interior.

How to choose and choose the right leather interior care product?

Leather is a delicate material that requires proper care. This is the only way to extend the service life and maintain an attractive appearance.

For some motorists, a leather interior is associated with a certain status, mainly a sign of wealth and financial well-being.

Modern technologies have made it possible to develop a huge number of different means.

All means are divided according to their purposes and used in one case or another:

• to protect the coating (spray, cream that protects against excessive moisture, various types of pollution);
• to clean (cleaning foams, mild stain removers to remove difficult stains);
• to do conditioning (disinfectants that moisturize dry skin and help maintain the softness and elasticity of the product);
• to deodorize (special deodorants and sprays that remove unpleasant odors);
• to paint (aerosols that are specifically aimed at painting over scuffs if colored cream does not help);
• to carry out repair work (repair cream that allows you to repair minor scratches, defects, cracks, cuts or small bubbles);
• to polish (soaked sponges, wax, polishing wipes, which help give the skin a well-groomed and beautiful appearance).

A good quality care product can preserve all the features that natural leather has. They are well absorbed and give a well-groomed appearance, while protecting against negative influences, moisture and various types of pollution.

Important! Care products should not leave any traces behind: greasy stains, stains.