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Best Routine Cleaning For Leather Seats

Jeepster21

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Looking for something to regularly wipe down the leather seats, no deep cleaning.

Any thoughts on these or is there something better:
  • 303 Leather 3-In-1 Complete Care - Cleans, Conditions, & Protects - Helps Prevent Fading & Cracking - Rinse Free Formula - Repels Dust, Lint, & Staining, 16 fl. oz.
  • 303 Marine UV Protectant Spray for Vinyl, Plastic, Rubber, Fiberglass, Leather & More – Dust and Dirt Repellant-Non-Toxic, Matte Finish, 16 Fl. oz
  • Weiman Leather Cleaner and Conditioner - 22 Ounce
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Jeepster21

Jeepster21

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Which of the two 303 items I listed?

Or just 303 Leather Conditioner?

I've had good experience with 303 and ive personally also used Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner.
 

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aldo98229

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After trying several products over the years, I found this one easy to spray on, wipe on and wipe off. Doesn’t leave residue, and smells great, too.

You can find it in the cleaning section at Lowe’s
Jeep Wrangler JL Best Routine Cleaning For Leather Seats 1642986041051
 

OldGuyNewJeep

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Looking for something to regularly wipe down the leather seats, no deep cleaning.

Any thoughts on these or is there something better:
  • 303 Leather 3-In-1 Complete Care - Cleans, Conditions, & Protects - Helps Prevent Fading & Cracking - Rinse Free Formula - Repels Dust, Lint, & Staining, 16 fl. oz.
  • 303 Marine UV Protectant Spray for Vinyl, Plastic, Rubber, Fiberglass, Leather & More – Dust and Dirt Repellant-Non-Toxic, Matte Finish, 16 Fl. oz
  • Weiman Leather Cleaner and Conditioner - 22 Ounce
303 marine is all I ever use. It’s treated leather, so conditioner is not needed and not recommended. 303 protects from UV when top down. It will make it slippery for a couple of days, but that doesn’t bother me much.
 

Kansas JL

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i use griots products ( not exclusively but mostly)
https://www.griotsgarage.com/wash-detail/leather-interiors-liquids/

I like their performance, ease of use, easy ordering online,
and I really like their YouTube tutorial videos.
I personally use the interior cleaner for all surfaces inside including seats. Then hit the seats with either leather 3:1 spray or leather care spray. Always works great.

lots of great products out there. I just like griots one stop shop.
post some pics on what you do.
 

Equitasforall

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I could tell you, but then....
Looking for something to regularly wipe down the leather seats, no deep cleaning.

Any thoughts on these or is there something better:
  • 303 Leather 3-In-1 Complete Care - Cleans, Conditions, & Protects - Helps Prevent Fading & Cracking - Rinse Free Formula - Repels Dust, Lint, & Staining, 16 fl. oz.
  • 303 Marine UV Protectant Spray for Vinyl, Plastic, Rubber, Fiberglass, Leather & More – Dust and Dirt Repellant-Non-Toxic, Matte Finish, 16 Fl. oz
  • Weiman Leather Cleaner and Conditioner - 22 Ounce
I've used Weiman for years in all my vehicles, including my 2018 JL-R. When I sold it I had roughly 42,000 miles on the leather, with my big ass in the seat and they still looked factory new. Same with all my other vehicles as well. Can't speak to the other products, but Weiman is my go to.
 

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TheRaven

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Most products from reputable manufacturers that are a 2-step process. Cleaner and conditioner. Do not go for the "all-in-one" products or the cheapo ones. Leather is expensive and so is caring for it. The good stuff costs because it contains natural oils, the cheap stuff is silicone-based which will destroy leather in the long term.

Also, the claim that the protective coating on automotive leather makes conditioners useless is a common myth. That coating is there for wear and UV protection. It is not impervious, so it will not protect against chemicals and natural contaminants. You still need to regularly clean and condition the leather or you will have a cracked mess by 100k miles.
 

JABCAT

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Also, the claim that the protective coating on automotive leather makes conditioners useless is a common myth. That coating is there for wear and UV protection. It is not impervious, so it will not protect against chemicals and natural contaminants. You still need to regularly clean and condition the leather or you will have a cracked mess by 100k miles.
Put a drop of water on your seats and see if it absorbs or sits on top. If it sits on top (which it will) that means the seat has a plasticized coating on it. The conditioners then also will not be absorbed into the leather and thus do nothing. If you've ever conditioned a baseball glove, then you know what real leather is & why you would condition it.

From the owner's manual: " The leather upholstery can be best preserved by regular cleaning with a damp soft cloth. Small particles of dirt can act as an abrasive and damage the leather upholstery and should be removed promptly with a damp cloth. Stubborn soils can be removed easily with a soft cloth and Mopar Total Clean. Care should be taken to avoid soaking your leather upholstery with any liquid. Please do not use polishes, oils, cleaning fluids, solvents, detergents, or ammonia-based cleaners to clean your leather upholstery. Application of a leather conditioner is not required to maintain the original condition."

Fwiw - I recently had the leather dash in my Corvette repaired by a custom auto upholtery shop that does very high-end and custom cars, and who is also featured on a couple of television shows. The leather of the dash is noticably different than the leather on the seats in that it is not coated. I was told by the upholsterer who fixed by dash that while the dash needed regular conditioning because it was not coated, the seats needed just a damp microfiber cloth to clean them every so often.
 
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Jeepster21

Jeepster21

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Thanks for the feedback.


i use griots products ( not exclusively but mostly)
https://www.griotsgarage.com/wash-detail/leather-interiors-liquids/

I like their performance, ease of use, easy ordering online,
and I really like their YouTube tutorial videos.
I personally use the interior cleaner for all surfaces inside including seats. Then hit the seats with either leather 3:1 spray or leather care spray. Always works great.

lots of great products out there. I just like griots one stop shop.
post some pics on what you do.
 

kiddy2fan

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For light and regular cleaning of leather I prefer to use Optimum Protectant Plus paired with horse hair brush. Spray, agitate and the wipe up with a microfiber.
 

TheRaven

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Put a drop of water on your seats and see if it absorbs or sits on top. If it sits on top (which it will) that means the seat has a plasticized coating on it. The conditioners then also will not be absorbed into the leather and thus do nothing. If you've ever conditioned a baseball glove, then you know what real leather is & why you would condition it.

From the owner's manual: " The leather upholstery can be best preserved by regular cleaning with a damp soft cloth. Small particles of dirt can act as an abrasive and damage the leather upholstery and should be removed promptly with a damp cloth. Stubborn soils can be removed easily with a soft cloth and Mopar Total Clean. Care should be taken to avoid soaking your leather upholstery with any liquid. Please do not use polishes, oils, cleaning fluids, solvents, detergents, or ammonia-based cleaners to clean your leather upholstery. Application of a leather conditioner is not required to maintain the original condition."

Fwiw - I recently had the leather dash in my Corvette repaired by a custom auto upholtery shop that does very high-end and custom cars, and who is also featured on a couple of television shows. The leather of the dash is noticably different than the leather on the seats in that it is not coated. I was told by the upholsterer who fixed by dash that while the dash needed regular conditioning because it was not coated, the seats needed just a damp microfiber cloth to clean them every so often.
Sorry but this is not correct. If you put a drop of water on automotive leather and let it sit for 10 minutes, it WILL leave a dark spot (because some of it was absorbed). If it does not, that means you don't have leather or you just didn't put it on one of the leather panels. The Wrangler "leather-trimmed" interior has very little ACTUAL leather in it, most of it is vinyl. This is becoming more and more common even in premium vehicles (Cadillac and BMW only offer real leather in their top trims and even those do not have full leather).

Note the text directly before the text you bolded: "Care should be taken to avoid soaking your leather upholstery with any liquid." Why do you suppose that is? You can soak vinyl in water all day long and it won't matter. But you can't leave even coated leather covered in water or it will be ruined.

Fwiw - I recently had the leather dash in my Corvette repaired by a custom auto upholtery shop that does very high-end and custom cars, and who is also featured on a couple of television shows. The leather of the dash is noticably different than the leather on the seats in that it is not coated. I was told by the upholsterer who fixed by dash that while the dash needed regular conditioning because it was not coated, the seats needed just a damp microfiber cloth to clean them every so often.
That's because the Corvette's dash is not leather. It's vinyl. That upholstery shop put real leather on your dash (or at least they claim they did). Like the Wrangler, the Corvette's "leather-trimmed seating surfaces" are mostly vinyl. That's why owner's manuals will always tell you to just use a damp cloth...cause that's all you need for vinyl and even for the little bit of real leather, cleaning it that way will make it outlast the warranty period, and that's all they care about. They are covering themselves from damage due to silicone-based "cleaners" like Armor-All. Nonetheless, without conditioning, what leather you have in your vehicle will be damaged and cracked by 100k.
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