[LORDD]

I decided to clean the dirty leather in my e91 today I used autoglym leather cleaner and two microfibre cloths had a small spounge and an upholstery brush after spraying the leather it has made a big black mark like dirt come up but nothing is bringing any dirt out I even tried a magic eraser what am I doing wrong ? Please help me !!

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

That's really weird. I'm a detailing enthusiast and never seen this. Also considering our leather is all finished leather, I'm having a hard time considering it might be stained. Plus it's a reputable product from a reputable brand... but then if it was just dirt the magic eraser should've definitely done something, that said it's best to usually avoid using magic eraser on finished leather as they are abrasives

Just to be clear, you tried spraying the product on, brushing, then wiping off with microfiber and it just stays like that?

[LORDD]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

That's really weird. I'm a detailing enthusiast and never seen this. Also considering our leather is all finished leather, I'm having a hard time considering it might be stained. Plus it's a reputable product from a reputable brand... but then if it was just dirt the magic eraser should've definitely done something, that said it's best to usually avoid using magic eraser on finished leather as they are abrasives

Just to be clear, you tried spraying the product on, brushing, then wiping off with microfiber and it just stays like that?

Yep I sprayed it on rubbed with microfibre nothing came off used spounge still nothing except the dark stain/dirt when I used a magic eraser got some stuff off but not much

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by LORDD

Yep I sprayed it on rubbed with microfibre nothing came off used spounge still nothing except the dark stain/dirt when I used a magic eraser got some stuff off but not much

Maybe your seats are just really really dirty to. I had it happen to me once detailing a friend old car. I used to use a dedicated leather cleaning (made for real leather, not really for finished leather like most cars, finished leather can take a bit more "beating" so to say. It's leather with a coating finishing it, usually vinyl or polyurethane) product to before and it just wasn't cutting it. Seeing the magic eraser pulling some dirt of seems to indicate that.

Do you have other products you can try? Like a all purpose cleaner diluted?

[LORDD]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

Maybe your seats are just really really dirty to. I had it happen to me once detailing a friend old car. I used to use a dedicated leather cleaning (made for real leather, not really for finished leather like most cars, finished leather can take a bit more "beating" so to say. It's leather with a coating finishing it, usually vinyl or polyurethane) product to before and it just wasn't cutting it. Seeing the magic eraser pulling some dirt of seems to indicate that.

Do you have other products you can try? Like a all purpose cleaner diluted?

Unfortunately I don't have any multipurpose cleaner . What would you recommend? It looks like it is drying like that with the black stain . The car interior was filthy never had a car as dirty before .
I tried the side bolster when I sprayed the cleaner on it and rubbed with a spounge it went black too but dried out

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by LORDD

Unfortunately I don't have any multipurpose cleaner . What would you recommend? It looks like it is drying like that with the black stain . The car interior was filthy never had a car as dirty before .
I tried the side bolster when I sprayed the cleaner on it and rubbed with a spounge it went black too but dried out

Damn it makes no sense though, if when you apply you product it's mixed the dirt and pulls it up, wiping over with a cloth should remove it or put something on your microfiber.

Maybe try a dish soap and hot water mix, spray that and brush and see if that does anything differently? Honestly not to sure what to do. Almost sounds like it's staining but also just sounds like really dirty seats.

[LORDD]

Do you mean hot soapy water ? Use that on the seats with microfibre /sponge ?

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by LORDD

Do you mean hot soapy water ? Use that on the seats with microfibre /sponge ?

Yeah but in a spray bottle. then spray the solution on and brush and wipe off. Just to see if it acts any differently.

[LORDD]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

Yeah but in a spray bottle. then spray the solution on and brush and wipe off. Just to see if it acts any differently.

Just tried sugar soap with it made no difference but I noticed there was some dirt on the microfibre cloth I used earlier

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by LORDD

Just tried sugar soap with it made no difference but I noticed there was some dirt on the microfibre cloth I used earlier

Ahhh ok so dirt was coming off earlier haha. I wanted to ask to what your microfiber looked like... It must just really be dirty leather then. And it being light colored doesn't help, you easily see all that dirt.

I'd say keep, spraying, brush, wipe off. Do that 4-5 times and compare the seat to what it was before, you should start to see a difference.

[S65Hunter]

I dont think your seats are necessarily dirty, just really worn out. I doubt you'll be able to bring that seat back to life.

[LORDD]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

Ahhh ok so dirt was coming off earlier haha. I wanted to ask to what your microfiber looked like... It must just really be dirty leather then. And it being light colored doesn't help, you easily see all that dirt.

I'd say keep, spraying, brush, wipe off. Do that 4-5 times and compare the seat to what it was before, you should start to see a difference.

I will let it dry over next couple of days then try using cleaner again . If not have you used the below …

Originally Posted by AlpineE93

I dont think your seats are necessarily dirty, just really worn out. I doubt you'll be able to bring that seat back to life.

I was thinking of using this any good ?

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by LORDD

I will let it dry over next couple of days then try using cleaner again . If not have you used the below …



I was thinking of using this any good ?

I've never used that I couldn't say

[IllSic_Design]

That's not dirt on the seat, your seats are just really worn out. The dye/paint on the leather has worn off as far as can tell

[whyzee125]

I'm almost positive that's dye missing.

I use Ammo leather cleaner with their supplied brush and it works really well, so you can try that if you think it might be saveable but looks like missing dye to me. Leatherique works very well too and they also have redye kits if needed.

[LORDD]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

I've never used that I couldn't say

It has now dried and back to normal almost . Some staining I'm gonna put some autoglym care balm onto to seal it in/up until I work out what to do next ?

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by LORDD

It has now dried and back to normal almost . Some staining I'm gonna put some autoglym care balm onto to seal it in/up until I work out what to do next ?

Yeah idk, I guess people are saying the dye is gone and considering nothing is removing the dirst I guess that might be it... But I thought finished leather didn't really had those issues in the long run.

[Suvorovo]

Do you have beige seats? I tired to clean them, but I agree with the posts above, the dye is probably gone. My driver's side is tired looking. And the seams on the bolster are slightly worn. Best advice is to lightly clean the seats and at least get the oils out instead of risking damaging the seats further.

[markuk]

Originally Posted by IllSic_Design

That's not dirt on the seat, your seats are just really worn out. The dye/paint on the leather has worn off as far as can tell

This is right

[TooMuchSawce]

Originally Posted by IllSic_Design

That's not dirt on the seat, your seats are just really worn out. The dye/paint on the leather has worn off as far as can tell

As stated above, it seems to me that upon cleaning you’ve caused premature wear to the leather and the colour.

I did the exact same thing, except to my armrest. The only way I was able to get it back to normal was to apply a dye and get the colour back to scratch again

[MrSteak]

That's my armrest, the worn out part is where my elbow has been sitting, rubbing, and wearing out over the past 14 years. I never used anything other than 'Leatherique' or a damp cloth to wipe down my leather, and the wear is the same. It did rain once while I had my sunroof open, and when I wiped the armrest, there was some smudging/wear, but even that was just rain water and a cloth; nothing abrasive or any chemicals.


It's hard to tell with the red vs tan, but I'm with everyone else saying that it's just the paint/dye/surface level of the leather coating that's been worn.

[NorthernDancer]

In the UK, do you have access to Leatherique? If so, try their products. I bought a BMW with tire mark stains on the leather. As I remember, I cleaned, crack filled, then dyed all the seats. Came out looking like new. However, I don't know how long it lasted because I sold the car shortly afterwards. I'm pretty sure only the drivers seat cushion might need a touch up after 1-3 years.

That Leather Repair Paint you illustrated I think is the way to go vice Leatherique because I suspect you donot have Leatherique in the UK.