AF Hide - Leather Cleaner and Leather Conditioner

[James23]

Using my new detailing bits which I got for christmas on a 182 rear bench which got delivered today so thought I'd give it a clean before I put it in the car.

I used the Hide leather cleaner as per the instructions, cloth was a bit dirty but not too bad.
Repeated the process with the leather cleaner, cloth practically clean this time.
Then I used the Hide leather conditioner afterwards with a microfibre applicator as per the instructions again and look at the state of it after:



Looks like the leather cleaner has done next to nothing and all the dirt has come out whilst massaging the conditioner in?
Not sure what I've done wrong as I followed the instructions on both products. Any tips/hints?

 

[Gally]

You really want to be using a soft brush with a leather cleaner mate.

 

[James23]

Can you recommend one?

 

[Gally]

This is the one I use...

http://www.shinearama.co.uk/product.php?id=SWI-CLEANINGBRUSH

There are others but some are quite harsh. Raceglaze do a decent one too.

 

[Gally]

Should look like this...

 

[James23]

Thank you! Wow - certainly never looked like that! looked like I had wiped some water on it lol. They should tell you this on the instructions!

 

[Gally]

You could also spay the cleaner on the MF applicator to get the dirt and grime out the seat. I don't go for Milks and Conditioners just keep them clean.

Hide is a good cleaner though. B

 

[James23]

Ok cool thanks for your help. Will update once I've had a go with a brush!
I wouldn't normally use a conditioner either but it came as part of the bundle I got for xmas so thought I'd give it a go.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

You're wasting your time tbh mate with leather cleaners and conditioners on Clio leather . They're not exactly connolly leather . They're embossed , in other words the colour is painted on top of the leather and a pattern added to make it look like leather . Warm water on a soft cloth will do just as good as any of these cleaners , and conditioners just lie on top of the embossed leather and pick up dirt and grime . Have a word with weeman , he'll tell you the same . Thats what his job is or was , in the leather trade . I was also told the same by a guy who did a seat repair on my car , who does full leather retrims . He said just use warm water , same for the alcantara if it's only lightly soiled .

 

[James23]

I have heard that before that the clio leather is not really leather cos it has a synthetic coating or something on it. Ah well, kept me busy for half an hour lol

 

[MRBILLYUK]

It wasn't a criticism of you James . Just giving you a little bit of advice for the future about these so called leather " cleaners " and conditioners . It just goes to show that the leather cleaner didn't actually clean it very well . It was the conditioner that removed the majority of the dirt . You've got nice clean seats now , so all's good eh

 

[Chapppers11]

AF Hide with a microfibre worked well for me.

That brush JimW used looks like it would tear the Clio seats apart!

Use a nail brush if you really need to.

 

[Cliotoby]

Nothing like a short pile MF cloth and some APC IMHO. Topped off with IPA wipedown to remove the shine and grease.

 

[JD]

The cleaners do work as they are a gentle APC, which will remove the grime if worked properly (I.e with water, not just neat). But as has been said, the conditioners are not worth the money on most car seats.

 

[Yellow Dave]

i found hide cleanser to do a decent job of cleaning the sofa and horse saddle. lifted plenty of grime when worked with a MF cloth

 

[MRBILLYUK]

The cleaners do work as they are a gentle APC, which will remove the grime if worked properly (I.e with water, not just neat). But as has been said, the conditioners are not worth the money on most car seats.

According to James , he followed the instructions and the cleaner basically did bugger all , it was the conditioner that removed the majority of the dirt . I've never seen a leather cleaner that you use with water ? If it was an APC , yeah , it would be watered down .

 

[MRBILLYUK]

i found hide cleanser to do a decent job of cleaning the sofa and horse saddle. lifted plenty of grime when worked with a MF cloth

I'm sure it would work a treat on a grimey old saddle , which is proper tanned untreated leather , not like the embossed leather in a Clio .

 

[Yellow Dave]

i can't name one horse rider that would allow a saddle that's typically £500+ get old and grimey, nor does our sofa's.

i've not used any other leather cleaners so not comparing, just commenting on my findings

 

[MRBILLYUK]

i can't name one horse rider that would allow a saddle that's typically £500+ get old and grimey, nor does our sofa's.

i've not used any other leather cleaners so not comparing, just commenting on my findings

I think you're slightly meandering away from the OP's comments about the leather cleaner and conditioner on Clio " leather " seats , on how good or not necessarily that good as the case may be with regards to the leather cleaner from what he wrote , they actually are , not a saddle and sofa . I'm as guilty as anyone , i've bought and used leather cleaners and conditioners in the past and found their effectiveness no better than warm water on a damp MF cloth .

 

[JD]

According to James , he followed the instructions and the cleaner basically did bugger all , it was the conditioner that removed the majority of the dirt . I've never seen a leather cleaner that you use with water ? If it was an APC , yeah , it would be watered down .

I too followed the instructions on the back of the Gliptone bottle of cleaner, a few years back when I first tackled leather seats. It says to run over the seats with a damp cloth. First try the seats were not damp enough to foam up the cleaner and it did bugger all. Second time around, I used a wet cloth first, rather than a damp cloth. Then a soft brush, followed by a wipe down and that removed a lot of grime in comparison to just a damp cloth. It foamed up in a similar fashion to the pictures above from Kev, which was then wiped off, containing the grime/grease.

 

[Scrooge]

I use a swissvax brush to clean my leather, microfibres require far too much effort, I'm yet to use my AF hide to comment on that yet though.