Keeping Your Leather Minter Than a New One

Never, ever work on hot leather. If the car's been sitting in the sun, open the doors and let it cool down. If the leather is hot, your cleaner will flash off (evaporate) too fast and leave streaks.

Remove the kid's car seats, the gym bags, and that pile of servo receipts from the centre console. You need full access to every inch of the leather.

Use the crevice tool to go deep into the folds of the seats. This is where sand and grit hide. If you leave it there and start scrubbing, you're basically using sandpaper on your seats.

Take a dry microfibre and wipe down all the leather surfaces to remove loose dust. This prevents you from just moving mud around once you add the liquid cleaner.

Find an inconspicuous spot (like the low side of the headrest or under the seat) and test your cleaner. Make sure it doesn't pull any dye. Rare, but it happens on older or poorly repaired seats.

Don't spray the cleaner directly onto the seat. Spray it onto your horsehair brush. This prevents 'spotting' and gives you better control.

Start with the driver's seat bolster, it's usually the dirtiest. Work in a small 30x30cm area at a time.

Use circular motions with the brush. You're not trying to scrub the skin off a drum; you're just letting the bristles work the cleaner into the grain to lift the oils and dirt.

Before the cleaner dries, use a fresh microfibre towel to wipe away the foam. You'll likely see a brown/grey residue. That's the sweat and dust leaving the building.

Clean leather should look matte or satin. If it’s still shiny, that’s body oil or old silicone-based 'protectant'. Hit it again until it looks natural.

Steering wheels get the most abuse. If yours is shiny and slippery, it's covered in hand oils. Use a bit more cleaner here and maybe a Scrub Ninja pad, but be gentle, the leather here is thin.

Once the whole seat is clean, take a slightly damp (with distilled water) microfibre and wipe it all down to ensure no cleaning residue remains.

Let the leather air dry for about 10-15 minutes. It needs to be bone dry before you apply the conditioner, otherwise, the moisture gets trapped.

Put a few pea-sized drops of conditioner onto your foam or microfibre applicator. Massage it into the pad so it's evenly distributed.

Apply the conditioner in thin, even coats. Use a circular motion. Think of it like putting moisturizer on your own skin, you don't need a thick layer, just enough to be absorbed.

Make sure you get a bit of product into the stitching. This is often where the leather starts to tear first because the thread dries out and cuts through the hide.

Give the conditioner about 20 minutes to 'soak' in. This is when the oils (if it's a nourishing balm) or the polymers (if it's a sealant) bond to the surface.

Take a clean, dry microfibre and buff the entire seat. This removes any excess product that didn't soak in. If you skip this, the seat will be slippery and will actually attract more dust.

Run your hand over the leather. It should feel soft and 'grippy' but not greasy. If it feels like a slip-and-slide, you've used too much product or didn't buff it enough.