[togwt]

Originally Posted by Pats300zx

I use it 6:1. Its a great cleaner. I personally don't use it on carpets but more for simple interior cleaning.

I don't like to use Woolite on carpets as the the agitation required to clean produces a lot of foam that's hard to clean off (prefer Folex for hand cleaning carpets)

Leather Cleaning

Leather brush - this is a palm pump type design, so you can pour the cleaning solution in the handle. Simply pour your favorite interior upholstery cleaner in the dispenser and push down on the rubber lid. The pressure activates a miniature pump which forces the liquid out to the bristles. The brush's thick, soft bristles are flagged (puffed) so it will not scratch delicate leather Top of the Line Auto Detailing Supplies.

Methodology- 1.Use a soft brush to remove any dust or grit from the seams and vacuum the seating areas dust
2.Apply a cleaning solution of distilled water /Woolite® or Dreft® 6:1 ratio or higher with a palm pump type brush or a double mesh woven micro fibre, made to be safe and scratch-free for all leather and vinyl finishes - poorboysworld.com
2a. Using a sponge, apply a small amount of Leather Master™ Soft or Strong Cleaner as necessary and gently agitate it until it foams, then remove with a damp micro fibre cloth
3. Apply to one area at a time (i.e. a seat back). To remove stubborn dirt or grime gently agitate the surface with a boar's hair cleaning brush (this will not harm the leather) then use a clean, damp Micro fibre towel to rinse.

[togwt]

Originally Posted by Grouse

IMHO one should always strive to find dedicated products for the application/ process you are working on.

Woolite has a number of issues that do not lend to long term quality care of interior car parts and components.

Despite what people say i can still get it to fluoresce with a black light. That means it has uv brighteners. This can lead to premature UV degradation in areas that need protection from UV. IE dash, plastics, leather.

On top of that you are applying a detergent that is meant to be rinsed fully. IE flush rinsed. into a situation where it is not flush rinsed. As it dry's it will re attract dirt. Because that is what detergents are designed to do. This can over a period of a few details lead to rapid resoiling with some pretty nasty effects.

Leather does not react well to wet products. Water is the fastest way to "dry" out the leather of it's natural oils and tannins. making it slick and stiff. When using woolite, yes even on coated or protected, you speed up this process. The leather will look clean, but it will become dry and brittle aiding in the creasing and cracking.

my 2 cents in a world of 20 dollar bills.

1. On top of that you are applying a detergent that is meant to be rinsed fully. IE flush rinsed. into a situation where it is not flush rinsed. As it dry's it will re attract dirt. Because that is what detergents are designed to do. This can over a period of a few details lead to rapid resoiling with some pretty nasty effects.

As a supplement to that great info-
Household detergent soaps tend to be formulated with a sodium sulphate to enable foaming, this salt content may not be safe to use on leather upholstery, as this can compromise pigmented leather and / or its polyurethane covering.

2. Leather does not react well to wet products. Water is the fastest way to "dry" out the leather of it's natural oils and tannins. making it slick and stiff. When using woolite, yes even on coated or protected, you speed up this process. The leather will look clean, but it will become dry and brittle aiding in the creasing and cracking.


Would you expand on this "Water is the fastest way to "dry" out the leather of it's natural oils and tannins. making it slick and stiff. "

My take -The complex tanning process of chromed tanned hide’s results in the fat liquoring and oils necessary to keep the hide soft and pliable being locked in and therefore there is no need to supplement them.

[Grouse]

Originally Posted by togwt

1. On top of that you are applying a detergent that is meant to be rinsed fully. IE flush rinsed. into a situation where it is not flush rinsed. As it dry's it will re attract dirt. Because that is what detergents are designed to do. This can over a period of a few details lead to rapid resoiling with some pretty nasty effects.

As a supplement to that great info-
Household detergent soaps tend to be formulated with a sodium sulphate to enable foaming, this salt content may not be safe to use on leather upholstery, as this can compromise pigmented leather and / or its polyurethane covering.

2. Leather does not react well to wet products. Water is the fastest way to "dry" out the leather of it's natural oils and tannins. making it slick and stiff. When using woolite, yes even on coated or protected, you speed up this process. The leather will look clean, but it will become dry and brittle aiding in the creasing and cracking.


Would you expand on this "Water is the fastest way to "dry" out the leather of it's natural oils and tannins. making it slick and stiff. "

My take -The complex tanning process of chromed tanned hide’s results in the fat liquoring and oils necessary to keep the hide soft and pliable being locked in and therefore there is no need to supplement them.

To the best of my knowledge water displaces those fats and oils. That is what makes it stiff. When the water has dried the leather shrinks. Remember oj's glove? wet leather shrinks. and once it has shrunk it can only gain a small percentage of that lost size back. The shrinking of the leather also closes the open spaces in the leather. This makes it harder for the new fats, oils, conditioners to be absorbed.

[sneek]

Originally Posted by P1et

This is some good info, thanks for posting!

PS: I still hate doing interiors!!!

+1
I hate interiors. I try as much as possible to avoid them.

[krshultz]

I tried a roughly 1:4 mix of Woolite to distilled water when cleaning the interior of my beater, a 1989 CRX Si. I found it to be pretty ineffective, if I'm honest. The dash, door panels and other plastic bits had been neglected on this car for many years. Don't misunderstand, the Woolite did do something - just nothing more than I think an equal amount of scrubbing with some glass cleaner would have accomplished.

I didn't try it on the floormats though. I ended up just throwing those away and replacing them with some Costco rubber all-weather mats anyway. Very nearly a perfect fit on that old car too.

What I ended up with is a "bug and tar" sponge and some Einszett Cockpit Premium. The mesh around the sponge helped loosen up any stuck-on gunk, and the 1Z stuff just left everything nice and clean and dry. And I figured I wouldn't have to worry about any detergent residue being left behind using the 1Z stuff.

Originally Posted by P1et

PS: I still hate doing interiors!!!

Heh...it's actually one of my favorite parts, especially on that old CRX. Made sitting in the car a lot more pleasurable.

	1Z Einszett Products

[togwt]

Originally Posted by Grouse

To the best of my knowledge water displaces those fats and oils. That is what makes it stiff. When the water has dried the leather shrinks. Remember oj's glove? wet leather shrinks. and once it has shrunk it can only gain a small percentage of that lost size back. The shrinking of the leather also closes the open spaces in the leather. This makes it harder for the new fats, oils, conditioners to be absorbed.

The statement ‘water dries out leather’ I contest because leather once it’s been tanned has fats and oils (part of the tanning process called - fat liquoring) sealed in by the finishing process, it is then pigmented (with a water-based paint) and then further ‘sealed’ with a polyurethane covering.

Using water and soap to clean will not ‘dry-out leather (you are not cleaning leather but its covering) I will concede that detergent soap that is not rinsed away will dry out a surface due to the dried soaps capillary action with moisture, this will be further aggravated if the detergent contains a foaming surfactant as these are generally formulated with sodium.

[Bunky]

I had read that Ivory Snow is very similar to Woolite (mild ph balanced soap,, clean rinsing) at a lower cost.

[Grouse]

Originally Posted by togwt

The statement ‘water dries out leather’ I contest because leather once it’s been tanned has fats and oils (part of the tanning process called - fat liquoring) sealed in by the finishing process, it is then pigmented (with a water-based paint) and then further ‘sealed’ with a polyurethane covering.

Using water and soap to clean will not ‘dry-out leather (you are not cleaning leather but its covering) I will concede that detergent soap that is not rinsed away will dry out a surface due to the dried soaps capillary action with moisture, this will be further aggravated if the detergent contains a foaming surfactant as these are generally formulated with sodium.

I am talking about leathers in general, suede, aniline dyed, protected. It's been 6 years or so since i have taken a leather class through the IICRC. I have signed up for one on the 25th of march here in Seattle.

The last training i attended, was pretty adamant that excess water moisture will cause the leather to dry out. This was reinforced when i took the leather masters training. Which is why they use a low moisture method of cleaning the leather.

Take for example a set of boots, work boots. Chrome tanned. scuffed up and worn. as they get wet they get stiff. You have to keep them cleaned and conditioned. I see what you are saying about protected leathers. But not every car has protected leathers. 40% of the cars i do are aniline dyed.

[togwt]

Originally Posted by Grouse

I am talking about leathers in general, suede, aniline dyed, protected. It's been 6 years or so since i have taken a leather class through the IICRC. I have signed up for one on the 25th of march here in Seattle.

The last training i attended, was pretty adamant that excess water moisture will cause the leather to dry out. This was reinforced when i took the leather masters training. Which is why they use a low moisture method of cleaning the leather.

Take for example a set of boots, work boots. Chrome tanned. scuffed up and worn. as they get wet they get stiff. You have to keep them cleaned and conditioned. I see what you are saying about protected leathers. But not every car has protected leathers. 40% of the cars i do are aniline dyed.

Point taken...thanks for the imput

[Grouse]

I am curious to see how the new IICRC training compares to the one i had years ago. The reason i signed up for the training was your posts. I put a lot of weight into what you have to say. you have given me some things to think about and research, so off to class i go.

	AGO Auto Geek Online (forum)