Getting ready for the Annual Meet

[briang9]

Originally Posted by moltuae

Yeah, I don't know what Woollies were thinking. I'm sure it's ok on darker colours but it definitely leaves a blue tint on lighter leather.

I've used a few different leather cleaners. I think most will probably do a better job than Woollies leather cleaner but Dr Leather was what I used this time:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007KARWZE/

When I've used the Woollies' kit in the past, I've always followed the instructions to the letter and had similar disappointing patchy results.

So this time I figured I'd try a shoe-polishing type of technique. I bought a couple of soft shoe polish brushes and used the first one to gently scrub the surface clean, using leather cleaner and wiping off a few times with a clean microfibre cloth. Once it was clean and dry, I applied Woollies' dye to the other brush and gently massaged it in, covering large areas and repeatedly moving the brush around all areas until it had started to soak in a dry a little. I left it to dry for an hour or two then repeated the process to apply another couple of coats, until it looked even. Once it was dry, I gently buffed it with a microfibre cloth then carefully applied the sealing paste. The next day, I finished off with some Auto Glym Leather Care Balm.

I think the problem with Woollies' recommended technique is that the dye doesn't always adhere very well. They do stress the importance of getting the leather thoroughly clean to allow the dye to adhere/soak better but I don't think you can get leather properly clean by wiping it with cloths and the same goes for applying the dye. Whenever I've followed their recommendations, using cloths to apply the dye, no matter how long I leave it to dry or how carefully I apply the sealing paste, it always seems to wipe off again and end up patchy. Perhaps on more porous leathers their technique works well, but the A/S8 seat leather seems to respond better to a brushing.

There is an easier way, get a black interior