Not sure what the original color was supposed to be but started going at the seats in my new old Jag with my Leather Doctor Kit. Got ahead of myself and didn't test for color-fastness and did the whole drivers seat (a little). Here's pictures... Kept going with the center of the seat/ top panel to see how it would turn out. Am I takin away color - how do I tell - if I am what to do next? If (as I hope) I'm just taking off 17 years worth of grime - any tips on how to make it easier?
Make sure you keep turning the cloth and not just rubbing the dirt in, wet cloth and apc should do it.
You mention Leather Dr. kit; doesn't it come with a Leather Cleaner ? Are you using that ? I would only want to use either Steam (which is also dangerous, and doesnt always get everything out), or a PH correct cleaner. I am not sure what the PH of who knows whose APC you are using, is... I like to Steam leather first, and if it still doesn't look right, I like to use Zaino Leather Cleaner which I brush in, and use white towels to wipe off. Sometimes, I still get more dirt out of the Leather and thats why I like to use white towels, cause you know when you are not getting anymore dirt out.. Looks like the color is a Saddle Tan color or something, - if you are using a white towel, you should be able to tell if you are removing color or not from the Leather. It the towel is the exact color of the cleaned leather, then its probably taking off the color, you think ? The close-up picture you posted, the left side of the seat looks like the right color, the right side of it looks like its still full of dirt, etc... Good luck ! Dan F
It doesn't really look like you're taking the color off (I've seen the before), just looks like you're removing a lot of dirt. If you start seeing the color come off on your rag, then you're removing something you shouldn't be. I'd just use a toothbrush, cleaner and a micro fiber. It's just going to take a lot of patience and some gentle scrubbing to get it all off. Have fun!
This is a copy and paste reply from the other forum... A faster Prep-7.7 application is by foam brushing, follows with horsehair Brush-1 agitation and leave it to dwell till the next day. Then follow up with Cleaner-3.8 agitation into the creases and in between the grains with towel extraction. Next is the Rinse-3.0 to a healthy squeaky clean. You can show us some pictures thereafter... Roger Koh
Older Jaguar leather upholstery is 'natural' (uncovered) leather. Leather Master™ Rapid S Cleaner - a concentrated cleaner specifically designed for Automotive Leather that has accumulated dirt, soil, and dye transfer and body oils. Clean the surface of the seats, steering wheel, and gear shift easily to restore the original appearance. Dispense foam onto the surface. Work foam into the surface with a dampened sponge or medium soft brush. Allow to sit for one minute and wipe the foam away with a clean cotton towel or soft paper towel. Protect with Protection Cream once dry. Once the stubborn, old, built up soil and dirt is removed, Soft or Strong Cleaner may be used for regular maintenance.
Togwt, What are the likely side effects we need to be aware off, when using such high pH 9.5 - 10 products mentioned especially on natural (uncovered) leather - as leather average pH value is universally known to be between 3 and 5? Roger Koh
An alkaline cleaner (hand soap has a pH of between 9.0 – 10.0) is used to clean most materials used in an automobile interior, including finished leather (leather is acidic by nature). Cleaning products use surfactants and other additives (such as water softeners) so its pH is not the only criteria used (i.e. a neutralized acid wheel cleaner has a pH of 7.0, so if pH is the only criteria it should be safe to use this product on anything as pH 7 is neutral) Another reason for my non-reliance of pH values when selecting products is the use of a buffer solution , this is an aqueous solution consisting of a mixture of a weak acid and its conjugate base or a weak base and its conjugate acid, Citric acid is a useful component of a buffer mixture. It has the property that the pH of the solution changes very little when a small amount of strong acid or base is added to it. Buffer solutions are used as a means of keeping pH at a nearly constant value in a wide variety of chemical applications. If memory serves (and at my age this may or may not be the case) Connolly used solid pigments which were subsequently mixed with cellulose liquid as their leather finish. On my Father’s Jag collection we used to used Connolly Hide Food but when the company went into liquidation we switched products (Leatherequi, Leather Master, etc)
