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My name is Dan and I'm brand new to the forum. I have been using only Meguiar's on my cars for years now. I just recently purchased a new Jeep Grand Cherokee. I'm obsessively clean about my Jeep and because of this, I have a major problem that I'm desperately looking for input on. I purchased my Jeep out-of-state so when my plates came in, I used a razor and rubbing alcohol to remove the registration sticker from the front window. After I had done this, I was looking at something on my back seat and a drop of sweat from my forehead dripped on the middle backseat cushion. Without thinking, I used the same microfiber rag with the rubbing alcohol on it to wipe up the sweat. When I looked at the rag, there was black on it. My car is immaculate and only a month old so I knew that it wasn't dirt. I immediately freaked. Hours later I went outside to look at the spot and while all of the rest of the interior leather is a matte black, this spot was shiny black. I've been doing hours of research online and it seems that I most likely wiped the protective polyurethane coating from the seat. How screwed am I? Is there anything I can do to fix this? Somehow replace the polyurethane coating? I can't believe I did this. I even looked on the Mopar website and am considering buying a new leather cover for $500 and replacing the one I messed up. Man o man.
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Re: I'm new and I'm desperate for help!
You would be surprised how dirty leather can get even if the car is one month old. You also have to consider how long the car was on the lot prior to your purchasing it. The coating is pretty durable.
More than likely you removed a layer of dirt unless the leather has been dyed. Wipe the seat down with a damp microfiber. -
Re: I'm new and I'm desperate for help!
We would be surprised as well if you removed the coating with a simply swipe of rubbing alcohol. Can you post some pictures so we can take a look at what you are working with?Nick Winn
Product & Training Specialist | Meguiar's Online Forum Administrator
Meguiar's Inc.
Irvine, CA
nawinn@meguiars.comComment
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Re: I'm new and I'm desperate for help!
Usually removing the protective coating would do the opposite, make a formerly shiny surface dull not a dull surface shiny. I would try so Meg's ultimate leather balm around the spot you cleaned with the alcohol rag to see if the new cleaned/treated spot becomes shiny or dull after words.
youtube "ammo best interior detailing tricks" for a quick tutorial of what dirty/clean leather looks like.Comment
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Re: I'm new and I'm desperate for help!
Hey guys, thanks for the replies. I also emailed Nicholas because I was so desperate for help. He asked that I post some pictures and he would reply in the thread so others could learn. I just went outside and snapped the below pic. I also replied to others post above so you can have more info.
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Re: I'm new and I'm desperate for help!
Yeah I thought about. I really like the non-greasy look of factory interior so I've always wiped my interiors down with Windex just to clean it. I know, I use Windex for for too much. Since this happened, I've wiped my entire interior off with Windex a few times and saw absolutely nothing on the rag. And after wiping the entire interior off several times with Windex, the problem spot is still there.Originally posted by The Guz View Post
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Re: I'm new and I'm desperate for help!
Exactly. That's what I've read online. That it would make a dull spot on a shiny interior, but I guess not in my case.Originally posted by twisty roads View PostComment
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Re: I'm new and I'm desperate for help!
Sorry for screwing up the posts in this forum guys. This is my first time ever posting to a forum minus a few first posts on Jeep Garage last night so I'm trying to figure it out. It took me forever to try and resize the pics I took with my iPhone so the forum uploader would accept them.Comment
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Re: I'm new and I'm desperate for help!
The microfiber was placed over the top of a bottle of alcohol so I'm sure it had like a nickel size fairly wet spot from turning the bottle over. I didn't spray it on the rag so I'm sure it was pretty concentrated and wet in one area.Originally posted by Nicholas Winn View Post
I know it's super bad but I've always used Windex to clean my car interior. I like the factory matte look without the greasy look. I've wiped down all my previous leather interiors (Volvo S40, Benz CLS, Caddy DTS, Buick Verano) with Windex and never got any transfer, just very clean, so I figured it would be ok for the Jeep. I have since wiped it down a few times and have seen zero color transfer to my yellow microfiber, but the spot persists. That's why I'm thinking that I had to have wiped away the coating and maybe some dye since the rag was black when I hit it with the alcohol.
I was thinking of maybe trying the new Ultimate Leather Balm to blend the spot back in if anything, but it still irks me that I would have to do that a few times a year for the life of the car just to blend it in and not fix it. If I can't fix it, I saw on Mopar.com that I can buy the entire leather surface and swap it out for $500. I'm so OCD and this would bug me so much that I would do that if last resort, but man that would be a pain.Comment
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Re: I'm new and I'm desperate for help!
don't worry about it, this is what the forum is for.Originally posted by sarvdan View PostComment
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Re: I'm new and I'm desperate for help!
remember, leather has pores which open and close like pores on our skin. They need to be exfoliated and agitated from time to time. My neighbor has a '14 rubicon in black, which she off-roads with her son. She had a little incident with a rock and her front driver wheel. You would think she bent her rim if you heard her talk about the incident. But in fact, it was only a few scratches. Noticable... yes. She is going to buy a new wheel because it bugs her to no end. OCD is part of car detailing. But, it is also part of being passionate about your car. I would try the ultimate leather balm first, if not satisfied, use a steam cleaner (using a microfiber towel over the head of the steamer head)Comment
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Re: I'm new and I'm desperate for help!
Wipe with a damp soapy rag then dry. Everything should look uniform afterComment
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Re: I'm new and I'm desperate for help!
This is actually a really good idea. You could also use Gold Class Leather & Vinyl Cleaner (the dedicated cleaner, not the Cleaner/Conditioner) and spray it onto the seat surface then lightly agitate with a clean wash mitt. Treat with Gold Class Leather Conditioner or Ultimate Leather Balm and leave it at that. If the above remedies the situation, great. But if you seriously damaged that top coat with the alcohol (and since you were getting color transfer when doing it....well.....) then all the cleaning/conditioning in the world isn't going to fix things permanently.Originally posted by Flash Gordon View Post
Also, if you've already wiped down everything with Windex (and we won't even go there since you've already made comments about your use of that product on leather!!!) then to be totally honest, we aren't holding out a lot of hope for a "fix in a bottle" here.Michael Stoops
Senior Global Product & Training Specialist | Meguiar's Inc.
Remember, this hobby is supposed to be your therapy, not the reason you need therapy.
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