Alcohol Stains on Leather Seats

[Simon777]

I had some hard to get out marks on my tan leather seats so I decided to gently rub 70% alcohol on them. The marks came out, but where I rubbed the alcohol, the area is now white.

How do I go about getting rid of these white spots on my tan leather?

[Simon777]

Re: Alcohol Stains on Leather Seats

I put some meguiar's cleaner and conditioner on the spots and they did improve, but its still very noticable. Would keeping them in the sun darken the white spots?

[Simon777]

Re: Alcohol Stains on Leather Seats



They are mild stains so I'm hoping there's something I can do about it.

[Simon777]

Re: Alcohol Stains on Leather Seats

If anyone knows anything about fixing leather, I could really use your advice.

[Simon777]

Re: Alcohol Stains on Leather Seats

In case this helps, the tiny creases(pores? not sure what you call them) on the alcohol spots seemed to have been completely cleansed and have no dirt in them(this is really noticable in the first picture with the stain in the upper left corner). If you look at the surrounding areas, it looks dirtier than the areas with alcohol.

If this is the case, is there really no stain? Just that the stained areas are actually just cleaner than the surrounding areas. If so, is there a product I can use to clean the surrounding areas making them the same as the spots cleaned with alcohol.

I used meguiar's rich leather cleaner and conditioner and this was not strong enough to get the grime out of the tiny creases(pores?).

Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated.

[roushstage2]

Re: Alcohol Stains on Leather Seats

I was going to say, those look like clean spots, not stains. It wouldn't even be a stained area, just a clean area. You may need to get a dedicated cleaner and a brush. An APC properly diluted is a good option, and inexpensive considering the dilution of it. A softer nylon brush is what you will be looking for as well. Spray the leather down, let it soak a minute, scrub, wipe with a damp, clean towel and repeat until clean.

[Murr1525]

Re: Alcohol Stains on Leather Seats

Yeah, frankly the areas could just be clean. Are those white marks exactly where you rubbed? Or did you clean the whole surface?

I would either:

1. Try more of the leather cleaner/conditioner. Definately want the conditioner after using alcohol either way.

2. You could try more of a 20-30 dilution of alcohol for the rest of the seat, see if it evens things out. Then condition heavily again.

[Simon777]

Re: Alcohol Stains on Leather Seats

Just to be less agressive, I'll try the APC with a nylon brush. If that doesn't work, I'll give the diluted alcohol a shot. Thank you both. I'll let you all know how it worked out.

[Tim Lingor]

Re: Alcohol Stains on Leather Seats

Morning,

When you used alcohol, did you notice any color transfer to your application material??

Otherwise, I would try to clean the leather to see if it is indeed a clean spot or if the color has been removed...

Tim

[Tim Lingor]

Re: Alcohol Stains on Leather Seats

I would either:

2. You could try more of a 20-30 dilution of alcohol for the rest of the seat, see if it evens things out. Then condition heavily again.

Morning,

I would strongly encourage you not to use more alcohol until we know if it has actually stripped the color out of the leather. Though leather is tough in most respects, it can be easily damaged beyond repair. Having to replace one or both seats would be extremely expensive!

I would suggest using a dedicated leather cleaner. If that does not solve the problem, I would then contact a leather specialty shop and see what they suggest. While many OEM leather seats are coated, I am concerned that the color may have been pulled out of the leather. It may very well be just a clean spot and I truly hope it is. But until you test the seat with a dedicated leather cleaner, I would not use anymore alcohol.

Tim

[Simon777]

Re: Alcohol Stains on Leather Seats

I went to O'Reilly's and the guy there was really nice. He opened up a box of turtle wax interior ice and told me to go out into the parking lot and try it out. I tried it on a spot and all the grime melted right off the seat. They look brand new now.

He said I could mess with a nylon brush and APC, but using ICE is a lot less messier since you use a microfiber towel. Meguiar's rich leather cleaner worked great for my black leather, but for white, I guess I just needed something a little stronger.

Thanks to everyone for helping me get a starting point for this problem.