Leather treatment, shiny steering wheel and cracking seat

humps

A2OC Donor
While my own seats are not cracking yet, there is a car I'm planning to buy which has great exterior spoiled by shiny leather steering wheel and door handles with the driver side leather seat cracking. My A2's leather wheel is also getting very shiny too so I'd want to fix it as well.

For the shiny leather parts, has anyone got good tips to get that original matte finish back? I've searched the 'net and it appears the mildly abrasive Magic Sponge or Gliptone treatment are options.

What about cracks? Has anyone tried to repair with either a filler type treatment or re-hydrating treatment?
 
while baby lotion is a good cheap conditioner, it doesn't help getting the oil/grease from hand out of the steering wheel. Seats are usually touched by clothing but door handles and steering is by bare hands.

If anyone has used Gliptone dye, they don't have A2 leathers listed, do A2 leather colours match other Audi models? I'm considering a colour touch-in on the crease lines.
 
saddle soap? I use this along with some other stuff from the horsey end of the world on pretty much any and all leather (and there's lots of it in our house, starting with shoes and jackets and the sofa)....can't remember the brand off-hand, though.

Bret

Edith says: Carr & Day & Martin may be pretty good, ours is Effax (German).
 
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I am using Gliptone Leather Cleaner and Conditioner and I am satisfied. You can feel the difference after leather has been treated and I am treating it every two months (especially during winter when it is really cold). Also it is not so expensive.
If the cracks are already large, you will have to repair it by specialized company (usually not cheap), since all these products can't make a miracle. Prevention (proper care) is much better in this case than repair, but sadly many owners do not understand that. With my A2 the leather is almost perfect (thx to proper care by previous owner), the same with 12 year Peugeot 306 Cabrio that is also in the family also. On the other hand, I have seen some 6 year old cars with leather cracks :(.

Piece of advise: check the price for repair and just deduct it from the price of the car. This could teach current owner that you have to take care of leather to.
 
I too am annoyed by shiny leather steering wheel especially when the little central spokes retain that new look.
I have just tried something a little strange but it appears to have had no ill effects and has returned my perforated flat bottomed mfsw( a skipton retrofit!) to almost brand new.
The stuff was swarfega brake and clutch cleaner.
Here's what i did:
1) spray some of the swarfega brake and clutch cleaner onto a clean rag. I used a pair of old leggings from my daughter
2) tested it on leather handle of hand brake, wiping all around the shiny leather
3) watched and waited for my leather to blister discolour etc.

Well leather seemed ok so idid it on the wheel and gear knob, everything seems ok
I also did it on my wifes a4 steering wheel but only half way along just enough to annoy( ha ha shouldnt have nentioned it should she? )

I'll take a couple of snaps and load up for people to see. Difference pre and post in real life is significant and as it evaporates quickly cant stay around long enough to cause damage. Thats what im hoping anyway. Pics up shortly



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you can see on pic 2 how left hand side of steering wheel remind shiny
pic 3 ger knob is matt now rather than shiny
 
Wow, that seems a little unexpected to use brake and clutch cleaner on leather! Glad you have some results.

I actually forgot to update this thread after some positive results. I had walked past a pound shop and bought the magic eraser (sponge). As described by a few results from googling, you wet the sponge and scrub on the leather. I was extremely sceptical as the sponge is simply a piece of non-reactive dense foam! To my total surprise, it worked well. The shine is gone and leather turned back to matte and soft to the touch. The wheel, gear knob and handbrake cover all done in 15 minutes with a small cut of the big sponge. I then turned to the front seats. Impressed, only 50p + water spent. I still have 1/2 the pack of sponge left. Just watch out excessive water dripping into any buttons if you have multi-function steering wheel.

I took macro pictures of the leather before / after and found that it removed a lot of surface dirt and grease but some deep ingrained dirt remains. I think those can be cleaned by the pro stuff in Spike's link above (interesting stuff). I from there, I think this is how it works (other please correct as I'm only guessing). The dense foam has very mild abrasive properties to scrub surface dirt, using water and capillary effect to suck dirt into the sponge. The sponge quickly became dark with all the dirt. Grease was also scrubbed away and possibly similar capillary action 'sucked' away the non-soluble oils.

Wipe down with dry towel. Then I applied the usual leather moisturiser / maintenance cream. It is not as matte but not shiny by any means. And I believe it will stop the leather drying out if the sponge had removed any natural oil from the leather. I'll try to post pictures when I have time. But well worth the little money spent.
 
I use leather soap from a horsey place. Motorbike leathers, car interiors. Brilliant . PH neutral. Rub on with a damp sponge and let it do its stuff. Followed up with some leather dressing.

Edit: They're German products from a manufacturer called' Stubben' - online UK sales HERE (no affiliation BTW!).
 
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When I'm detailing a car with a leather interior I use stuff called Zaino #9 and #10. Also baby wipes are good for getting off any marks if in an emergency. My dad has a light beige coloured leather in his Audi A4 Cabrriolet and I regularly clean it and most importantly "feed" it with Zaino #10 as leather has to be kept nourished as it will dry and crack as it is a living product-especially as they have the hood down when abroad and the sun can dry it out
 
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