Hi folks,
Dave’s given me a nudge.
I don’t know everything about leather, and I haven’t tried every product out there, but after selling Leatherique for 14 years I’ve come to believe in a few things.
Luo, as Bertie says, I would continue soaking the leather. Very dry leather is slow to absorb, as it needs some moisture in it for the conditioner to move through. It’s like a dry chamois, when dry you can blast the hose right at it and it won’t absorb, but once wet it absorbs well.
As Nick says, the previous owner may have used products with wax or silicone in them. These clog the pores, and repel the very emollients you want absorbed. It’s like putting on rubber gloves, then trying to apply hand cream. If when you apply the Softener, it beads up like oil on water, you have found the problem. A quick wipe with isopropyl alcohol can remove the silicone. A quick wipe only, or you may dissolve colour.
Vaseline is a petroleum product which Leatherique believes is wrong, because with its lubricating qualities, it allows the fibres to separate, rather than bind. All the best leather conditioners are animal-fat based, and contain protein, collagen, elastin, fat and moisture; just what cattle have naturally. Watch out though, lots of products add wax or silicone as a water repellent intended for saddles and army boots. Beeswax is added to lanolin for saddle soap for example. For indoor use, this is discouraged.
Leatherique and Color Plus sell very similar products. I believe they were affiliated years ago.
I’ve never used a garbage bag on the seats, so I can’t comment, however I did have a customer try it and had the writing come off the bag onto the seat! So use a bag without writing.
Lou, let us know how it goes.
Cheers,
Rob