Leather used in making upholstery, clothing or shoes, almost always has a water-repellent coating. This is often associated with a dye to change the natural color of the leather.
In some luxury cars (e.g. Mercedes) the coating may be polyurethane-based and very durable.. In most other cases (especially leather clothing and shoes,, it is like a lacquer and very sensitive to damage by solvents, or even our cleansers used without water dilution.
SILKENSEAL™ is recommended to protect all new or cleaned leather goods against stains, water and mildew. This product also has sufficient detergent content to be used for mild cleaning, while leaving a durable "plastic skin" protectlve coating.
For more strenuous cleaning of grimy surfaces, and at the owners risk, a water-diluted ISLAND GIRL® Cleanser may be used. We recommend use of ISLAND GIRL Pink™ with copious diiution (at least 1:100 to start). An unobtrusive area should always be tested first, slowly increasing the amount of cleanser, used as necessary. The product should be used very carefully, applied on a small wad of white paper towel with gentle rubbing. Carefully observe for dirt coming up into the paper towel and look for any color transfer that indicates removal of the surface coating. If this happens, IMMEDIATELY neutralize the the cleanser by wiping over with water and then towel dry. Finally, Seal the surface with a coating of SILKENSEAL™.
Future cleaning can then be done with SILKENSEAL™ , alone or use VERY diluted ISLAND GIRL Pink™, since the surface is now protected by the durable "plastic skin" of SILKENSEAL™
For surface mildew removal, we have used water-diluted NEUTRAL CLEAR™ in a similar way to that described above since this product does have a mildew inhibitor in its formulation. Again, the surface is sealed with SILKENSEAL™.
Note: Leather has to be kept supple, otherwise is can become dried out and brittle. Use of a good "leather food" is recommended. For mildew removal & prevention on cloth, you CANNOT use bleach, but Lysol® Spray can be used.
1966 Convertible GTO, restored 7 years previously, Leather upholstery sealed from new with SILKENSEAL™
