Leather is beloved by customers shopping in the furniture and vehicle sectors for many reasons. It’s durable, often more so than regular fabrics like cotton, and easy to clean as long as you have the appropriate cleaning materials. Plus, there’s the level of premium quality you get with leather materials that few others can match.
The combination of these factors is why you chose leather seats for your car.
However, a material being more durable than others doesn’t make it invincible. Here, we highlight the signs that a car’s leather seats are in bad shape, what some dealerships do to hide these signs, and how car seat detail cleaning service in Chandler AZ can help you restore leather seats that are in bad shape.
The Signs That Leather Seats Are in Bad Shape
Let’s start with the signs – each of the following shows you that your leather car seats have seen better days.
Sign 1 – Fading
Leather is a natural material made from animal skins and hides. That means it contains natural oils – much like your own skin – which contribute to its luxurious feel. However, those oils, or rather the lack of them, can also become a problem. The oils in leather are sensitive to changing temperatures and exposure to certain elements, which leads to them fading or otherwise discoloring your leather seats. So, fading is a sign that something’s going wrong with your leather.
The Cause:
Leather fading can be caused by long-term exposure to ultraviolet light – which is generated by the sun – or by excessive use of your car’s air conditioning (AC) system. Try to keep your car parked in the shade when you’re not driving and only use the AC when you absolutely need it.
Sign 2 – Cracks and Tears
Cracks are the most common physical indicator that your leather seats are in bad shape. We can also throw scratches into the mix, as they present similarly troubling signs. Both are problems. Any splits in your leather seats create breeding grounds for bacteria. According to Safety + Health Magazine, there are between 300 and 650 bacteria on the average driver’s seat alone. Imagine those microscopic miscreants getting into your leather’s cracks and tears, along with dust and food particles, and you see why they’re such a major issue.
The Cause:
Normal wear and tear can lead to leather cracking up, especially if your car has faux or non-premium leather seats. Age, the constant friction between your body and the seat, and scratches due to nails and sharp objects scraping against the leather can also cause tears.
Sign 3 – Peeling
Though similar to cracking and tearing, peeling is when the top layer of your car seat leather starts separating from the layers below. It’s a particular problem when the vehicle manufacturer uses bonded leather. Think of this as the particle board of the leather world. Bonded leather is made using recycled scraps of leather from other sources, delivering a mishmash of leather that can be more prone to peeling.
The Cause:
Beyond the potential use of bonded leather, the chief cause of leather seat peeling is dryness. Again, leather is made using real animal skin. Like skin, it needs to maintain a certain level of moisture, or else it starts to deteriorate.
The Tricks Dealerships Do to Hide Worn Leather Seats
Let’s move on to a tricky subject – buying a car with leather seats from a dealership. Trust is an issue there. Most Americans don’t trust car dealerships to be transparent. Those fears usually relate to pricing – 76% of car buyers say they don’t trust dealerships to give them full pricing details. Now, we’re not saying you should automatically distrust a dealership. However, beyond this lack of price transparency, some dealerships use clever tricks to hide the fact that a car’s leather seats are in bad shape.
Be wary of any of the following issues:
- Leather seats look too good for being an older vehicle which means the dealthership most likely pasted a cheap dye or protectant on the seats
- Covers placed over a car’s leather seats that hide them from view
- Dealers who don't give you ample time to poke around in the vehicle’s interior
- A “wet” look on the seats that suggests the dealer has applied a cleanser or paint (dye) to give the impression the leather seats are in excellent shape
- The car being kept away from any light that helps you see the seats clearly
How Auto Detailing Can Preserve Your Leather Seats
You now know what can cause leather seats to end up in bad shape. Your next question is simple – what (if anything) can be done to solve the problem of worn leather seats?
The unfortunate answer, at least in extreme cases, is that it may be too late for your leather seats. That’s especially the case if there are large tears and the leather is so discolored that it looks nothing like it originally did. In these cases, replacement of the leather or having a specialized car detailer restore the leather seats with new protectant and conditioning to bring the life back to your seats.
However, a detailer can help with seats that are on their way to being in bad shape but haven’t crossed a certain threshold. Little tricks they use to restore leather seats include:
- Utilizing a good leather cleaner to safely remove the dirt, oil, and stains that may be causing discoloration. This is a great solution for faded leather that doesn’t contain cracks or tears.
- Moisturizing the leather with baby oil or olive oil, along with a clean cloth. This is more of a homebrew solution, but it’s one you can use in a pinch to prevent the drying that leads to leather peeling.
- Applying a leather restoration kit, which is the best option if your seats have cracks and tears or the seats current bonding agent is no longer adhering to the seats. These repair kits combine filler and an adhesive, along with colorants, to bind the leather back together and restore it to its previous glory.
All is not lost if your car seat leather has seen better days. With the right car detailing services, you can restore seats that are in bad condition. Combine that restoration with preventative measures – such as keeping your car out of the sun and ensuring the leather is moist – and your leather seats can last for many years.
