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How To Remove Denim Dye From Leather Seat?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by vela, Feb 24, 2010.

  1. vela

    vela New Member

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    Just yesterday I noticed some light blue discoloration on the outer edges of the driver and passenger seat Misty Gray leather. I assume this is from denim, even though my jeans are typically somewhat faded. I did a Google search and found a couple of products mentioned, but they were in the UK. Does anyone know of something I can find in the US?

    From what I read, it does seem that I should not try rubbing alcohol, but rather something to remove the dye, and then something to protect the leather in the future.

    Maybe I am expecting too much, but I am a little disappointed. My last car had bisque leather that never picked up any dye in the 18 years that I drove it. This car has just turned 3K miles. Oh well, otherwise I am very happy with it. Any advice will be appreciated.
     
  2. PriusLewis

    PriusLewis Management Scientist

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    Lexol makes a separate leather cleaner and leather conditioner. They are available in towelettes. I used this product for years on Italian, German and French cars.

    Lately I have changed to the ArmorAll leather towelettes. They are both a cleaner and a conditioner in one. I have good luck with them cleaning leather of all colors (my wife's Impala has almost white, pale gray leather, and it seems to get the stains pretty good). Make sure, though, that you buy the ArmorAll Leather cleaner, not the regular ArmorAll for vinyl. The vinyl treatment is not good for leather.
     
  3. Joe166

    Joe166 New Member

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    Good luck. This was a constant source of aggravation on the Ford Thunderbird forums I also go to when the cars were first introduced. Lots of suggestions, no answers.

    Denim blue stain is really hard to remove. The sooner the better and lots of luck too.

    This is not exclusive to our cars, but a common problem.
     
  4. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    Lexol is the way to go--I've been using it for decades--on my car interiors, and home office chair. Leather cleaner, followed by leather conditioner.
     
  5. vela

    vela New Member

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    Thanks, everyone. I will get to it soon and let you know what happens.
     
  6. rrolff

    rrolff Prius Surgeon

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    There's one easy cheap solution you can try - Folex (available in many hardware stores, Lowes, sometimes target, and sometimes the grocery store).

    We've used it on leather, and it worked.

    Edit:
    Use this before other treatments!

    As a side note, there is no other spot remover on the planet we have found that comes close (two dogs, 3 kids, 2 cats) for carpet... It's kinda magic...
     
  7. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    Just a curiosity question, not a flame:

    Why are you disappointed in the leather? Wouldn't it be more appropriate to be disappointed in the pants, since the dye came from the pants and was deposited on the seat?
     
  8. samsprius1

    samsprius1 HEV Fanatic

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    I had some printing ink on my pants got on my tan leather !Holy Sh!t
    Car was 5 days old, I used spray n wash with resolve and a micro fiber cloth It worked.

    Good luck
    Scott
     
  9. vela

    vela New Member

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    Well, I tried the Lexol and it seems to have done the trick. Whew! I bought the spray bottles, since the wipes weren't available. I'd say the dye is almost or maybe completely gone. I did catch the problem early, so maybe that helped, but I also think the Lexol worked very well. I will check it again tomorrow, and then apply the conditioner if everything still looks good.

    rrolf, oh yeah, I have heard of Folex just recently. Our carpet cleaner recommended it highly. Thanks for the suggestion. I will keep it in mind.

    dogfriend, no offense taken, and it is a good question. Maybe I should be disappointed in the pants. But I wore the same pants in my older car with no problem. Then again, maybe there would have been a problem in that car too, eventually. In any case, I am going to be even more careful in the future, since I would like to try to prevent a problem. Exactly how I will do that, I don't yet know, but I hope to figure it out.

    For now, there is a happy ending. My thanks to all who posted.
     
  10. PriusLewis

    PriusLewis Management Scientist

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    Follow the directions. Lexol is somewhat "sticky" and you have to let it soak and buff it if I remember. Don't sit on the seat until it is COMPLETELY DRY. Otherwise it seems to attract more dirt/stains. The Lexol should protect the leather to some extent, and should make any future stains easier to get out. Nice thing is it is not shiny and not slippery like ArmorAll on vinyl (if you've ever ArmorAlled a motorcycle seat, you know what I mean :eek: ). I would lightly clean the rest of the seats (even though they are new) and treat all the leather.
     
  11. vela

    vela New Member

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    Will do! And I am going to clean everything and then apply conditioner. Thanks for all the info.
     
  12. mindmachine

    mindmachine Member

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    Plain old saddle soap works and any leather goods store carries it maybe even walmart.
     
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  13. Joe166

    Joe166 New Member

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    I probably should just stay out of this, but I remember reading a couple of years ago that saddle soap was one of the worst things you could do to upholstery leather. Too much trouble for me, but maybe you could google saddle soap and see what you find.

    At the time I was cleaning my car and a belting leather Harrtmann suitcase and when I researched it I threw away my old can of saddle soap.
     
  14. PriusLewis

    PriusLewis Management Scientist

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  15. mgb4tim

    mgb4tim Noob

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    This from the Cadillac Forum,a nd many agreeed with the process...

    Take a CLEAN bucket and put in like a QUART of boiling water. (Boil it in the house in a big pot) & then put a bar of DOVE SOAP white in color, PLAIN, REGULAR DOVE SOAP, and pour the boiling water over the bar of soap. Then wait (sometimes over night) for the bar soap to totally melt in the water. when at least 85% melted, your gonna need a sponge. At the supermarket they sell a brand called O'CELLO or just CELLO .... it's a 2 or a 4 pack of small sized, (hand size) soft pliable easy to use sponges. BUY A PACK OF 4 (or 2) and while there buy 2 rolls of VIVA Paper towels MUST BE VIVA as they are the softest and have natural cotton fibre in them! Buy 2 rolls.

    Work small areas at a time, and BE NEAT ! Dip sponge into soapy water, wring out by hand and use a circular motion , like making "O" s Use a lifting motion and rinse out sponge in a 2nd bucket so that you are not putting dirt back into your soapy prepaired bucket. Keep repeating, until you are happy with the results.
    Use your Viva towels to rub off excess water and /or soapy water.
    When all done, you might want to dampen some Viva Towels and wipe them over what you have done, just to remove any left behind soap residue.
     
  16. SW03ES

    SW03ES Senior Member

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    Water & Woolite makes an excellent leather cleaner, 5:1 dilution. Better than Lexol IMHO.