Taking Care of Genuine Upholstery Leather

Several cars come with genuine leather seats, while a fraction with faux leather options that have varying durability depending on use.

Car brands such as Bentley, Porsche, Land Rovers, Volkswagen, Volvo, Mercedes, Lexus, Jaguar, Jeep, Citroen, Chrysler, Audi, BMW, Chery, Mazda and Chevrolet are leather interior dominated.

The common Toyota car models with genuine leather are mainly SUVs models such as Landcruiser v8, Landcruiser VX, Landcruiser Prado cousins like J120, J150 having TX as a popular and common name, Harrier, Hilux, FJ Cruiser, Fortuner, HiAce, Highlander, Hilux Surf  and Landcruiser Cygnus. A big percent of Toyota salon models come in fabric types of upholstery with few high specs having varying types of leather from genuine to the wide range synthetic leather types.

Nissan, another popular Kenyan brand, has a list crowded with their SUVs models that rival Toyotas’ like Nissan Patrol, X –Trail, Murano, Hard Body, Navara, Pathfinder and Qashqai. Nissan has also dominated leather seats across its various sedan types such as Tiida, Bluebird, Sylphy, Almera, Versa, Xterra, Skyline, Fuga and Dualis among other world favorite models.

Japan made Subaru and Mitsubishi have some of their car lines mixed or done purely with leather interiors. There is also a very wide range of covers that have had aftermarket interior upgraded where Stitched By Wash is a huge contributor. Besides upgrade, Stitched By Wash has also dominated the leather seats repair making your car get back the glossy original leather look.

Another common car manufacturer on Kenyan roads is Honda that is also leather dominated on its SUV trends such as CRV and CR-Z.

Most Shelly genuine upholstery leather is made from modified grain hides finished with a coloured topcoat that is later embossed with an artificial grain pattern. This range of upholstery leather is available in many distinct colours, and offers great light fastness and stain-resistance that makes it easy to clean compared to its semi-aniline and aniline cousins. Shelly grade leathers have excellent durability and can withstand robust use associated with high wear and tear car seats experiences.

The following simple routines will help make your car leather long lasting and durable to weather the high wear and tear it gets from car use.

1. Tint your car to reduce direct sun rays and heat that cause discolourization and extreme leather hardening.
2. Use leather care after normal cleaning to make the leather saple, soft and flexible to reduce leather rigidity associated with dryness that easily leads to cracks.
3. Avoid too much water exposure to your leather. Water softens leather and its fibre-like content that hold the leather material together.
4. Do not use detergents as most of them reacts with leather pigments while some have bleaching properties that can easily ruin your car leather seats.
5. Avoid wetting the leather as water staining is also likely depending on leather treatment, age and wetted surface.
6. Use leather car seat cleaners. A wide range of leather care products are easily available on various retail shops from supermarkets, car dealer shops to car accessories shops.
7. Condition the Leather by doing routine leather conditioning. Maintain your leather by using various leather care products easily available on the market.
8. Avoid dirt and other abrasive materials on your leather seats. Dirt such as sand grain can cause scratch to leather as much as other abrasive materials placed on car seats.