obenauf time!

[Otter74]

A question for those of you that have done this to your seats:

I picked up some Obenauf's to use on my SPG's seats, which are kind of dry. The top of the back seats and the headrests are fairly dirt - should I clean the leather as much as possible before I apply the Obenauf's oil, or does it not matter?

[sugarwood]

Yes, you should definitely clean it before applying any conditioner to leather. Dirt is abrasive -- it's ground up rocks -- and it gets into the leather fibers and abrades them. That's what causes cracking. Putting conditioner on dirty leather just drives the dirt farther into the fibers.

[Otter74]

Thanks. Now to find the best cleaner I can get my hands on that isn't too hard on the leather. It is taking forever to get all the dirt off the worst parts of the back seat!

[4flyboy]

Originally Posted by RD911T

I refinished and dyed my 82 sport seats I'm putting in my 71. I used Obenauf over the winter in the basement where it was cool and it softened them considerably. It's now approaching 90 degrees and sunny in Missouri, so I pulled them out on the deck in the sun and smeared some more on there to let them soak it up in the heat. Holy cow, black leather and oil gets hot fast!!! I think I have minor burns on my hands from rubbing it in!! I'll report back on how much more this does to soften the leather.

Hey RD911T,

Did you soften the leather and treat it before or after dyeing it?

Thanks,

Scott