Cleaning leather seats...

So the kid was playing with a pen in the car and now I have a nice blue line/mark on the back of one of my seats... Does anyone have any suggestions how to remove that? I used some Zaino Leather Cleaner (generally swear by the Zaino detailing stuff), but it really did not do anything.

Any help is appreciated!

There are products specifically designed for the removal of ink. I can't remember the name, we have it at work. You must be careful with out though, it can remove the ink and whatever is under it off your not careful.

If you could look up the name for me that would be great.

Alternatively, what "professional" would I talk to about this? Leather/upholstery companies? Detailing companies? Somebody must have experience with this...

The part of the seat you're cleaning might not be leather. Depending on where it is, it may be synthetic... making it much easier to clean. I think our seats are a patchwork of real and synthetic leather (could be all synthetic for all I know). I know for sure the rear headrests are made from the the fake stuff.

Well, I got the Katzkin seats, so I am pretty sure it's all leather......

Leather Magic
Ink and Stain Remover
http://store.leathermagic.com/inkandstainremover.aspx

hairspray will remove ink from leather without a trace.

onerpm said:

hairspray will remove ink from leather without a trace.

Click to expand...

How does that work? Spray and wipe? Spray on the seat or on a piece of cloth?

What did Katzkin recommend?

Alright, got it about 95% removed, so unless you know it's there, it's not really noticeable. I'll leave it at that.

Called Katzkin, but all they would say is "We recommend Mother's products." So I called Mother's and talked to one of their sales guys. He recommended their foamy leather wash (the leather cleaner they sell is apparently of industrial strength, so that would have been the last resort) to be followed by their conditioner.

I called the local Katzkin installer to see if they had anything at their shop or would recommend something. They went old school and also mentioned that hairspray could be used to removed ink from leather ("...back in the days."). They also recommended Magic Eraser.

So I gently used the Magic Eraser for some base work and then went back to the Zaino leather cleaner. What makes the difference is using a toothbrush to massage the cleaner into the leather; before I just sprayed it on and rubbed/wiped with an old t-shirt. But with the toothbrush you actually get a nice foam going that seemed to lift the dirt. Follow up with Zaino's Leather in a Bottle, and it's all good.

I may have lost some of the texture of the leather from the Magic Eraser, but perhaps I am just hyper-sensitive at this point. In any case, give it a few more months of normal wear and tear and you wouldn't see it even if that was the case.

Thanks for everybody's advice. I would have tried the Leather Magic next, but given the holiday and the shipping charges I wanted to try the other stuff first...

i've used hair spray on a piece of cloth, then dabbed, to remove writing pen ink from leather couches more than once, at the recommendation of a friend with more kids than I have. works 100%