Fibrenew Nanaimo/Upper Island

Don’t use oil products on the leather seats in your car: Video

Fibrenew Admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:47:03 +0000

Oil products like olive oil, oil soap and WD-40 can ruin the leather seats in your car, so you should not use them. Old wives’ tales say oil helps soften up and condition leather, but that only works for baseball mitts and cowboy horse saddles – not your nice leather seats.

Leave any additional questions in the comments or check out our post on wives’ tales related to leather care.

How to make your dashboard last longer: Video

Fibrenew Admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:19:24 +0000

This video gives tips on taking good care of your car and keeping your dashboard looking new and lasting longer. These tips will help protect your leather from sun damage that can make the top layer separate from the rest of the dash.

If you have any more questions, check out our blog post on caring for your dashboard or leave questions in the comments!

How to get tree sap off your boat seats: Video

Fibrenew Admin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:14:00 +0000

Tree sap can melt into your vinyl boat seats, making it almost impossible to get rid of. Use the tips in this video to keep tree sap off your boat and to get it off before it is too late!

More questions? Check out our more in-depth blog post on getting rid of tree sap or leave questions in the comments!

How to keep your leather car seats from cracking: Video

Fibrenew Admin — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:49:26 +0000

This video addresses why leather car seats crack, how to keep them from cracking and how to get them fixed.

For a more in-depth look at the topic, check out our blog post answering the same questions. If you have any more questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments! We’d love to help!

How to make your leather seats last longer: Clean them. Here’s how.

Fibrenew Admin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:42:33 +0000

Leather auto seats tend to get worn out and old looking quickly if you don’t clean them the right way. This video will show you how to clean the leather seats in your car and make them last three times as long.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments. We’d be happy to help! You can also check out our more in-depth post on cleaning leather car seats.

What makes boat seats look old – sunscreen and oil: Video

Fibrenew Admin — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:02:26 +0000

Sunscreen and other oils are one of the main reasons boat seats start looking old. If you want to make your seats last and look new for longer, you need to clean them often. This video explains why.

More questions? Check out our more in-depth blog post on preventing oil damage to boat seats or leave questions in the comments!

How to get rid of boat mildew on your seats: Video

Fibrenew Admin — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:46:15 +0000

Mildew is one of the most common causes of damage to vinyl boat seats, and this video will teach you how to remove mildew and how to keep your boat from growing mildew.

Any questions? Check out our blog post on cleaning mildew off your boat seats or leave questions in the comments!

How to clean your boat seats: Video

Fibrenew Admin — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:13:42 +0000

This video shows you how to clean your vinyl boat seats and explains why it is important to clean correctly to make your seats last longer and keep your seats from looking worn or faded.

Any questions? Check out our blog post on cleaning vinyl boat seats or leave questions in the comments!

How to keep auto interior looking new

Fibrenew Admin — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:00:44 +0000

Eating fast food in your car is unavoidable on some busy days, and we’ve all had those, “Oh crap!” moments when fries went flying all over the car seat. Although this isn’t unusual or uncommon, it’s probably not something you should brush off too lightly if you have leather seats. Grease and oil, even just the natural oils in your skin, can really add up and cause damage to your leather seats. In fact, oil (from food or just the oil in your skin) is one of the main reasons leather car seats end up looking old and worn.

How does oil damage leather car seats?

There are two main ways that oil causes damage to leather auto seats:

1. Oil combines with little bits of dust and dirt, acting like a fine sand paper that wears down the protective coating on your seats as passengers get in and out of your car. That protective layer makes your leather seats more resilient to scratches, water and heat damage as well as other types of wear and tear, so, once that layer is worn thin, your seats are more susceptible to all types of damage.

Seat worn, over time, from dirt and oil

2. When oil gets on your leather seats, especially once it starts to break down that protective coating, it is soaked into the back side of the leather—the part you can’t see. Over time, the leather will “fill up,” and the oil will rise to the surface. Once the oil saturates the leather, the result is typically ugly oil stains.

How to prevent oil damage to your auto seats

To prevent oil damage, you should clean and protect your car seats 6-8 times a year, cleaning the most used areas more frequently than those that aren’t used very often. Check out our leather cleaning post for tips on leather cleaning and protection.

Additionally, never treat your leather with olive oil, petroleum or any other type of oil. A lot of people do to try to prevent drying, but the oil you use will get soaked up just like any other oil, resulting in spots and discoloration.

How do I get rid of oil damage?

If you find oil spots on your car seats, you can try to remove them by rubbing the area with a soft leather cleaner. You may be able to temporarily remove the spot, but since more oil remains deep within the leather, you will probably see it resurface over time.

Depending on the extent of the damage, a professional may be able to do a more thorough cleaning of the leather seat than you will be able to do yourself, as they have special cleaning tools and processes that can cleanse deep into the leather.

Post any additional questions in the comments, and we’d be happy to answer them for you!

Why leather car and motorcycle seats crack

Fibrenew Admin — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:00:20 +0000

Most car interior leather and motorcycle seats are fully finished, and there are a couple of reasons why it cracks. Cracking usually occurs when the protective coating on fully finished leather is worn down or when there has been a manufacturer problem.

Cracked leather car seat

1. Body oil and dirt can cause leather to crack -

It is very easy for dirt and oils to collect on the surface of leather. Together, these act like a fine sand paper, breaking down the protective layer on fully finished leather over time, eventually leading to visible cracks at the surface. Once the protective layer is broken down, the leather underneath, which is incredibly porous, soaks up the dirt and oil sitting on its surface causing further abrasion and damage.

2. A manufacturer problem can cause leather to crack -

Tanneries put a layer of dye and a protective top coating on cow hide (almost like paint on drywall) to make fully finished leather. Leather has a lot of give and will stretch and move as people sit and slide around on it, so the manufacturer needs to stretch it properly before they put on the dye and protective top coating. If they don’t stretch it well, the leather will quickly stretch more than the dye can handle, and the coating will crack.

Once leather is cracked, a leather repair professional can typically fix it, however, it is much cheaper and easier to clean and take care of your leather seats from the start than to deal with cracking after it happens.

Additional Questions?

We’d be happy to answer any additional questions you have. Please post questions in the comments below, and, if you want to show us a photo of a specific piece of leather, either post it on our Facebook page or contact your local franchisee.