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BMW 5-Series (G30) Forum Cosmetic Maintenance: Wash, Wax, Detailing, Repairs White Nappa Leather Ventilated Seats Cleaning and Care

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      02-06-2021, 05:44 PM   #1
jp0451
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Question White Nappa Leather Ventilated Seats Cleaning and Care

I'm trying to clean and maintain the seats on my 2018 540i. The seats are white nappa leather with ventilation holes. I've read several posts on leather care but did not seem to find one mentioning white nappa leather with ventilation.
Does anyone have any experience with cleaning and maintaining their seats with similar specs?

Right now, distilled water on the regular basis and OEM BMW leather care kit for occasional deeper cleaning seem to be a good combo.

Any inputs will be appreciated.

Thanks
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      02-19-2021, 01:34 AM   #2
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If you're concerned about the cleaning product entering the perforation in the leather, then as far as you're not pouring cleaners in there, you don't have to worry. As for the colour being white, no need for special products. A good leather cleaner from Geyon, carpro, Adam's, etc will work well. You may want to use a dedicated leather cleaning brush (usually made out of horse hair) or a good microfiber towel if that isn't available. Finally, out on a coat of leather ceramicoating or leather sealant to prevent dye transfer and damage from UV rays.

If you're not confident in applying/spraying cleaner directly on the seats, then apply it on microfiber towel or brush instead.
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      02-19-2021, 10:46 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zereldo View Post
If you're concerned about the cleaning product entering the perforation in the leather, then as far as you're not pouring cleaners in there, you don't have to worry. As for the colour being white, no need for special products. A good leather cleaner from Geyon, carpro, Adam's, etc will work well. You may want to use a dedicated leather cleaning brush (usually made out of horse hair) or a good microfiber towel if that isn't available. Finally, out on a coat of leather ceramicoating or leather sealant to prevent dye transfer and damage from UV rays.

If you're not confident in applying/spraying cleaner directly on the seats, then apply it on microfiber towel or brush instead.
thanks for the information, i will give it a try
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      04-12-2021, 02:14 AM   #4
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You can use a vacuum to remove the excess product that went into the holes.
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      05-05-2021, 09:26 AM   #5
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I am a big fan of Duragloss products. For the seats, I usually use a deep rub in cream 4-5 rimes a year, but on a weekly basis I wipe the seats down with Duragloss Leather and Vinyl Dressing:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What a lot of people overlook is the wear and tear to the side bolsters getting in and out of the car. Overtime, the side bolster rips and frays and generally ages much faster than the rest of the seat. I use the dressing purely to create some lube so I slide in and out which removes stress on the leather.
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      05-17-2021, 07:44 PM   #6
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Sonax foaming leather cleaner, a horsehair brush and microfiber towels. I'm amazed at how well my Ivory Nappa with the ventilation cleaned up with this combo. They look fantastic.
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      02-26-2022, 01:36 AM   #7
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I have smoke white merino perforated leather as well. I use leather cleaner and conditioner from zaino. Works great and smells great.
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      02-26-2022, 05:10 PM   #8
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I haven't heard of Zaino. I just ordered a bottle and will give it a try on my ivory interior. I have used Meguiares in the past and it was just ok.
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      02-27-2022, 12:59 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oilandgas View Post
I haven't heard of Zaino. I just ordered a bottle and will give it a try on my ivory interior. I have used Meguiares in the past and it was just ok.
hope you like it.
I also use it on my leather barstools and sofas.

did you buy the cleaner and conditioner?
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      02-28-2022, 08:40 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33 View Post
I am a big fan of Duragloss products. For the seats, I usually use a deep rub in cream 4-5 rimes a year, but on a weekly basis I wipe the seats down with Duragloss Leather and Vinyl Dressing:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...UTF8&psc=1

What a lot of people overlook is the wear and tear to the side bolsters getting in and out of the car. Overtime, the side bolster rips and frays and generally ages much faster than the rest of the seat. I use the dressing purely to create some lube so I slide in and out which removes stress on the leather.
Thanks for the tip. I have Dakota leather and have read that it's a coated leather and conditioning etc isn't necessary. From what I read (here and other places) I can essentially just clean it with an interior detail product. But I've definitely experienced what you're talking about in other cars and it's the only place on my seats that's showing any wear now.
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      03-17-2022, 10:10 PM   #11
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I have the ventilated seats as well. I use Griots Garage Leather Car Spray and spray it onto a clean microfiber cloth, then apply to the seats. It works quite well as a mild cleaner, and it may condition a bit, but know that most leathers have a "painted" dye that seals the leather from actually absorbing much, if any, conditioner.

Horsehair brush is good from getting dirt and particles from the crevices. You can find them inexpensively on Amazon...or if you have a feed store nearby, they usually have some nice ones in the equine section
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      03-20-2022, 09:26 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RonronEG View Post
Sonax foaming leather cleaner, a horsehair brush and microfiber towels. I'm amazed at how well my Ivory Nappa with the ventilation cleaned up with this combo. They look fantastic.
What'd you use for treating/protecting the leather after cleaning it?

I like Sonax stuff. I have a big jug of their "full effect" wheel cleaner and their interior cleaner is also very nice -- leaving a matte finish.
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      03-20-2022, 11:05 PM   #13
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The Sonax is described as a cleaner and conditioner. After use the leather is supple and matte finished. I originally intended to use Zaino as a finisher after the Sonax but was satisfied with the finished product after just the Sonax.
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      03-25-2022, 09:55 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RonronEG View Post
The Sonax is described as a cleaner and conditioner. After use the leather is supple and matte finished. I originally intended to use Zaino as a finisher after the Sonax but was satisfied with the finished product after just the Sonax.
Ordered. Will definitely give it a try on some dog footprints...
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      04-14-2022, 11:13 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cclcal View Post
I have smoke white merino perforated leather as well. I use leather cleaner and conditioner from zaino. Works great and smells great.
I remember using Zaino like 20 years ago. Good to know its still legit.
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      04-17-2022, 02:03 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RonronEG View Post
The Sonax is described as a cleaner and conditioner. After use the leather is supple and matte finished. I originally intended to use Zaino as a finisher after the Sonax but was satisfied with the finished product after just the Sonax.
I bought some and it works very well. Nice stuff.
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      04-17-2022, 07:46 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by admranger View Post
I bought some and it works very well. Nice stuff.
Good to hear it worked well for you. I believe I read that Sonax is what BMW relabels and sells as their branded leather cleaner.
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      04-26-2022, 09:33 PM   #18
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I use Dr Beasely's Leather cleaner. For my older cars, I went to town with a Colour Lock brush like this: https://www.carsupplieswarehouse.com...39593408921780

...for the leather. Sometimes I use a detailing brush to foam up the solution and then wipe clean with a MF cloth.

This Dr Beasley's works fine but it has a sharp scent to it so once I'm done with it, I plan to either get the Sonax foaming cleaner or get the P&S Interior detailer. I heard the P&S can be used on leather so I think I'll do that but with the detailing brushes instead of the Colourlock brush.

The Colourlock brush, though, really restored the steering wheel on my 2008 535xi's steering wheel. I'd just been using a detailer on it with a MF cloth but noticed the wheel had become sticky over the years and sometimes I was pulling black rubbery stuff off of it, thinking the leather was deteriorating. Then I used the Colourlock on it and tons of those black flakes were falling off. I figured I'd royally F'd up my wheel's leather and just said F it, and kept going.

Turns out, that was 13+ years of skin debris and oils from my hands on the wheel coming off. I went through 3 or 4 MF cloths wiping that stuff off and wheel's leather was actually just fine underneath all of that.

I'm not a messy person but that grossed me out. I did the same on my seats and while some blackish dirt and grime came off, it was not nearly as gross as my wheel.

Now I plan to clean my steering wheels on all my cars every several months so it doesn't look/feel like my E60's wheel did. I thought just wiping it down with a detailer every few weeks was cleaning it but turns out it's just wetting the debris so that it can cake up when it finally dries. You need to use a brush.
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      05-07-2022, 05:14 PM   #19
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What sealer are u guys using on the top once done cleaning the seats.
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      05-31-2022, 12:54 PM   #20
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I used Autoglym Leather Cleaner and occasionally their Leather Care Balm on my previous BMW, a San Marino Blue M6 GC with Silverstone II leather - ok, perhaps not exactly white, but so light that you could tell when blue jeans were worn… Microfibre cloth is ok for cleaning with the product, but you need a leather care brush (horse or boar hair) to agitate the dye off. The ventilation perforation is not a problem, at the end of the day they are just hols that let the air through from the fan. Even if you don't remove all when wet, after the cleaner dries off nothing left in the holes.

The M6 was in Australia, now I'm stepping into a 2019 540i here in Spain. I'm going to miss the power, but M car prices here are astronomical, so couldn't justify paying €40k more for similarly optioned M5 - someone had clearly not known you don't need to tick EVERY box on the order sheet… €76k base car with €60k worth options - and yes, it has ventilated seats, but not Silverstone, this time Aragon Brown, perhaps a little less seat cleaning in the future.
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