Leather Cleaning & Care

Leather cleaning

The Swissvax Leather Cleaner is a highly effective yet gentle leather cleaner that contains biodegradable active ingredients and is enriched with glycerin. Its effective yet gentle pH-neutral formula allows regular cleaning of all leather areas in your vehicle without damaging or jeopardizing the leather, unlike conventional solvent-based leather cleaners. These accelerate leather aging due to solvents and may even remove color. Swissvax Leather Cleaner is applied before leather care and sealing and, in combination with the Swissvax Cleaning Brush, offers a perfect solution for leather cleaning. Swissvax Leather Cleaner Forte is a stronger formulation of Leather Cleaner with enhanced cleaning power, recommended for heavy or older dirt, either for spot treatment or for cleaning the entire leather interior. Its cleaning power is particularly noticeable on light-colored leather.

Application LEATHER CLEANER / FORTE

1. Shake the bottle before use.

2. Spray Leather Cleaner on the Swissvax Cleaning Brush and work in a circular motion.

3. Wipe with a soft Micro-Wash microfiber cloth (yellow) or white cotton cloth in only one direction. Do not rub!

4. Let the leather dry completely, then treat with Leather Milk.

IMPORTANT:

Do not use Leather Cleaner on buffalo or suede leather.

Leather Care

The Swissvax Leather Milk is an easy-to-use, economical, and effective care product for all smooth leathers based on emulsifiers. To best renew and maintain the leather's natural moisture balance, Leather Milk is enriched with vitamin E, glycerin, and UV filters. Leather Milk is applied evenly with a Swissvax cotton applicator (white) after thorough cleaning of the leather with Leather Cleaner (Standard or Forte) and absorbs within one to two hours after application. It leaves no residue on clothing. No tedious repolishing is necessary. Repeat the process every six months.

Application LEATHER MILK

1. Clean the leather with Leather Cleaner to remove dirt and old deposits.

2. Shake the bottle before use.

3. Apply Leather Milk evenly with a dry cotton cloth or Swissvax cotton applicator (white).

4. Allow it to absorb.

IMPORTANT:

Do not use Leather Milk on buffalo or suede leather.

Leather Sealing

Swissvax Leather Glaze Leather Sealing ensures that new leather stays new. Dries colorless and gloss-free within minutes. Treatment with Leather Glaze significantly reduces abrasion and wear marks on leather by greatly reducing friction due to the colorless protective layer. The leather is especially stressed on the driver's seat, steering wheel, and gear shift knob. Even in new cars, the first signs of wear quickly appear on these exposed areas. Therefore, these areas should be protected with Leather Glaze as early as possible. It is also excellent for protecting against denim stains on light leather. Although they will appear over time, they can easily be removed with Leather Cleaner without leaving permanent damage, as is usually the case.

Application LEATHER GLAZE

1. Clean the leather with Swissvax Leather Cleaner. Degrease greasy and stressed areas with leather benzine (or cleaning benzine).

2. After cleaning or tinting, Swissvax Leather Glaze is carefully applied thinly from seam to seam with a sponge.

3. Repeat the process if necessary.

4. Clothing stains are still possible, but they can be removed more easily as they adhere to the sealant and not the leather.

5. Care with Swissvax Leather Milk the next day.

Matte or glossy?

Intensively used leather surfaces in the interior, such as the steering wheel, armrest, or gear shift knob, inevitably start to shine over time. This gloss difference can disturb the overall impression of a vehicle.

Leather Gloss Corrector Matt is an innovative gloss correction for pigmented smooth leather. It is simply applied with a sponge to the cleaned leather, giving it a more matte appearance.

Leather Gloss Corrector Glossy, on the other hand, is the functional counterpart and gives a glossier appearance (e.g., when a piece of leather had to be replaced).

Application GLOSS CORRECTOR

1. Clean leather surfaces well. Degrease greasy and stressed areas with cleaning benzine.

2. Shake the Gloss Corrector bottle well.

3. Apply Gloss Corrector with a sponge in a circular motion (avoid streaks) or dab if more layer thickness is desired. Each additional application enhances the effect. Allow to dry between applications.

Re-dye leather yourself

Some parts of the leather interior, such as driver seats, seat bolsters, door sills, steering wheels, and gear knobs, are naturally subject to increased wear and therefore often show signs of use, even in well-maintained vehicles. Usually, this is only relatively harmless wear, such as worn color or scratches, which can be easily corrected and repaired with the right tint, but still detract from the overall appearance of the interior.

Swissvax Leather Healer is a leather tint for color refreshing of leathers, which is easily applied with a sponge, self-fixing, and non-transferring (no cream). It is very fine and highly pigmented, providing strong coverage without leaving a thick tint layer, as is often still the case with sprayed leather colors. By applying Leather Healer, the color of the leather is perfectly and evenly refreshed without losing the unique "look and feel" of the leather. After applying Leather Healer, you can continue to care for the leather as usual with the perfectly matched Swissvax products.

Leather Healer is available in 46 standard colors or custom-mixed for you. Contact us to find the right shade for your application or send us a small leather sample for accurate color matching.

Application LEATHER HEALER

1. Test the product on a hidden area for any changes first.

2. Clean the leather with Swissvax Leather Cleaner. Degrease greasy and stressed areas with leather benzine (or cleaning benzine).

3. Shake the Swissvax Leather Healer bottle well.

4. Apply Swissvax Leather Healer with a sponge in a circular motion (avoid streaks) or dab if more layer thickness is desired. Repeat the process several times. Allow to dry between applications.

5. Care with Swissvax Leather Milk the next day.

Protect against water droplets

Leather interiors in convertibles, door sills of driver and passenger seats—essentially all smooth leather that needs protection from water droplets—should be regularly protected with Elephant. Unlike animal fats, cod liver oil, or cheap neatsfoot oil, Elephant does not turn brown in the sun, does not oxidize, and most importantly, does not provide a breeding ground for mold. Elephant is used in leading museums for leather care for a reason.

Application ELEPHANT LEATHER

1. Clean the leather with Swissvax Leather Cleaner.

2. Sparingly(!) massage the leather fat into the leather with a cloth.

3. Treat very old leather from both sides if possible.

4. Repeat application regularly.

IMPORTANT

Do not use Elephant on buffalo or suede leather.

Treat hardened leather

There are two reasons why leather hardens. One is aging and drying out. Due to lack of care, the leather becomes stiffer and firmer over time. It lacks movement and replenishing oils. Another reason could be "gluing." This is what leather experts call the shrinking of leather due to heat. The vegetable-tanned hides previously used in vehicles hardened and shrank at temperatures as low as 70°C. The less a leather is re-oiled through care, the lower the temperature at which shrinking begins.

The hardening can be partially reversed, but a shrunken leather remains shrunken. This is particularly bad news for dashboards that are difficult to remove. However, such shrunken leathers should still be treated with Leather Softener to protect the leather from degradation and make it more resistant. Hardened leather is moistened as much as possible with Leather Softener. For leather with a very smooth and closed surface, treat it first with our leather sanding pad to achieve better absorption of the softener. The softener is a purely synthetic oil and does not degrade like animal oils, which oxidize after a short time.

Application LEATHER SOFTENER

1. Clean smooth leather with Swissvax Leather Cleaner.

2. If necessary, carefully sand the surface with a leather sanding pad.

3. Apply Swissvax Leather Softener with a sponge or cloth. Let the leather rest for one to two days. Several thin applications are gentler than one heavy soaking, so repeat the process if necessary.