Leather Seat Restoration (Smoke/Leather)

[marvins_dad]

I finally acquired some 2001 Sport Leather seats.

I forgot to ask one important question...."Did the guy smoke"... well, it is apparent that he did.

I received them on Tuesday and promptly put them in storage...cleaned the leather with straight Simple Green and let them sit outside for 2 days...still smell like smoke.

So, now with the help of the internets and a Mercedes Forum I am embarking on a treatment that I had never heard of - Ozone Treatment. Apparently some really high end detailers and car service departments use these machines. The units range in cost from $500 to the $1000's

This weekend the owner of this company is coming over to the house to set up the machine in the storage to see if we can eliminate the odor molecules.
http://scrubbaire.com/

The idea is that Ozone is created that carries oxygen(o2) and an extra oxygen molecule (o3) - this extra molecule will bond with the molecules of the odor and eliminate them. Since it is a gas it can go into the padding to eliminate the hidden molecules that are clinging to the inside of the padding.


They use these system for restoration of houses after a fire to remove smoke, mildew and other offending odors.

Wish me luck.


Here is some light reading....
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/deta...enerators.html

[marvins_dad]

Ran the unit on and off all day Saturday and Sunday. It def. is working, but the smoke in the padding just isn't wanting to budge. Pam noticed a considerable difference, but I'm still not sure it is to the level that I would like to breathe every time I get into the car. Will find out today what the next plan of attack is with the unit.

The owner called and we will continue treatments at night and he might bring over another unit to try.

[marvins_dad]

Here is what George from Leatherique (my leather dye company suggested - for reference if anyone else has this issue)

I thought this was good general info...

I hope you have some Rejuvenator left. Please slather it on the seats. Remember the Rejuvenator is a protein collagen complex that will be absorbed into the hide to expel the smoke smell from the pores of the leather out to the surface where it can be cleaned away. Go ahead and do the prepping step after a few coats of Rejuvenator as that will also help remove the surface where the smoke is settling in the leather.

Clean any vinyl and hard plastic pieces with hydrogen peroxide on a soft cloth. It will take a few cleanings to remove all the build up. Also clean the air vents, you can even remove them and replace them. Clean visors, mirrors, all parts of the trim.

Remove the carpets as best you can, shampoo them well, and let dry well before you reinstall them.

An open box of baking soda under each seat will also help absorb the odors that may linger. Change once a month until the car is odor free. If friends need to smoke, don't let them do it in your car.

[FineExampl]

I've heard of this before actually. People use ozone to do alot of really cool things apparently including TB and cancer treatment. Ozone has a way of oxidizing organic compounds, so it makes sense that it would help with smoke odor elimination.

Is this for Marvin??

[marvins_dad]

Yeah...I got 2001 Sport Seats from another org member.
The plan was to fix the passenger air bag, then do a full restoration on the leather (re-dye) and then dye the middle inserts so they look more like a color concept than my current seats. I like the shape of the Sport seat so much better. The more I drive the car, the more I wanted to change the seats out because they aren't that comfortable for long trips.

I forgot pics....

[jdesigns]

Even though we don't have this kind of problem, this information might be handy in the future.

[Billsbug]

Originally Posted by marvins_dad

Here is what George from Leatherique (my leather dye company suggested - for reference if anyone else has this issue)

I thought this was good general info...

I just popped for a bottle of the Leatherique Rejuvenator after I saw your post, the leather centers of my sport seats are as stiff as cardboard and no product I've used has been able to soften them.

[marvins_dad]

Yeah they are the folks that Pete, myself and others have gotten our custom dye from. I haven't had issues with the leather drying out...but that is supposed to do the trick. I guess with the vert you get some rays directly on your seats.

[Po10472]

Hiya

When I bought my bug the previous owner also smoked and the car stank big time. As the seats were already in and it had permeated throughout the car there was nothing I thought I could do. So I bought vanilla air freshners and an odour neutraliser and its worked. Granted, my car now smells like ice cream but the smell of smoke is gone which I'm really glad about. What helped was putting the air vents on high to get rid of the smell throughout the engine etc.

I have a really good sense of smell and occasionally I think I'm smelling smoke but the wee yankee french vanilla car freshners did the job for me.

[Po10472]

Hiya

When I bought my bug the previous owner also smoked and the car stank big time. As the seats were already in and it had permeated throughout the car there was nothing I thought I could do. So I bought vanilla air freshners and an odour neutraliser and its worked. Granted, my car now smells like ice cream but the smell of smoke is gone which I'm really glad about. What helped was putting the air vents on high to get rid of the smell throughout the engine etc.

I have a really good sense of smell and occasionally I think I'm smelling smoke but the wee yankee french vanilla car freshners do the job for me.

Good luck.

po

[Po10472]

oops, it posted twice, was having problems replying.

[Maggadog]

Suppose the next time you try the ozone generater technique you put the seats into a smaller volume of air? Build a container just large enough for the seats. I wonder with a smaller volume of air to ozone-ate(?) if it would work better?

[marvins_dad]

Yeah -they suggested bringing out a larger size machine because the space was larger than a car interior. But I think I have zapped them enough. I don't smell smoke, but there is still an odor. I am going to follow the Leatherique steps to treat the leather and maybe it will get the "old man" smell out of them. LOL

I will probably still have to get a neutralizer/baking soda for the car as well when I install to transition them if the leather restoring doesn't alter the current odor.

[marvins_dad]

I did a coat of Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil and then clensed and it actually smells like leather now...not old people. LOL

I have the second coat setting right now, you are supposed to wait a couple/few hours after putting the oil on, but I worked on my dash for a while then clensed anyway...wanted to see if it was going to do any good.

I am working on the Driver's seat so I can install it and see if I can notice any smell seeping from the seat this week.

[Billsbug]

Originally Posted by marvins_dad

I did a coat of Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil and then clensed and it actually smells like leather now...not old people. LOL

I have the second coat setting right now, you are supposed to wait a couple/few hours after putting the oil on, but I worked on my dash for a while then clensed anyway...wanted to see if it was going to do any good.

I am working on the Driver's seat so I can install it and see if I can notice any smell seeping from the seat this week.

Used it over the weekend, made no difference at all, maybe it needs another treatment?

[marvins_dad]

I had mine soaking in the seat for about 4-5 hours with my second treatment. Did you read the instructions on their website? Sounds like it might need multiple treatments.

[Billsbug]

Originally Posted by marvins_dad

I had mine soaking in the seat for about 4-5 hours with my second treatment. Did you read the instructions on their website? Sounds like it might need multiple treatments.

"For “cardboard hard” leather, several applications will be necessary. Patience will be rewarded with good results."

[Beetlemania]

Well, 'toine, glad to finally hear about a mod in advance. Now I just need to remember to look next time I see !

[kate_the_valkyrie]

I have an '03 Color concept red beetle.. so I have the black and red leather interior seats. I searched around and finally settled on my first bottle of leather cleaning/conditioner being "turtle wax" brand. It contains no oils, low ph level, and seems to clean them a bit more then condition them but it definitely works for me. I placed those small cans of air freshener under both seats and the whole car definitely smells better then it did...

The leatherique rejuvenator, how often would a person just wanting to regularly maintain their leather use this stuff? Where can you find it or can someone please post the website? I can't seem to find it...

[marvins_dad]

Leatherique is mainly for restoration and dying the seats (dying being part of the restoration if you have really bad creases in the leather).

Their website isn't anything fancy...
http://leatherique.com/

...but I dyed my inserts with their product back in April of 2003 and it held up really well. Finally this year I saw some spots where I needed to do some touchup. When I used their Rejuvenator as one of the prep steps in dying, it didn't do much for me...but with these neglected 2001 seats I noticed a night and day difference in the leather. It cleaned it up quite a bit, along with their cleaner.

I wouldn't think you would want to use the Rejuvenator regularly, I hadn't even opened the bottle since 2004 until I got these new/old seats. But I used their Pristine Clean on them before every show to keep them clean.