I think I ruined my leather seat

[dudley07726]

I removed the coating with the Griots, the Somax soft bristle brush and a microfiber cloth? It began with just the Griots and cloth.. how could the cloth remove the coating?

[sudsmobile]

Maybe the coating was already starting to fail, possibly from wear, possibly from the cleaning you did. You asked for help and several people have told you what it looks like. I don't know what caused it, but if it only shows up really bad when it's wet, it's not dirt, it's the leather directly being hydrated and changing colors.

[Firehouse Mike]

The
Griot's 3 in 1 is nowhere near aggressive enough to do that unless a wire brush was used. I'm leaning towards the surface being compromised prior to the 3-1 being used.

[sudsmobile]

That would be my guess too. We've worked on a few vehicles like that.

[Coach Steve]

I removed the coating with the Griots, the Somax soft bristle brush and a microfiber cloth? It began with just the Griots and cloth.. how could the cloth remove the coating?

Depending on how long you left the product on the seat and how agressively you rubbed the area, the 3 in 1 could have definitely penetrated the coating. Did the area that gets darker when wet, get dark when you got it wet prior to the issue in question? If not, then the coating was penetrated with the latest cleaning. If so it was already compromised.

[dudley07726]

Depending on how long you left the product on the seat and how agressively you rubbed the area, the 3 in 1 could have definitely penetrated the coating. Did the area that gets darker when wet, get dark when you got it wet prior to the issue in question? If not, then the coating was penetrated with the latest cleaning. If so it was already compromised.

At first it looked like dirt so I attempted to clean it as I always had done in the past. And it always went away. This time the “dirt” never went away. Bringing it in to Audi since the car is under warranty being 2 years old with 12k. Never experienced this in 30 years with any other auto.

[TTQ B4U]

if you're interested in deep-cleaning it, use the Leatherique Products/Solution. doesn't get any better.

[Eldorado2k]

I’ve heard microfiber is more aggressive than cotton terry when it comes to wiping down leather seats with leather cleaner, is that true?

[sudsmobile]

I find that really hard to believe since terry feels like 200 grit sandpaper compared to mf.

[ducksfan]

There's a whole spectrum of types of cotton that could be in a cotton Terry cloth. Some are very soft.
But as a general rule, I would think most microfiber is less aggressive than most cotton terry.

As aside note, I regret buying bulk cotton towels. With the price Costco and department stores (after their multiple discounts) charge for top quality cotton terry. I should have just bought towels; used them for a while and then cut them up for rags. I would have better rags and better bathroom towels.