Blue Jeans transfer to Beige Leather!

J

JSFM35X

Active member
How do I get this off the leather without ruining the leather?



My wifes new MDX got stained blue from my wifes jeans. They were not new and have been washed a load of times. Any ideas why this happened and more importantly, how do I get if out?



Is this an Acura specific problem? She had a Saab with similar color leather for years and no problems.



Many thanks for your responses!
 
I got blue jean off my dad's Chrysler 300 using Blue Magic Leather/Vinyl Cleaner. The directions said to repeat until clean. I had to apply the cleaner about a dozen times before the seats were completely cleaned.
 
I think it is a Honda problem. My accord has cloth seats and I have spots from a black wool jacket. My odyssey is new with tan leather and I can already see some transfer on the edges of the seats.
 
JSFM35X said:
How do I get this off the leather without ruining the leather?



My wifes new MDX got stained blue from my wifes jeans. They were not new and have been washed a load of times. Any ideas why this happened and more importantly, how do I get if out?



Is this an Acura specific problem? She had a Saab with similar color leather for years and no problems.



Many thanks for your responses!
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Once you clean the transfer, make sure to protect the leather. When my leather is protected with FK108 or LM Protection Cream, dye transfer wipes off with LM strong as long as I catch it reasonably soon.



I have been reading about these products LTT Leather Care - Leather Repair Cleaning Products - Leather Care Kits, Lazy Leather, Leather Protect, Leather Shampoo, Leather Cleaner, Leather Protect, may try them for dye transfers that I don't catch or are on leather that is not protected. Price is high and I imagine shipping is similar.
 
It's not the leather ... it's the Jeans. Although this is strictly my opinion, I have only found the blue bleeding into the leather from relatively new jeans, especially the newer designer jeans, especially when there's a little moisture/condensation involved.

We've never had this problem before, yet last month some friends came over, one woman sat on a leather covered bar-stool AND a light colored microfiber-love-seat in the house, leaving her blue-jean stained marks on both. We knew who it was as she had the True Religion Jeans on and left that stupid horse-shoe shaped back-pocket insignia on both chairs! She apologized like crazy, saying she had just bought the jeans and washed them only once since buying them. We've been able to clean the leather bar-stool using Smart Leather Cleaner, but can't get the jean-bleed out of the beige couch. We're sending the couch cushion out for dry-cleaning, I'll let you know the results.

This is certainly becoming a problem with the new dying methods they're using on jeans today! Be careful!



Hope this helps,
 
prix03gt said:
I think it is a Honda problem. My accord has cloth seats and I have spots from a black wool jacket. My odyssey is new with tan leather and I can already see some transfer on the edges of the seats.
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I hope you were kidding. Whenever I go to the LA Auto Show, every car that has leather seats and people are allowed in has transfer from denim on them.
 
JSFM35X said:
How do I get this off the leather without ruining the leather?



My wifes new MDX got stained blue from my wifes jeans. They were not new and have been washed a load of times. Any ideas why this happened and more importantly, how do I get if out?



Is this an Acura specific problem? She had a Saab with similar color leather for years and no problems.



Many thanks for your responses!
Click to expand...



Solved the problem I think. It was dark but I had used the Ultima interipr guard on the seats and dash and doors when it was new. Tonight I used the interior shampoo by Ultima and it looks like it came out. If not i will report back after I inspect in the light of day.



Thanks for all the replys, you guys are awesome!
 
It is definitely not a Honda only problem.



This can be difficult to remove. If it is not removed with cleaners or alcohol, then it would have to be refinished.
 
I had the same issue with my 2006 550i BMW with Beige leather - even my older jeans lightly stained the new leather blue.



I used Zaino's leather cleaner followed by their Leather In A Bottle conditioner. After a couple of rounds of this, the jeans no longer tinted the leather blue.



So I think it was something about the new leather ... not the jeans.
 
There are always enormous problems with dye transfer on pale coloured leathers. Unfortunatley dye transfer is NOT always a cleaning problem. Dye from jeans and clothing can be very aggresive and this actually redyes the leather. It is not dirt and therfore will not damage the leather like dirt does, however it always looks very unsightly.

The longer the dye is allowed to sit on the surface of the leather the further it will travel into the finish on the leather and this is why it becomes harder to remove. Cleaning can only deal with what is sitting on the surface of the leather and once anything has begun to penetrate the finish it becomes more and more difficult to resolve. Dye will redye the leather and dirt will degrade the finish.

If you have tried a good foam leather cleaner ( I say foam because with a foam you can get good dwell time on the area concerned) and this has not removed the dye then it is no longer a cleaning problem and will need stronger (solvent based) products to rectify. In removing the dye transfer with these stronger products you will also be likely to remove colour/finish which will then need replacing. This is a technical problem rather than a clenaing one.



Using a 'magic sponge' or eraser is not recommended as these act like a very fine sandpaper which will damage/remove the finish and leave the leather much more vulnerable to dirt degredation.



The key to inhibiting dye transfer from building up in the first place is the use of a quality fluorcarbon protector which will allow dye to sit on the surface and will then be cleanable.
 
It happens in my wife's Lexus RX 350. She wears dark jeans and it always stains the seats. Wouldn't a better solution be to just destroy every pair and replace them with interior matching pants? :getdown
 
Bumping this thread to see if there is anymore suggestions or follow ups. I also recently purchased the 09 MDX and had the blue jean dye issue on the light gray leather seat. They're mostly noticeable along the edges of the driver and 2nd row passenger seats. I think it's mostly due to the scrubbing when going in and out of the vehicle.



From the posts above, saw some good product recommendations. Are there any other recommended products out there? Has anybody use chemical guys leather cleaner and conditioner? If you use the cleaner then follow up with the conditioner, will it prevent it from happening again? Or is there any product out there that will kind of "seal" the leather and protect it from these dyes?
 
Quality Leather said:
Jeff Ochs has a protectant that he developed for BMW. It is not listed on his website, but you can email him. He is also at the Mobile Tech show this weekend.

Home
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Thanks for the suggestion. I've emailed him inquiring more info on the leather protectant. Btw, nice shots of the before and after leather restore on your website. Any product recommendation for leather cleaner and conditioner?
 
For the cleaner, you can use the Woolite mix that has been talked about a lot. I use a mix of 1% Joy dishwashing liquid, 10% alcohol and the rest distilled water. I use a Scotch Brite delicate duty scrub pad to get into the grain. Finally, I have started to use a damp or wringed out towel for my first wipe. I then come back and use a dry towel. The wet towel seems to help pick up cleaner residue. I don't know though maybe I am just being overly anal.



I don't use conditioner. Try Jeff's protectant.
 
I have had good luck with P21s TAW on beige leather in an Infiniti.



What kind of laundry detergent do you use? I was having some dye issues with some jeans when I was using a detergent with a "color preserver". i changed detergents and it went away.
 
nick@autoality said:
I have had good luck with P21s TAW on beige leather in an Infiniti.



What kind of laundry detergent do you use? I was having some dye issues with some jeans when I was using a detergent with a "color preserver". i changed detergents and it went away.
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It's normally "raw" denim that stains the seats. Most jeans that are on the shelves today have been prewashed/finished for softness or whiskering, etc--the raw denim has not been touched and will transfer dye onto anything.



Some darker jeans that *have* been prewashed will still transfer dye as more of the indigo dye has been left in the jeans....



We have a customer that wears *only* raw/dark denim jeans and just bought a panamera with ivory white seats--might check on that sealant above for him...
 
FWIW,I use Collinite Sapphire vinyl and leather wax on my wife's '09 F150 Platinium. It has the two tone cream with brown leather seats. I put the Collinite on from day one and haven't regretted it one bit. 20k miles later the seats still look new and all it takes to clean them is distiller water and a MF towel. Probably get flamed for using such a pedestrian product but, for me, it works!

Cheers!
 
Quality Leather said:
For the cleaner, you can use the Woolite mix that has been talked about a lot. I use a mix of 1% Joy dishwashing liquid, 10% alcohol and the rest distilled water. I use a Scotch Brite delicate duty scrub pad to get into the grain. Finally, I have started to use a damp or wringed out towel for my first wipe. I then come back and use a dry towel. The wet towel seems to help pick up cleaner residue. I don't know though maybe I am just being overly anal.



I don't use conditioner. Try Jeff's protectant.
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That will do the job. The scotch brite pad is doing most of the work.



Very fine steel wool and all purpose cleaner take care of this problem with ease.



Don't panic...it's not as bad as it sounds. Just use light pressure and the ink transfer is GONE with no damage to the leather.
 
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