petraidm

Last week my wife noticed blue coloring in my a couple pairs of pants on the left rear pocket. At first we thought it was a wayward ink pen but could not find a source. We'll I think the mystery is solved. This weekend when cleaning the car I noticed a black spot on the back of the driver's seat on the outside edge of the seat about 8-12" up from the seat. After a little detective work The spot is in about the same spot as my left check first contacts the seat when getting in. This has never happened before an in about one weeks time I went from near perfect seat to one with a black spot a little bigger than a dime. My initial contact with the dealer indicates that they will cover it under warranty but I don't actually bring it in until next Tuesday 8/26.

In preparation for the visit I am trying to find out whether any of you had similar incidences. It is clear from inspection (and from the seat of my pants) that the blue dye came off the seat. There is no sign of wear or gauging any where around the spot. The sets are treated every 1-2 months with Lexol Leather conditioner (I used Zaino Leather first few months then leatherique and no am using Lexol)

petraidm

As a follow-up, the car only has 9000 miles garaged much of the time and is covere when left outside for an extended period of time!

wanabe

WOW- not good...
sounds pretty much to me like a bad dye job on the seats.
honda should fix it under warranty- let us know how it goes.
have not heard this before, so its prob a one car out of the batch sorta problem- and you are the lucky winner!

petraidm

Gee Thanks!!

2002S2K

The thing is, it isn't a bad dye job, the leather itself is dyed, but on top of the surface a color coat and protective topcoat are applied, kind of like the actually paint on the car, one for color, the next for protection.

First thing to look at is what type of cleaner were you using, some are way too strong for leather and will eat right through the topcoat and now you are wearing against the color coat.

Second if that is not the case, you may just have worn it out, being that the finish didn't hold up very well, but you would notice serious wear if this was the case.

Let me know some more specific details and post some pics and I should be able ot help you out.

PS - I work for The Leather Institute, we are a leather products, service and training company, so leather is my life... Get me some more info and I am sure I can help you or show you someone out there who can...we have contacts everywhere.

2002S2K

or pm me... but after looking at your post again it almost seems like it could be a bad cleaning product, which one, is yet to be determined...

petraidm

I could not get enough detail in the photo to see/ tell much, but I can give more specifics....

First it appeared to me to be wear beacause when I rub your hand up and down the side of the seat, it just feels smoother / thinner. However, when you look closely at the spot, the grain looks about theysame as the leather around it (not smooth/polisihed). Since I can't see a difference other than color, I wondering if what I feall is just the difference between the top coat (blue) the leather underneath (black).

As for products I've tried / used, here is the list (in order of use):
1) Zaino Z9 and Z10
2) Meguiars Glod Class Leather wipes (used 1 or 2 times, did not like them and quit using them)
3) Leatherique / Pristine Clean
4) Leather institute cleaner wipes / conditioner
5) Lexol Leather cleaner / Conditioner

I used the last three products the last three cleaing / conditioning cycles trying to see which I like best; Lexaol was the last one I used. I am trying different conditioners / UV protectors because the leather becomes dull quicker than the vinyl portions (303'd or Vinylx) and I was trying to see which product would make the leather stay richer / bluer longest.

The strangest thing about this was that it was not a gradual thing. The interior was detailed on a Sunday; no blemishes or symptoms. The following Thursday / Friday my wife found blue streaks on the back of two pairs of kakki's (the second pair had much less color on it). the blemish was found on Saturady. Since that time, it has not spread or grown and no additional dye has been found on any other pants.

I considered whether it could be the cleaning or conditioning product but I've had leather in my vehicles for the past 15-20 years and never has anything like this happen on ANY seat (the oldest being 10 years). Prior to this car, all other leather interiors were abused (flax soap and maybe occassionally armor all --- I did not know any better back then). This car jut turned 1 and the leather is rarely exposed to the elements.

2002S2K

Well it seems to me that maybe one of the cleaners did the damage or the leather itself may just be failing. You said the leather itself is black, can you see any of that through the surface or just underneath??

I do know that The Leather Institute and Lexol products would be ok, but we have not tested the others and that may be where the problem occurred.

When you run your hand over the bad area, if it drags more than around the surrounding areas, you may have worn off the top coat there and thus...your problem. Also if you wear jeans or abrasive clothing every time you drive that may be a factor, jeans are like sandpaper against the leather over time.

We work with a company called Guardsman and they have technicians all over the country. PM me with the general area you live in and we can see if anyone is around. If they are, maybe they could come take a look and see where we can go from here. But before you do that, if you have a digital camera, take pictures of the seat overall and the problem area for me to see. You have a PM with my info...