How should I care for the leather seats in my GTI

[bergerboy]

Hi Guys,

First time owning a car with leather seats.

Car is now just over a week old so what should I start doing to make sure I get the best wear out of the seats?

Also what products do you guys use to wash your car with?

[pologti18t]

What does the owner's manual have to say on the subject?

Be careful on what you apply to the steering wheel. Most leather treatments should be avoided on the steering wheel.

You could try these for gentle cleaning and protection

Oakwood Products - Products-automotive leather wipes x 20pk

Woolies have them.

Have a look at this for the long term

Best Interior Detailing Tricks: Leather and Plastics - YouTube

[Amalgam]

Hi Bergerboy,

Congrats on the new GTI.

I have had leather seats on several of my past cars including Mercedes, BMW, Subaru and now VW. I use AutoGlym Leather Cleaner and Gliptone Leather Conditioner. Gliptone is harder to find but well worth the effort otherwise AutoGlym Leather Conditioner is a worthy substitute. AutoGlym is available at Repco amongst others.

Regularly wipe clean the leather with a slightly damp towel, microfibre is best, and immediately clean it if a spill occurs. Once a fortnight to a month, depending on wear and tear, clean and condition the leather. For difficult stains use a soft toothbrush in small round circles, for very ingrained / old stains that won't otherwise shift use a soft nail brush.

[bergerboy]

Thanks guys for the advise

I'll try some of these hints

[Wolfgang]

The Duragloss leather cleaner and the conditioner is great. I've been using it for three years now on my MkV GTI leather seats.

You'll find them at Car Care Products.

[Tom87]

I use bowden's own leather love and leather guard on my MkV steering wheel and seat leather. It seems to do the job and doesn't leave the leather glossy, sticky or slimey. It actually leaves the leather alot grippier and "normal" feeling than any other product i've ever used or seen used in the past which is great as it turns out the leather seats in the MkV, VI and VII are nowhere near as good at holding you in as the cloth seats.

However I feel it really does need monthly treatment if the car has been seeing alot of sun (Bowden's Own suggests every 3 months I think). As a result I reckon there's probably better products to use on the seat leather used in these vehicles but I'm happy enough with it. Not being slippery in the slightest is what sold me. There's heaps of good products out there and the "leather" in these cars is a pretty standard finish with a healthy mix of leatherette/vynil so pretty durable to begin with.