Some leather care products clean leather, others replenish its oils and some close off seal the leather. If you are using one product and
process, that doesn't work so good.

Leather, having once been used to keep the insides of a steer from falling out, is designed to pass moisture through tiny pores. These tiny
pores absorb human perspiration, dirt and whatever. As the water absorbed evaporates, its leaves salt that eliminates the natural oils in
the leather and the hide shrinks and cracks like an overdone roast. The loss of oils within the leather is the first step to hardening, cracking
and shrinkage.

This accumulation of salts and other grunge should be cleaned from the leather once a year (or more if your climate and driving gives the
leather more than its fair share of leftover sweat and/or rain water).  (Leather door tops and dash bumpers are more prone to hardening and
shrinking as it is subjected to a greater amount of destructive UV rays and heat concentrated by the windshield.)

CLEANING

1. So that is your first step to reviving or annually treating your leather. Cleaning it to remove the salts and reopen the leather clogged
pores. If you have not cleaned the leather, then all you are doing is sealing the salt with a gooey surface coating.

Cleaning leather may be accomplished by using a mild soap and water, or specifically designed leather cleaner. Get something ph balanced, like
Lexol pH Cleaner or Dove. All cleaners will re-hydrate the leftover salts and grime and wash them from the leather fibers and re-open the
pores that other leather products have blocked.

Any cleaner should be rinsed thoroughly from the leather. Use a damp cloth and repeatedly wipe down the leather. Now let the leather dry thoroughly. It should now look terrible. [This is the time to decide whether your old leather need a re-dye or repairs or not.]

WATCHPOINT: HARDENED LEATHER: If the leather has hardened there are two products I know that will fix it. One is made by a UK company called Nuera. (They also make dyes for most of the leather used in the UK.) The other is called Surflex Leather Softener.

These products are made from natural and synthetic oils that restore the natural softness to neglected leather. After cleaning the leather, apply
a liberal coat of either of these softeners. Allow it to penetrate the leather for 24 hours and then wipe off the excess. If it needs an additional application, repeat the above. For really bad areas, cover with plastic and allow it to sit for a few days. Once the
leather is sufficiently softened, allow to "cure" for another 24 hours and buff off any excess.
 

CONDITIONING

2. Once the leather is clean and dry, you need conditioners to restore lost oils and emollients. There are scores of leather conditioners on
the market. Lexol Conditioner, Zymol, Leatherique conditioner. There are even conditioners that impart a fresh leather smell!

There are many who swear by Connoly Hyde Food. It is made from rendered animal parts, very think and turns rancid in about two years. It has a distinctive cow smell).  If Hyde Food hits your fancy, why not try lanolin instead? It is pure rendered sheep fat making it MUCH better form of emollient  without Hyde Food's drawbacks. The only drawback to lanolin is that it can soften some leathers TOO much ..in the case of shoes and saddles. Great for car leather though. Like anything with leather, it is fine if it is one part of a range of products being used. Use it to deal with specific issues (to soften and replenish).

Avoid the greasy conditioners and stick with a few products that are easy for the leather to absorb. That is easy to test. After all, your hands
are a type of leather. If it can be absorbed by your hands, it will be absorbed by the leather. If you are restoring leather, rub something in
once every few days for 2-3 weeks. Do it until the leather tells you to stop.

Apply the conditioner to a soft cloth and work into the leather, allow it to be absorbed into the fibers and then buff off the excess. I put it
on with my hands and wipe off the excess.  The leather will tell you if you have applied too much or apply too often as the leather will just
stop absorbing for that session..or finally it will not absorb any more at all.

WATCHPOINT: Do NOT use a vinyl products as cleaners or conditioners on leather.

WATCHPOINT: Avoid silicone based products. Siliconed oils will dissolve out the leather's natural oils and tend to make the leather sticky.
Silicone has a very high electrostatic attraction, and will invite every dust particle within miles to set up camp in your interior.

PROTECTORS

3. Now you can use leather protectors (cream or spray) until next year.