Land Rover Forums - Land Rover Enthusiast Forum - LR2 Leather Seat Denim Dye Stain Removal

I have the Alpaca Beige color on my leather seats. I was negligent in removing a stain that was made over time as I got in and out of my car wearing blue jeans which rubbed against the side of the driver's seat. This is a common problem with light colored leather. I've had this stain for years and have finally decided to do something about it.

The approach recommended for cleaning leather is to start with the most gentle product and only work your way up to stronger products until the stain is removed. I started with cleaners intended for leather. In order, I tried Lexol Leather Cleaner, followed by Leather Master Strong Cleaner, and then Leather Master Super Remover. None of these products worked on my stain which must be set in with age.

So then I moved to stronger products that are in the general household cleaning category. These products carry the risk of removing the polyurethane coating on the leather, as well as the leather color itself, so you don't want to apply them with any more pressure than needed to get the desired result. First, I tried isopropyl rubbing alcohol (70%) with no effect. Next, I used a Magic Eraser which is really a very fine grit sanding block that feels like soft foam. Success! The eraser took the stain right off with some firm rubbing. Fortunately, I didn't notice any color removal from the leather itself that would require recoloring, but that is a possible next step when you use an aggressive product on leather.

Finally, I applied Leather Master Protection Cream as a dressing over the surface to resist future stains. Leather Master also makes another product called Leather Barrier which is supposed to address this specific problem of preventing dye stains from denim, but I don't have that particular product.

The most important thing to remember is to attempt removal of stains on leather as soon as possible after they occur. That's when you have the best chance of removing them without resorting to very aggressive techniques that might damage the leather. I was lucky that I didn't do any harm.

I'm attaching before and after photos, and I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

You may notice there are some small tears on the leather as this side is constantly compressed and expanded when I get in and out of the seat. I'll post another thread in the near future on how I address these tears, tackling one challenge at a time.