I love the smell of a car with leather interior... problem is. The previous owner of my car was a smoker, so I never had that wonderful auroma. Is there a way to regain that "leather" smell? A treatment of some kind? If not, I'll just resort to the ol' pine tree. :|
Well alot of places cell really strong chemical "deodorizers" or something like that. I would assume you just put that everywhere and let it sit (or rub it in..i have no idea)
Then I suppose you could just use Meguiars Gold Class leather cleaner and Meguiars Vinyl/Rubber protectant. I abuse them both and my car always smells pretty close to new.
clean everything with rubbing alcohol, it removes a lot of the smoke deposits, may clean up the smell a bit. Your main problems are the carpet and headliner. Remove them and steam clean em (probably not the headliner, steam will melt the glue, just vacuum that.
FORGET ANY CLEANER....PERIOD. It's a waste of time and money. If you really want the smell to be gone. Go to a detail shop. If they have a decent operation they should have an O-zone machine. It is placed inside your car and then sealed shut. After they're done with it, you'll have the new car smell guaranteed.
First get the carpets steamed...that should help a lot.
Next, pull the seatbelts all the way out and leave them out all night for a few weeks with the windows open (hopefully you have a garage).
Then, get some Mother's leather cleaner, scrub it in with a toothbrush and wipe off with a clean rag...do small sections at a time.
To get the leather smell back, get a hold of Tannery leather conditioner...it is in a black aerosol can. I get it at Wal Mart up here in Canada. Spray it on the seats after they have been cleaned. Wipe off with a clean rag.
if you're willing to spend the $ I would take it to a detail shop and have them do a serious detail job on your interior and make sure you tell them that your goal is to get rid of the smell...they have a handfull of techniques to do that effectively
FORGET ANY CLEANER....PERIOD. It's a waste of time and money. If you really want the smell to be gone. Go to a detail shop. If they have a decent operation they should have an O-zone machine. It is placed inside your car and then sealed shut. After they're done with it, you'll have the new car smell guaranteed.
Bingo!!!!! We have a winner. This is the ONLY thing that will work, I don't care what anyone else tells you. I do this for a living and am certified by the IICRC. Ozone is what is used for fire restoration work and will kill ANY odor you have. Call up some local restoration companies and ask them if you can drop your car off and have them use the Ozone machine overnight. Shouldn't cost more than $50 and I guarantee it will NOT smell.
And DO NOT use alcohol on leather!! You never want to put anything on leather that will dry it out. You also run the risk of removing the dye in leather if you do this. Bad news.
Also, if you are interested in some good deodorizers, do a search on the web for carpet and upholstery products.. Not cheap over-the-counter stuff either. Look for products from Bridgepoint, ChemSpec, Hydramaster, or Jon-Dot. These types of deodorizers will give you a long lasting scent with only a couple drops. Better than any air freshener you will ever use. I personally use one called SpiceAir by Bridgepoint and love it.