Mink oil is one of the most common animal-based oils used for caring for and treating leather. Mink oil is great for a lot of leather situations like treating dry leather, conditioning hard wearing leather, items. But the issue is, is the use of Mink oil really good for car leather seats?
Mink oil has certain peculiar quantities that makes it good for leather car seats. The characteristics of mink oil that makes it great for leather car seats is that mink oil is good moisturizer, softener, and perfect for Waterproofing leather car seats.
For the rest of this article, I delve into the pros and cons when it comes to using Mink Oil on leather and a couple of other helpful tips. Stick around!
Pros
There are a lot of benefits to using mink oil on car leather seats some of such advantages includes:
Mink Oil Is a Good Moisturizer For Leather Car Seats
Mink oil is a good moisturizer for leather car seats. Your leather car seats are one of the most used components of a car. Every time you drive your car, you use your leather car seats. And so because of this, leather car seats tend to take a lot of hit throughout its use.
A simple rule of thought is to clean and condition your leather car seats at least 3-4 times in a year. You can absolutely DIY it or take it to a professional interior detailer. There are several ways leather is cleaned and conditioned but the most basic way of going about it is first cleaning the leather car seat with a mild cleaner with pH level being 5 or neutral. This is just about enough to safely get any kind of stain, dirt, and oils from the leather.
What follows a good deep leather car seat cleaning routine is nourishing or moisturizing it. What the leather moisturizer does is to restore lost oils from the leather car seats during the cleaning process and mink oil is a great moisturizer you can use to make leather soft and supply.
Also if you have leather car seats that have gone dry and you want to bring it back to life, mink oils are exceptional and will work some magic on them.
Mink Oil Waterproofs
Great for waterproofing so that in case it rains, your leather car seats are safe. One important tip to remember is to always apply the mink oil at the same time to the leather car seat so that all of the leather seat colors will look the same all the time.
You would also want to do due diligence to the stitches of the leather car seats. You want the stitches to also have enough mink oil on there so that when it gets wet water or liquids do not find its way through such stitched areas to get into the leather. Not doing this can cause mold to grow on the leather car seats.
Mink Oil is a Great Leather Softener
Another important benefit that makes Mink oil great for leather car seats is that it’s a great way to soften leather that has dried out. Mink oil helps to make leather car seats supple and smooth. Leather car seats often suffer a lot of damage from the sun which causes it to dry out.
Applying a layer of mink oil will protect the leather car seat surface from the harmful rays of the sun. It goes without saying that without treating your dried leather car seats with a suitable leather conditioner like mink oil, the leather car seats will eventually start to crack and peel.
Mink Oil Weather-proofs Your Leather Car Seats
In addition to the advantages of applying mink oil to leather car seats, mink oil is going to climate guard the leather car seats. Utilizing mink oil on your car seat will help make your car leather seat climate safe. So whether rain or shine, snow or storm, your leather will have complete protection.
Leather is breathable and will assimilate anything that comes close to it like smoke, perfumes, moisture in the air, and almost everything. So when you’re on a jolly ride with your windows down, remember your leather car seats will be taking on anything in the atmosphere and if it’s not properly protected, it’s fibers could be disrupted.
Leather as a material gets its strength from the leather fibers holding up and for the leather fibers to hold up properly, they have to be conditioned or oiled properly. The impacts the elements of the weather have on leather can be severe considering how leather car seats get exposed to the time. So using mink oil on leather car seats can be a great way to protect it from the elements of the weather.
Cons
There are many advantages to using mink oil on leather car seats. As the saying going — “to every advantage, there’s a disadvantage”. So we’re are now going to take a look at the disadvantages of mink oils use on leather car seats.
Odor
One of the biggest challenges when it comes to using mink oil is its proper usage and application. Mink oil if not properly applied
One of the biggest challenges when it comes to using mink oil is its proper usage and application.
Mink oil if not properly applied can turn rancid especially in poor conditions. The spoilage that’s often associated with mink oil can result in unseemly bad odors on your leather car seats which can be quite difficult to get rid of.
Can Over-Soften Leather
Another negative thing that may occur if mink oil is inappropriately applied that it can break down the leather on the car seat and make it extremely soft. And because leather car seats are hard wearing, the leather softening can cause the leather gradually stretch out and for leather bubbles and dents to develop.
Darkens The Leather Car Seats
A major concern for a lot of car owners when it comes to using mink oil is the notion that mink oil darkens leather. Yes! It’s true. Mink oil 9.9 out of 10 will darken your leather Mink oil will make your leather car seat two to three or more shades darker and here’s why.
The main reason why mink oil does this is because it deeply penetrates the leather of your car seats, clogs the pores and forms a protective barrier that can not be gotten rid off easily. In some cases, the leather will become darkened permanently, while in some cases the leather will eventually lighten in a couple of weeks if not months.
How to Use Mink Oil on Your Leather Car Seats
Mink oil gives leather a nice protective treatment. The proper use of mink oil on leather car seats will supply it with a robust complete protective and resolving oils which will leave you leather car seats looking good.
Mink oil may come in different forms but the most common and easy to use type are those that come in the form of a paste.
Here’s how you apply mink oil on leather car seats. But first here’s what you will need.
Things Needed:
- A Microfiber cloth
- Hairdryer
- Mink oil
Procedure:
Step 1: Remove any form of dust or debris from the leather with a clean dry cloth. Ensure there’s no dirt or dust lingering on the leather car seat.
Step 2: Slightly warm up the leather seat with a hairdryer. Don’t hold the drier too close to the leather car seat. This is going to help in making sure that the mink oil applied absorbed well into the leather.
Step 3: Put a liberal amount of mink oil paste on your microfiber cloth and then apply evenly on the leather car seat. Make sure not to oversaturate the leather by concert ration a large amount of mink oil on one particular area of the leather car seat. It’s important to do a spot test on a hidden part of the leather to see if you’re okay with the resulting color change to your leather car seat.
Step 4: After you have applied the mink oil to the whole leather seats, you can now use your hairdryer to again warm up the mink oil on the surface of the leather. You will have to do this because mink oil is very greasy and warming it up will help to melt the oils for good absorbent into the leather pores.
Step 5: Allow to cure! This may take between 24 to 72 hours to cure.
Related Question
How often should you condition leather car seats with mink oil?
Generally, the best practice when it comes to conditioning leather car seat is every three months. However, if you use your car on a daily basis or your car gets exposed to the sun most of the time, then 4-5 times a years is a good conditioning routines you could keep up with. On the other hand, if you don’t use your car regularly, then twice a year is great.
