Mazda MX5 NC Leather Cleaning (The story of removing Human Filth)

So, today was both gross and great. I decided it was HUMAN FILTH removal day.

I knew when I got the car that the leather although in pretty good condition, was utterly filthy. More so the driver’s seat than the passengers one, but still not great. The tan leather also shows dirt a bit easier than some colors.

Today I had some free time, so went to town cleaning both seats and the steering wheel.

I’ve had a leather cleaning kit sitting around for ages, it has two bottles of leather cleaner, a brush, a microfiber pad and a sponge.

I started with this, ugh. This is the driver’s seat.

The first part I attacked was the RH lower bolster.

The change was pretty obvious straight away. The color was lighter, and uniform instead of being all ugly and motley.

I then moved onto doing one half of the base, showing how different the color is when cleaned. Yuck, so much human butt filth.

The method I used (and that was recommended by the manufacturer of the kit) was to pour some cleaner on the sponge, lather it up with your hand and then rub the area you’re cleaning with said sponge.

Then I gave it a scrub with the brush in circular motions

And wiped away with a clean microfiber cloth. This is a 50/50 shot. Clean on the RH side.

And from there, did the rest of the seat. I also removed the seatbelt guide so I could clean around that as it was pretty dirty too.

So once the driver’s seat was done, I moved onto the passenger’s seat. This wasn’t nearly as bad but still had some minor discoloration.

Gots to get your vacuum on, getting all the shit out of the gaps and creases.

It’s hard to see, but the left half is cleaned, right half isn’t.

Once all the human filth was gone from there, I gave the door cards a quick once over as they are also “leather”
Spot the difference, lol.

Before

After

And then did the steering wheel. This was slick and shiny. Cleaning it was horrible because so much black filth came off it.

It’s now a nice matte finish and has more definition to the texture. Feels nicer to touch.

Bonus cool interior pic

Bonus cool pic of polished chrome fuel flap everyone hates

And the light I purchased yesterday that made this all possible. So handy, wish I got one sooner. Runs on either mains power, or one of my One+ batteries.

After the thorough cleaning I had to condition the leather to keep it nice and soft (or at least just hopefully stop it cracking more).

This has been my go-to leather conditioner for years. I’ve had it since my Rover SD1, so something like 9 years. The smell hits me right in the feels, reminds me of the SD1.

It smells like lanolin (probably because it’s got it in it) and leaves a nice semi-gloss finish. Not quite matte, but certainly not glossy. It’s the old wipe on, leave for a few minutes, buff off deal. Easy.

And this is how much leather cleaner I used. Not a lot considering I poured more on the sponge for almost every section of each seat.

And my lovely clean steering wheel.

A quick vacuum of the carpet mats, and the interior is now looking flash as. Well worth the effort (especially when there is that much human bum filth on the seats).