The Most Important Project You Can Do For Your Corvette In the Winter

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Lithium Auto Elixirs

Save 20% at Lithium Auto Care with Promo Code CB20

When it comes to your Corvette and making it amazing to look at, most people admittingly focus on the exterior. However, over 70% of used car buyers say “a car’s interior is the most important part of their buying decision,” which makes sense when you consider it is the place you will spend 6% of your life. Also, when you consider the interior is the area that people feel the least qualified to restore or repair, you can see why a clean interior can boost a car’s resale value by as much as 30%. So taking care of it makes sense!

Let’s face it though, during the winter most people are not that enthusiastic about their car’s appearance, as they might otherwise be if the sun was shining. However, if you keep your projects focused on the interior, it can be much easier to stay motivated. This one is about keeping your car’s leather seats not only looking and feeling great, but healthy as well. When it is freezing outside, the leather in your Corvette is arguably at its most vulnerable. As we know, leather is skin and during winter the air tends to be much dryer and ultraviolet rays are their strongest.

Just like your skin, leather is very vulnerable to these extreme conditions and it is extremely important to protect and hydrate skins to avoid the drying and cracking that happens during the winter season.

Here are the steps to protect and keep leather healthy in the cold months

STEP ONE: Thorough cleaning. You would not put lotion on filthy skin, so do not put it on your seats. Most of the dirt and grime comes from the oils on your body which are left behind on the seats, door panels, steering wheel, and shifter/center console, and they act as a magnet for more dirt. All of which contain bacteria – and bacteria are hungry and they will find a cut of leather to be quite an agreeable meal.

Start with a quality microfiber towel dunked in hot water and thoroughly rung out. Then get a cleaner like Lithium’s Hyper Cleanse that is specifically made for leather. Don’t go cheap here or you can cause more harm than good. Good leather cleaners do not contain solvents that dry out hides. First, rub down the surface with nothing but the wet microfiber this will help open the pores in the leather and take off the dirt on the surface. Then spray on the clearer and let it remain there for at least 30 to 60 seconds, then wipe clean. If it has been a while since you have done this, you make want to engage the help of a nice quality horsehair brush to agitate the dirt and get it out of the seams and creases.

STEP TWO: Now that you have made the leather look incredible, it is time to hydrate and protect it. Over the years, we have come to the conclusion that synthetic car products are bad, however, synthetics usually work best on other synthetic surfaces (i.e. paints, plastics, etc.) When it comes to natural substances such as leather, products with natural ingredients tend to work best.

Our favorite product for hydrating and conditioning leather is called Leather Love. It is a high-viscosity balm that contains all the things your leather needs to stay soft, supple and protected. The key here is to allow it to stay on the surface for as long as possible, allowing it ample time to reverse and replace what years of exposure have taken from your car’s hides. Using a clean microfiber towel (or your hand) rub a liberal amount of product on the surface of your seats, massaging it into the leather. Now allow it to remain on the surface for at least 30 minutes. Then wipe the seats clean. If you have perforated leather seats, be certain to not use large amounts in these areas, it is best to just moisten the towel with the conditioner and rub gently into the seat so you do not clog the perforations with excess ointment.

STEP THREE: Maintenance. Now that you have everything not only looking incredible but also on its way back to “healthy” things get pretty easy. You only need to do an overhaul like the one described above – every 8 to 12 months. However, a good maintenance program in between is always a good idea. There are a couple of products we really like for this. Slather Bio Cleanse is an incredibly quick cleaner and conditioner that you can keep in the frunk/trunk of your car and every time you wash the exterior, you can quickly spritz down your seats, dash and door panels then wipe them dry. Takes about 3 minutes and will keep everything clean and smelling great.

If you consider yourself an overachiever and are looking for extra credit, you can always bump it up another notch with another of our favorite products, Hide Rehab. This product contains Lipid, coconut oil, and shea butter and will not only leave your interior smelling great but feeling great as well.

And there you have it! The most important thing you can do for your Corvette this winter – and any season for that matter!

Now through January 30th, CorvetteBlogger readers can save 20% from Lithium Auto Elixirs using promo code CB20!

GET THE INTERIOR KIT

Lithium offers all four interior cleaning products bundled together with their Griptonite Premium Detailing Brushes for just $99.00! You can get Hyper Cleanse cleaner, Inner Space conditioner and U.V. inhibitor, Leather Love moisturizer and protector, and Hide Rehab leather conditioner plus the brushes in an easy-to-store kit.

Source:
Lithium Auto Care