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Corvette: How to Remove Wrinkles From Leather Seats

Taking care of your seats doesn't have to be difficult, and you don't have to live with wrinkles. Put down the seat cover catalog and read this first!

By Nick Vaughn - January 22, 2015

This article applies to the Corvette C5 (1997-2004), C6 (2005-2013), and C7 (2014-2015).

The exterior is the first thing anyone sees when walking up to your Vette. But if you're like most owners, you want the inside of your ride to look just as good as the outside. Most of us have a 'go-to' product for keeping the dash and trim looking clean. But sometimes we have a tendency to forget about the seats. What options does an owner have if the seats are no longer showroom perfect? Read on to learn about these options.

Materials Needed

  • A small, plastic bucket
  • Small towels
  • Microwave
  • Gloves or oven mitts
  • Leather cleaner and conditioner of your choice

Let's start with the cheapest option first.

Option 1 – Use Heated Towel Method

Step 1 – Microwave the towels in bucket

The bucket is going to need to be small enough to fit inside your microwave. Also, make certain that there are no metal attachments on your bucket; there's no need to destroy your microwave, or potentially your house! Roll up the towels and place them inside the bucket. Fill the bucket with water to a point where you can get all of the towels submerged in water. Put the bucket in the microwave. Set the timer for five minutes, and start the microwave.

Warning

DO NOT use a bucket or container that has any metal parts in the microwave.

Figure 1. Make sure the bucket you use does not contain any metal parts.

Step 2 – Place the heated towels on the seat(s)

Once the microwave goes off, remove the bucket from the microwave. The bucket, towels, and water will be EXTREMELY hot. Take caution not to burn yourself. You may want to use oven mitts or thick gloves for the next step. Once you've removed the towels, take them to your car. Unroll a towel and place it over a wrinkled area. It's a good idea to recline the seat back as far as possible so that the towel(s) don't slide down. Use as many towels as necessary to cover up all of the wrinkled areas. Leave the towels in place until they are cool to the touch. Once they are cool, remove them and check the seats. You should see an improvement on the tautness of the material.

Warning

The bucket and its contents will be VERY hot after being microwaved. Wear protective gloves or use oven mitts to remove the bucket from the microwave.

Figure 2. Hot towels work wonders on wrinkled seats.

Featured Video: Removing Upholstery Wrinkles

Option 2 – Use a Cleaner or Conditioner

There are many options for cleaners and conditioners on the market that claim to help extend and protect the life of leather and synthetic leather seats. The best recommendation is to take your time to find a product that works best for you. Not all are the same or produce the same results.

Figure 2. Working a cleaner, like Leatherique, into the seat can help preserve the leather.

Pro Tip

It's recommended to use a cleaning and conditioning product made by the same manufacturer if possible. Use the cleaning product first and then follow up with the conditioning product. You don't want to use conditioner first, as you could ingrain dirt and grime in to your seats.

If you've tried the steps listed above and you have also tried the cleaning and conditioner option, and the seat is still wrinkled, you may have a problem with the foam that makes up the body of the seat. Unfortunately, that would be a much more costly repair.

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