TTBud

So I pressed my luck and left the top down a bit too long. Received a good soaking.....I'd say 15 minutes of a good downpour. Seats have been wet before but not puddles in the seats.

I caught it before it stopped raining and dried them as best I could with towel and natural air. But now there are parts of the seat cushions which look shriveled, dried and are hard to the touch. I'm no tanner but I suspect the natural leature moisture is depleted in those areas.

Any suggestions for a remedy?

CTA4AVANT

"Lexol" is one brand that comes to mind.

RKA

15 minute exposure to water shouldn't harm the leather. I've done the same, wiped the seat down, and it's fine. Leather seats in cars are generally pretty resilient to moisture exposure (within reason). Leather furniture in your house is not. Anyway, are you sure water didn't get past the leather and into the foam inside the seat in such a way that the leather remained soaked with water all the way through, and for much longer than you originally thought?

Other than cleaning and conditioning, I'm not sure what else you can do. Eventually the leather will soften up over time and use, but if the leather has been soaked all the way through, the damage has been done. Best thing you can do is probably pull the seat cover to remove any remaining moisture so you don't continue damaging the seat...but that's a lot of work. You have to decide how much water you think got inside the seats and whether it's worth the effort.

onuris

Most modern car leather/leatherette is covered a bonded layer of protective vinyl. But if the vinyl layer is compromised after years of wear and tear, then I can see how water will start soaking in and damaging the leather/leatherette.

I can also see how a puddle would start to make its way through the thread seams too. I've cleaned several late models where the leather conditioner soaks through at the seams.