How to remove ink mark from leather seat??

[sagdog]

Upon return of my 2006 RX400h, with light beige leather seats, from the 40K scheduled maintenance, I noticed what appeared to be a ball-point pen mark on the seat. Approx one-half inch long in a "v" pattern. When I attempted to remove it with isopropyl alcohol, the alcohol seemed to remove the ink, but also the color from the leather, under the mark. So, now have what appears to be missing color from the leather, where the mark was.

So, question is.. Does anyone know of a means to touch-up the light beige color of the leather?? The mark is small, but I know it's there, and the car's upholstery is otherwise like brand new.

Thanks for any reasonable suggestions or experience.

[mandyfig]

Sorry to hear about the leather. Check the leather shops...they might know how to blend it in.

[FisforFast]

Hairspray (the kind with alcohol in it) seems to do fairly well on cloth surfaces... not sure how much help it will be on leather, though.

[RsSharKy]

you have to dyed it back
i had the same problem just like u when i bought my new RX
i tried hairspray and i got the exactly same result as u
leather seat color faded and i can still see a little bit of blue mark
dealer dyed it back for me at no charge, since it was on there b4 i even bought it

so i will suggest u try leatherique? i believe they sell both cleaning and dyed stuff

[ColdLexus]

If you have the same ink marks in other areas, use Thompson leather care.
Don't know how you are going to get the colour back in the alcohol affected areas though. As suggested, try a leather care shop.

[veleno]

You might want to check the detailing forums, they should have some recommendations.

[jfelbab]

What you are looking at when you look at almost all leather upholstery is paint.

The leather is basically the carrier for the paint or top coat. The leather upholstery is a split layer of the hide and it is painted and textured with a urethane coating to look like expensive top leather. The leather underneath this top coat is UGLY. When you use the wrong cleaning agent or a harsh abrasive you are risking damage to that thin urethane coating. In this case the texture was not affected but the paint was stained.

Always test the product you plan to use in an inconspicuous area to see what the result will be before using it in highly visible areas. This is important as repair of the secondary damage may cost more to repair than the original damage.

For ink stain repair I'd suggest a product designed to remove ink from leather like this:
http://www.leatherworldtech.com/Prod...r__LMIK08.aspx
Take care to be sure you are only removing the ink stain and not the leather dye.

For repair of the damage now I'd suggest this:
http://www.leatherworldtech.com/Prod...ant__D245.aspx

To prevent ink and similar stains from penetrating the top coat of your leather I'd strongly recommend using this at least quarterly:
http://www.leatherworldtech.com/Prod...__LMPC250.aspx

Sometimes it is best to take your problems to a professional. Often it results in a better, faster repair, and can be cheaper in the long run.

Rule #1... Don't make the damage worse.

I used to have an uncle who loved to play tv repair guy. He would always visit my MIL and go behind her TV and start tweaking things and the tv always looked much worse when he finished. My MIL would occasionally have to get a pro back after he left to correct his wonking around. The pro finally just put some nail polish on the controls so they could not easily be moved. LOL

If you are not sure of what you are doing seek out an experienced pro.