Autoglym Leather Care Balm – Product Review

We’re sticking with Autoglym for this week’s product review but we’re venturing inside the car this time with its Leather Care Balm. This is the fifth product from Autoglym that we’ve reviewed in our Weekend Shop series, with every single one of them achieving a score of 5 out of 5 bar one that scored 4. This isn’t lyrical waxing on our part, however, we genuinely use this stuff on a regular basis, we have an affinity for the brand and that should tell you all you need to know about the efficacy of its products. We don’t just provide a world-class platform for buying and selling classics, we own, repair, modify and love them too, which means we have garages and workshops stuffed to the gills with myriad tools, toys and vehicular related products meaning you can trust our opinions. Or ignore them completely, the choice is yours.

What you can’t ignore, however, is tired and dowdy looking leather upholstery, if you’re the owner of such a historically prized interior material that is. Whether it be your hardly touched Huracan hide or a somewhat patinated Corinthian cow skin it’s not only important to keep the stuff clean but you also need to keep it supple. Nobody likes cracked leather and that’s where the Autoglym Leather Care Balm comes in because as an interior material leather can be a fickle beast. Yes it’s naturally hard wearing but it is rather susceptible to its environment, preferring the right balance of heat, light and moisture to remain in top condition. Extremes of temperature, as well as air conditioning and the constant chaffing of bums on seats can all take their toll on your leather upholstery and much like your regimented skin care routine, your classic’s leather requires regular treatment to keep it looking its best.

Get your Autoglym Leather Care Balm here.

The Product

Autoglym’s Leather Care Balm is a rebranding of its older Leather Care Cream, which we have also used to great effect in the past. Essentially the same product it acts as a food, replacing the natural oils and essential preservatives that leather needs, conserving its natural appearance and characteristics and protecting it going forward. The official spiel from Autoglym describes it as “a carefully blended pH neutral emulsion containing soaps, natural oils and surface proofing agents which nourish and moisturise vehicle leather”. Leather is leather though and the balm can also be used on household items too. Not only that but you can slap it on textured vinyl and other plastic trim as well, protecting it all whilst imparting an enriched, natural finish. Bonus.

The Test

You can’t just bung this stuff on your convertible’s leather seats after pulling it out of the barn it’s been living in for the past seven years though. This isn’t a leather cleaning product, it’s a balm to be used after the cleaning process has been completed as a way to nourish and protect. So, with an already spangly interior we set to it, applying the product to our Volvo 940’s leather upholstery using a soft cloth. There are a few areas that are beginning to wear now – it is 26 years old after all – but generally speaking it’s in pretty good shape so we thought we’d treat it to some love and help preserve its current state. When the balm was well worked in and the creaminess had disappeared we buffed the area with a second clean cloth until the entire interior was treated.

The Result

After application our seats looked visibly healthier and the dryer, more worn areas felt a lot more supple. Due to the fact it can be used on plastics and vinyl we didn’t have to worry about being super precise with our application either, allowing us to be a little more slapdash and making the job a lot quicker. One of the great things about this Leather Balm is that it absorbs well and doesn’t leave any unnatural glossy, sticky or greasy surface residues, just a lovely, natural matt finish. The bottle indicates that treatment is necessary twice a year under normal conditions which means a 500ml bottle will last you a fair while and at a discounted 8 quid from Amazon at the time of writing it’s a bargain in anyone’s books.

The Verdict – 5 out of 5

Make no mistake, this isn’t some wonder cream that’s going to magically fix any cracked or damaged leather, for that you’ll need a dedicated repair, but what it will do is preserve what you already have making it far less prone to further deterioration as it keeps the material nourished, moist and supple without transferring any of the product on to your person. It’s relatively odour-less to boot so if you’re averse to sickly sweet air fresheners and the like then it’s definitely the balm for you. Autoglym can change the name as much as it likes, as long as the product itself remains the same then we’ll continue to treat our leather upholstery with the stuff and we recommend you do too.