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Thread: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

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    Jr Member oxide's Avatar
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    Default leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    well this is my first car with leather interior. just wondering about care for the seats and steering wheel (its the worst with only 30K on it)
    are there factory seat covers or skins you can get or am i stuck with a CDN Tire or Walmart option that can be fitted for airbags?
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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    Why would you want to cover up the leather seats? You paid for them so you might as well use them.

    You can buy a leather care product (I use Autoglym from Can Tire)... apply it like two to three times a year... test on a small spot first so it doesn't accidentally change colour of your seat. Help keeps it from drying out and wrinkling... your driver seat will look the worst.
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    Jr Member oxide's Avatar
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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    some people are careless...i would like to keep them as nice as possible.
    i will look into the Autoglym for sure, thank you

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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    Nice thing about leather seats though is that they are so much easier to clean than cloth.

    If you spill a cup of coffee, or drop your cheeseburger on it grab a rag and wipe it up!

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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    Just use a cleaner/protectant combo every once in a while, I use the Lexol cleaner, myself. I used to use a conditioner too until I read this:

    Quote Originally Posted by bryansbestwax View Post
    Conditioners have no real benefit for standard leathers, the oils just sit on the eurethane coating. use a protection type product, like 303 protector, or even 1Z cockpit premium. I use a nano leather coating that can be bought from autoobsessed.com, it's the Gtechniq L1.

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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    That man has good advice.
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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    x3 on the Autoglym, use it twice a year or so.

    also, buy some leather wipes for occasional use, very handy, make sure you dont put the wipes in your car, they will dry fast.

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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    A good thing to do is use a steamer before so that it will open up the pores then wipe all the dirt off and then use the cleaning product so it will get into the pores significantly better and lasts longer

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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    I know I am a little late to the party, but if you want your leather to be protected AND look/feel amazing. Check this out. It is called Leatherique. It is expensive but worth every dime.

    I used it on my girlfriends Fiesta ST and on my MS3. My girlfriends car was 6 months old, and it STILL made the leather look/feel phenomenal.

    On my Mazdaspeed3, the only real leather is the steering wheel. It has 160,000kms on it and it felt like plastic. It was VERY shinny and smooth. After just one application, it was a nice dull finish that actually LOOKS like leather, and it was soft and grippy again.

    I even clean my nice dress shoes with this stuff and they look outstanding.

    I will never buy another leather cleaner/conditioner again.

    First Step:
    http://www.eshine.ca/leatherique_rej...121.php?cat=23

    Second Step:
    http://www.eshine.ca/leatherique_pre...120.php?cat=23
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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    Leatherique is a good product as well as the Lexol. Both will work and keep the leather soft.

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    Jr Member betterthansx's Avatar
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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    Quote Originally Posted by bastymn View Post
    Leatherique is a good product as well as the Lexol. Both will work and keep the leather soft.
    Heard good things about Lexol but haven't used it.

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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    I bought the Meguiars leather cleaner/conditioner spray from CT when I bought my 3. It came with third-party leather from Katzkin (look it up if you're thinking about reupholstering, expensive though).
    Anyway I use the spray once in a while, spraying onto a microfibre cloth and it works great cleaning dye transfer off the tan leather.

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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    Yeah, i've been using Lexol too. its good to use for leather

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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    Here is a copy and paste from another site…


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by chargerfan View Post
    jfelbab, what are your thoughts on those products that are all in one?

    (leather cleaner + conditioner, all in 1 step!)
    I don't like them.

    Few appreciate or understand protected leather, especially that used in automobiles. When you are looking at your protected leather you are looking at paint. When you attempt to condition your protected leather you are really attempting to condition paint. Paint doesn't benefit from conditioners.

    I've mentioned here in the forum, more than a few times, that conditioning products were designed for a different type of leather. Conditioners leave a film on protected leather that only hastens the accumulation of dirt. Conditioners do not penetrate the urethane painted top coat. True, some of the H2O in these conditioners evaporates and raises the relative humidity surrounding the leather which is good but a damp wipedown will do this as well and not leave that dirt grabbing film.

    Leather conditioners do nothing to prevent stains and dye transfers. If your leather has developed cracks, using an oily conditioner will degrade the adhesion of the painted surface around the crack and make the damage worse.

    The oils, silicones, or waxes contained in conditioners are not beneficial to protected leather.

    Conditioners are in many ways like a glaze for your car's paint. They are oily and leave a film that looks nice for a couple days until it evaporates. They do not penetrate the paint. The steel fender under the paint is not somehow conditioned. You wouldn't just apply a glaze to your paint for protection. You'd apply a sealant or a wax for that. In the case of protected leather, you want to protect it and wax would make it shiny, slippery and would wear off quickly as you slide in and out, so you are left with a sealant type of protection. Sealants for leather are called leather protectors and are a water-based fluorocarbon products. These protectants do just what you would expect. They dry after application, leave no oily film and don't rub off easily. They don't make the leather shiny, grabby or slippery. They do protect against stains and dye transfer.

    Many people like the term conditioner and think that their leather must either be fed or need conditioning. This is false concept based on older leather types. Protected leather has been tanned and treated in the manufacturing process to be soft and supple. These painted split hides have received in the tanning process, all the conditioning, fat liquoring and collagens they need at the fiber level to remain soft throughout their life. The hide is painted to provide a uniform color and grain pattern. If your leather seems to have become hard, it is due to moisture loss and moisture will replenish the softness. Not oils or fat liquors, neither of which could penetrate the topcoat.

    In any case, an oily conditioner will;
    1. either not penetrate the painted topcoat and sit on the leather leaving a sticky or grabby film that attracts dirt which increases abrasion. In some cases conditioners contain wax or silicone making your seats shiny and slippery.
    2. if this oily mixture gets through cracks in the topcoat, it will negatively impact the bond the topcoat has with the leather causing a more rapid decline in the leather coating.

    So how do you rehydrate painted leather? Through repeated and regular wipe-downs with a moist towel. Moisture will be re-absorbed by the leather fibers via higher humidity levels surrounding the leather. Water on the painted surface won't directly be absorbed through the topcoat into the leather but the raised humidity level will cause the leather to take up moisture. Moisture is the lifeblood of protected leather.

    Lest you think this is just my opinion, let me suggest that you do your homework. Contact some leather industry restoration professionals and ask these questions. Don't just rely on my comments, verify these comments with other leather professionals. Try not to believe everything product sales hype tells you. Snake oil salesmen have been around for ever and you need to go to the source to find the truth.

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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    -Meguire's Leather Cleaner
    -Meguire's Interior Wipes
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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    Are the GT seats ALL completely made up of real leather? Some indicate that it is only the middle section where your bum sits that is the actual real leather. That the sides and back are synthetic. This would alter what product do you use to clean and protect the seats.

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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    Post above about most cr leather already being "coated" is accurate. So why would one want to add any moisturizer...

    There is one I have found that makes the inside of your car smell as if you went into the highest-end leather shop in the world. If you like the smell of leather, this is what I use. The compliments keep on coming about how nice the inside of my cars smell.

    One bottle last me two full years for two cars -- both of which have lots more leather than just the seats, so very inexpensive ($11.95). Also so easy to apply.

    http://www.zainostore.com/product/Z-10.html

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    Default Re: leather care - spray|wipes|skins?

    i use mother's leather care cleaner and conditioner. works ok for me. i'm sure there's better if you're willing to spend the money. i've always wanted to checkout weather tech's detailing products

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