I would be interested in a before and after cleaning of the LS430.
Leather care...how I do it.
- Thread starter gregk24
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Do you take ur shoes off before getting in?! Luckily you are in Florida..with keeping ur car that perfect poses really frustrating challenges here...snow and salt on carpet...looks great
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Originally Posted By: gregk24
Originally Posted By: horse123
Or, you know, buy one of the hundred products made to actually prolong the life of leather. Woolite is definitely not designed for leather or car seats.
Most modern automotive leathers are coated in vinyl. Woolite delicates is very gentle, especially when diluted with water. It is also less expensive than a bottle of Lexol cleaner.
I'll add to Greg's post. Most automotive chain leather cleaners are very harsh and will dry your leather out,plus smell really chemically. Woolite is what I use on mine to clean it as well and is about the most gentle cleaner you can use on your leather.
Originally Posted By: horse123
Or, you know, buy one of the hundred products made to actually prolong the life of leather. Woolite is definitely not designed for leather or car seats.
Most modern automotive leathers are coated in vinyl. Woolite delicates is very gentle, especially when diluted with water. It is also less expensive than a bottle of Lexol cleaner.
I'll add to Greg's post. Most automotive chain leather cleaners are very harsh and will dry your leather out,plus smell really chemically. Woolite is what I use on mine to clean it as well and is about the most gentle cleaner you can use on your leather.
Thanks for the post! I see you like to keep your Accord as clean as I keep mine! Yes, I'm very OCD!
I will try using Woolite with a brush this weekend and see if that gets them as clean as yours!
I will try using Woolite with a brush this weekend and see if that gets them as clean as yours!
Looks great and awesome job!
But weekly details, boy I wish I had that kind of time on my hands lol.
But weekly details, boy I wish I had that kind of time on my hands lol.
Originally Posted By: horse123
Or, you know, buy one of the hundred products made to actually prolong the life of leather. Woolite is definitely not designed for leather or car seats.
Most car leathers are coated these days, unlike the old vat-dyed leather Mercedes and BMW proudly boasted to using or Connolly found in British cars. Even the semi-aniline stuff Lexus and Mercedes uses has a coating on it but a semi-porous one. Lear and another firm provide a majority of the world's automotive leather, Rolls-Royce and Bentley being the few standouts. Back in the day, something like Lexol or Connolly Leather Food would work.
Someone here used Murphy's Soap on a Dodge and it worked well - leather takes well to mild or castile soap. A "leather" care product wouldn't hurt, but "mainline" cars(read: anything without the Bavarian flag/spinning propellers, four rings, 3-pointed star, circle-L, flying B, interlocked Rs, leaping cat, prancing horse or charging bull) would do just fine with 303.
I'm using Griot's Leather Care on my parent's car, and probably Dr. Bronner's to clean up the leather if it's dirty.
Or, you know, buy one of the hundred products made to actually prolong the life of leather. Woolite is definitely not designed for leather or car seats.
Most car leathers are coated these days, unlike the old vat-dyed leather Mercedes and BMW proudly boasted to using or Connolly found in British cars. Even the semi-aniline stuff Lexus and Mercedes uses has a coating on it but a semi-porous one. Lear and another firm provide a majority of the world's automotive leather, Rolls-Royce and Bentley being the few standouts. Back in the day, something like Lexol or Connolly Leather Food would work.
Someone here used Murphy's Soap on a Dodge and it worked well - leather takes well to mild or castile soap. A "leather" care product wouldn't hurt, but "mainline" cars(read: anything without the Bavarian flag/spinning propellers, four rings, 3-pointed star, circle-L, flying B, interlocked Rs, leaping cat, prancing horse or charging bull) would do just fine with 303.
I'm using Griot's Leather Care on my parent's car, and probably Dr. Bronner's to clean up the leather if it's dirty.
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Only thing I'd change is using the 303. Get a dedicated leather conditioner. They're made specifically to care for and pamper the stitching as well as the leather itself. All automotive leather is coated to some degree ot it'd ruin the very second it's exposed to the elements and use. Vinyl protectants can destroy the stitching from what I've read up on detailing and have also been told. I've seen this happen first hand,the stitching will eventually come apart.
Looks good.
I still prefer cloth seats, even if leather costed the same as cloth.
I still prefer cloth seats, even if leather costed the same as cloth.
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Only thing I'd change is using the 303. Get a dedicated leather conditioner. They're made specifically to care for and pamper the stitching as well as the leather itself. All automotive leather is coated to some degree ot it'd ruin the very second it's exposed to the elements and use. Vinyl protectants can destroy the stitching from what I've read up on detailing and have also been told. I've seen this happen first hand,the stitching will eventually come apart.
Coated leathers are encased in vinyl, little to none of the product will actually reach the leather. The oils in leather conditioner can actually delaminate the coating from the leather.
Only thing I'd change is using the 303. Get a dedicated leather conditioner. They're made specifically to care for and pamper the stitching as well as the leather itself. All automotive leather is coated to some degree ot it'd ruin the very second it's exposed to the elements and use. Vinyl protectants can destroy the stitching from what I've read up on detailing and have also been told. I've seen this happen first hand,the stitching will eventually come apart.
Coated leathers are encased in vinyl, little to none of the product will actually reach the leather. The oils in leather conditioner can actually delaminate the coating from the leather.
The interior looks beautiful! My take on modern leather is that there's only so much nice leather to go around, at a price an automaker is willing to pay. As soon as leather seats became available on Saturns and Toyota Corollas and the like, it ruined the allure for me. I've had 80s era BMWs and Mercedes with thick, rock hard leather that lasted for hundreds of thousands of miles. I think it also helped that the way old Mercedes seats were made, the whole seat moved as a unit, on metal springs, and there was not a whole lot of flexing or movement of the leather...it was supported by the horsehair pads underneath. Newer cars have foam-backed seats, with the leather loosely tucked and gathered, so there is more flexing and movement of the leather, contributing to premature wear.
Even some "good" leather doesn't do well in the harsh environment of a car...Bridge of Weir leather in old SAAB 900s tended to dry out, shrink and pull seams apart unless it was regularly conditioned and moisturized, for instance.
Even some "good" leather doesn't do well in the harsh environment of a car...Bridge of Weir leather in old SAAB 900s tended to dry out, shrink and pull seams apart unless it was regularly conditioned and moisturized, for instance.
I won't buy a car without leather seats. Seems Lincoln got it right with my recent purchase. Used the Surf City Garage Voodoo rejuvanator...Works ok.
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I will only own leather as well. Leather will outlast cloth if it's taken care of. Plus cloth interior starts to smell like musty carpet after awhile. I've found lately that a good dedicated leather cleaner will condition leather interior very well. I bought some Tanners Preserve leather cleaner and love it.
I also found some old Blue Magic leather cleaner I had and gave my 300ZX leather a good scrubdown. Made it look and feel great!!
I also found some old Blue Magic leather cleaner I had and gave my 300ZX leather a good scrubdown. Made it look and feel great!!
Originally Posted By: horse123
Or, you know, buy one of the hundred products made to actually prolong the life of leather. Woolite is definitely not designed for leather or car seats.
This ^^^^^^^^^^^^
There are just too many automotive leather care products out there to risk using household cleaning products on a leather interior. Over time they can dry them out and start cracking. Then your interior is basically shot. All I use is Meguiar's Gold Class Leather Cleaner / Conditioner. It comes in a pump bottle, and is a wipe on / wipe off product. And it cleans very well. Especially the part of the drivers seat where you slide in and out. That small section will get dirty quicker.
I apply it quite often. And in the Summer out here in Phoenix, I wipe it on the rear seats, and leave it on, in order to get a little more product on the leather. There is just my wife and I, and we don't have kids, so the rear seats are seldom if ever used. In the Summer out here we can have garage temperatures over 130F+ when you park a hot car or 2 in them. That will dry out unprotected leather quickly. It takes about 10 minutes to do everything, and it keeps the leather beautiful without parlaying the whole thing into a big project.
https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G10916-Leather-Cleaner-Conditioner/dp/B0002V9IFU
Or, you know, buy one of the hundred products made to actually prolong the life of leather. Woolite is definitely not designed for leather or car seats.
This ^^^^^^^^^^^^
There are just too many automotive leather care products out there to risk using household cleaning products on a leather interior. Over time they can dry them out and start cracking. Then your interior is basically shot. All I use is Meguiar's Gold Class Leather Cleaner / Conditioner. It comes in a pump bottle, and is a wipe on / wipe off product. And it cleans very well. Especially the part of the drivers seat where you slide in and out. That small section will get dirty quicker.
I apply it quite often. And in the Summer out here in Phoenix, I wipe it on the rear seats, and leave it on, in order to get a little more product on the leather. There is just my wife and I, and we don't have kids, so the rear seats are seldom if ever used. In the Summer out here we can have garage temperatures over 130F+ when you park a hot car or 2 in them. That will dry out unprotected leather quickly. It takes about 10 minutes to do everything, and it keeps the leather beautiful without parlaying the whole thing into a big project.
https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G10916-Leather-Cleaner-Conditioner/dp/B0002V9IFU
Originally Posted By: gregk24
Coated leathers are encased in vinyl, little to none of the product will actually reach the leather. The oils in leather conditioner can actually delaminate the coating from the leather.
Having been through a dedicated leather cleaning school/certification process I will second this. Rarely will you even see uncoated leathers. Polyurethane is the most common coating used.
Add to that that in automobiles the parts of the seat that you actually touch when seated are real leather. The rest of the interior is vinyl with leather graining. It's the same way on most leather in your home.
We use a mild detergent solution to clean followed by a good conditioning product with zero smell...
Coated leathers are encased in vinyl, little to none of the product will actually reach the leather. The oils in leather conditioner can actually delaminate the coating from the leather.
Having been through a dedicated leather cleaning school/certification process I will second this. Rarely will you even see uncoated leathers. Polyurethane is the most common coating used.
Add to that that in automobiles the parts of the seat that you actually touch when seated are real leather. The rest of the interior is vinyl with leather graining. It's the same way on most leather in your home.
We use a mild detergent solution to clean followed by a good conditioning product with zero smell...
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: gregk24
Coated leathers are encased in vinyl, little to none of the product will actually reach the leather. The oils in leather conditioner can actually delaminate the coating from the leather.
Having been through a dedicated leather cleaning school/certification process I will second this. Rarely will you even see uncoated leathers. Polyurethane is the most common coating used.
Add to that that in automobiles the parts of the seat that you actually touch when seated are real leather. The rest of the interior is vinyl with leather graining. It's the same way on most leather in your home.
We use a mild detergent solution to clean followed by a good conditioning product with zero smell...
So would a really good vinyl cleaner and protectant (like "Lexol") be the best solution for modern day car "leather" seats and surfaces?
Originally Posted By: gregk24
Coated leathers are encased in vinyl, little to none of the product will actually reach the leather. The oils in leather conditioner can actually delaminate the coating from the leather.
Having been through a dedicated leather cleaning school/certification process I will second this. Rarely will you even see uncoated leathers. Polyurethane is the most common coating used.
Add to that that in automobiles the parts of the seat that you actually touch when seated are real leather. The rest of the interior is vinyl with leather graining. It's the same way on most leather in your home.
We use a mild detergent solution to clean followed by a good conditioning product with zero smell...
So would a really good vinyl cleaner and protectant (like "Lexol") be the best solution for modern day car "leather" seats and surfaces?
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