Protecting ‘95 Mercedes cabrio. leather

[Sevillian]

I recently picked up a nearly mint ‘95 MB E320 cabriolet as a nice Sunday driver. Happens to be the first convertible I’ve ever owned. The leather interior is immaculate, and while I’m a big fan of Leatherique products for restoration/deep cleaning old leather, and will probably give it a Leatherique treatment soon, I’m concerned about protecting the leather from top down driving. Does anyone have any recommended products to provide sun protection? I see that Weather-Tech has a leather cleaning product that supposedly provides UV protection, but I know nothing about it except what what they say about it.

[Lonnie]

Sevillian:
The ONLY leather cleaner and protection kit specifically developed (marketed and advertised is more like it) for leather interiors in convertible cars is RaggTop that I know of. It would be incorrect for me to say how well it works , as I have NO experience with it nor have used it.
Maybe someone will see this thread topic who has used RaggTop Leather Cleaner and Protectant Kit and comment on their experience with it and we Autopians, including you, can learn something.

Another is Mckee`s37 SiO2 Leather Guard, but again, I have no experience with it. Their website for that products states it has "UV-50 protection", but it, too, sounds like marketing hype, so you will have to make your own conclusions about its validity.

I will caution you about wearing sunscreen protectants on your skin. Make SURE you rub it in completely. Certain brand of sunscreen can stain clothes (cotton specifically) and if they can do that to clothes, they may do it to your leather. Granted leather is a type of skin, but it is not human skin.

I will also high-jack this thread, meaning I will talk about something else other than your thread topic question, and advise you to take care of your convertible top material as well.
Chances are, your top will be up more than it will be down, unless you live in sunny California, Arizona, or Florida. I assume this material is canvass/cloth and not vinyl on the MB E320. I have used RaggTop Fabric Top Kit with good results for that top material, but I think Aerospace 303 (now owned by Goldseal) makes a cleaner and protectant for that convertible material as well that is preferred by some Autopians in this forum. You may want to do a search within this forum and make your own conclusions for taking care of your top. Just follow the label instructions. One piece of car-care equipment you SHOULD have in your car cleaning arsenal is a brush for cleaning and shampooing that top material. Again, RaggTop makes small or large-sized round brush with soft, NYLEX bristles specifically for cleaning tops,
RaggTopp Premium Convertible Top Brush
but a quality brush will do, as long as the bristles are SOFTER, like horse hair, and not hard, like plastic bristles for scrubbing carpets. It can make all the difference in cleaning and keeping up the appearance of that nice MB`s top.

I also assume the rear window is real glass and not clear vinyl (it IS a Mercedes-Benz after all) because photos I have seen in replacement tops for that model say to reuse the existing window and the window has rear-defroster wire lines in it.

[Sevillian]

Lonnie:

Thanks for your advice, including your “hijacking.” I will get a top brush. I do live in mostly sunny Northern California and the car will spend most of it time, at least when outdoors, with the top down, although I may get a tonneau cover that covers the windshield and interior for use when parked with the top down in the garage. These cars have a delicate, complicated and expensive to repair top mechanism, and I understand it’s best to minimize use but at the same time use it enough to keep seals lubricated and such. The car is used as a cruiser on nice days to go places that are not hospitable for my serious garage queens, two early ‘60’s Cadillac that don’t like busy traffic, steep driveways and small parking spaces, and love gas stations. The top is probably original and shows a bit of wear, but I would like to preserve it. I already use a 303 product on the coated canvas that’s on the top of my ‘60 Eldorado Seville hardtop (looks like a vinyl roof but it’s actually the same material that was used on the convertible models). I don’t recall exactly what it’s called, but I think it’s a canvas cleaner oriented toward marine use. You are correct that the rear window on the MB is glass.

[Fskof]

Why don`t you ask the previous owner what they used since the leather interior is immaculate.
Personally I would stick with Leatherique. The stuff works!

[Lonnie]

Lonnie:

Thanks for your advice, including your “hijacking.” I will get a top brush. I do live in mostly sunny Northern California and the car will spend most of it time, at least when outdoors, with the top down, although I may get a tonneau cover that covers the windshield and interior for use when parked with the top down in the garage. These cars have a delicate, complicated and expensive to repair top mechanism, and I understand it’s best to minimize use but at the same time use it enough to keep seals lubricated and such. The car is used as a cruiser on nice days to go places that are not hospitable for my serious garage queens, two early ‘60’s Cadillac that don’t like busy traffic, steep driveways and small parking spaces, and love gas stations. The top is probably original and shows a bit of wear, but I would like to preserve it. I already use a 303 product on the coated canvas that’s on the top of my ‘60 Eldorado Seville hardtop (looks like a vinyl roof but it’s actually the same material that was used on the convertible models). I don’t recall exactly what it’s called, but I think it’s a canvas cleaner oriented toward marine use. You are correct that the rear window on the MB is glass.

Well OK then; THAT explains your Autopia login name "Sevillian". I had a good friend in the 80`s who bought and drove used 10-15 year-old Cadillacs with higher mileage on them for about the same price as 5-year old used cars of other GM divisions/makes with the less mileage on them. I ask why and his reply was because most Cadillacs were owned by individuals who could afford to maintain them and took very good care of them, and the one`s he bought were, for the most part, just that. Not perfect, but good enough for his daily driving needs. His 1968 Sedan DeVille in Montery Green Firemist was just a "nice" car. He later owned his "dream car" a 1954? Eldorado in light yellow with a green interior that was a "project car" to say the least. But he spent a sizable amount to get it running and drove that around Northeast Wisconsin. The claim-to-fame about this particular car is it was an early-year production run model, as it had a TRUE Cadillac Hyrda-Matic transmission before the great fire in August 1953 at the transmission plant in Lavonia MI ceased production and forced Cadillac to use "other" GM transmissions in subsequent models that production year. I think that "sizable amount" included swapping out the engine and transmission from 55 or 56 Cadillac because of the rarity and cost of finding an original `54 Caddy transmission.

[Bill D]

I can confirm that these Mercedes convertible tops are expensive to repair. Several years ago,out of the blue,my mom`s CLK top failed. It cost $4k to repair at an independent shop back then. To use it sparingly is advised.

[Poorboy]

the seats are coated and nothing you put on them will really make a difference.. keep them clean, especially the seams. Any good conditioner will do, and old style oils are not meant for these seats, but they are good for the old Caddy`s ... As for the cloth ... washing with soap and water with a brush occasionally would be for a newer top, but with an older one, soap and water using a soft cotton cloth as the abrasive, then dry and use a lint roller to suck up any loose dirt left over.
Also .. you should keep the top up when not in use. When my SLK320 blew it`s pistons it also was expensive to repair until I found a Mercedes specialist that rebuilds the system for 1/3 of the cost.
My Caddy ones have been working over 30 years, use it or lose it

[sf_car_guy]

I can confirm that these Mercedes convertible tops are expensive to repair. Several years ago,out of the blue,my mom`s CLK top failed. It cost $4k to repair at an independent shop back then. To use it sparingly is advised.

Frequently exercising the top is actually helpful to keep the hydraulic seals lubricated and prevent them from drying out and leaking.

[Bill D]

I better tell my mom to drop the top more often then. Thanks

[Sevillian]

Good info here. I’ll save the Leatherique for the old cars. I first got on the Leatherique bandwagon about 20 years ago when I had a ‘73 MB 300SEL 4.5 with a pretty nice original full leather interior, and people in the MB club recommended it. The top of the rear seat was starting to get sun-damaged, and they also recommend putting cream-type sunscreen on it (after all, it is skin). I thought that perhaps there was a product that had evolved along those lines. But it makes sense that the game is different with the modern coated leathers.