Most Effective Leather Reconditioner

Accumulator said:
Be careful using APCs on leather, they`re often alkaline which is the exact opposite of what you want for leather (which oughta be left a little acidic according to Roger). Not slamming it, I`ve used OptiClean and others myself....before I got the Leather Doctors stuff ;)
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Makes sense after doing some reading. Most leathers seem to be in the 3-4 pH range (please correct me if wrong). Some people recommend going to town on car leather with APC and a brush. So many divergent opinions... Will be interested to see what Dr. L has to say. I sent pics of my seats and some cracks in my Rover seats. btw, I`m not expecting a personal consultation from the guy - I get that he`s in business to sell product, not to email me all about the specifics of my cars.

Accumulator said:
And as I keep saying, even the "coated, so nothing penetrates" types of leather *have* benefitted from using those products that "shouldn`t work", at least after the leather got a bit broken-in. But the Protectants work great IME no matter what, look/feel great and I`m confident that their protective qualities are top-shelf.
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What I`m reading is that the coating on car leather is breathable and water permeable, and that leather needs to be hydrated. So water based conditioners can work. Oil based conditioners are bad for car leather. Please don`t ask me to explain - I`m just regurgitating what I`ve read.
 
Accumulator said:
RippyD- Glad to hear he got back to you promptly!
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After seeing pics of my seats he recommended aniline leather products. Seems odd to me, but I know nothing about leather. I asked him to pls confirm. If so, I`ll give them a try.

UPDATE: Roger corrected recommendation to perforated leather. Products seem to be the same except different hydrator version. This guy is very responsive.

And Accumulator... I`m taking your personal guarantee that this stuff will make my seats look better than new, darken the increasing amount of grey hair I have, and make my kids behave better. If this doesn`t work out I`ll expect you to clean, polish, and coat the wheels on my SUV.
 
RippyD- Heh heh, that "personal guarantee" thing is a big part of why I keep stressing the "YMMV!" aspect of this stuff :D

Ya know...I`ve had a scad of cars with leather interiors, currently have five (only three are actually in-use). But I`ve never put much thought/effort into the whole Leather Interior Treatment thing. Don`t know from Analine/etc. leathers, don`t give much thought to coated/not...just somehow muddle my way through perfectly well despite this appalling ignorance. I`m sure not recommending this sort of approach to anybody else though!

Three leather interiors in daily drivers: `93 Audi (NEVER treated in any way for first 15 years) ; `00 A8 (six-figure miles) ; `00 Tahoe (six-figure miles) with leather that was stiff, peeling, and horribly cracked when I got it (still cracked with that same degree of peeling but not a *bit* worse after years in my hands), those are all used very hard but the leather in them simply isn`t deteriorating despite my negligence.

Here`s what I got from Leather Doctor:

-Auto Pigmented Leather Care Kit AP3 w/Buttery Feel 76 and Draggy Feel 79 Protectants
-additional Cleaner 3.8
-additional Rinse 3.0
 
If there will ever be a place to learn Leather Science then perhaps we will be able to know definitively, that coated automotive Leather does absorb moisture, and here, you can see its absorption rate through an electron microscope or something..

The only leather experts that I have ever read up on all say that coated/treated/ leather does indeed absorb products, and it is needed to keep the leather pliable so it will wear longer..

The RATE at which it absorbs anything is the part that hangs up a lot of folks probably, and I guess if I poured an amount of water on a leather seat and it all seemed to run off quickly, it would seem possible that coated leather does not absorb any moisture at all..

But then why is it that coated, and treated with conditioners, seats that have been subjected to daily use, lots of hot days in the sun, lots of things spilled on them, etc., years of getting rubbed on by people sitting on them, etc., look and feel so much better than seats that have gone through the same scenario but have just been used, and never had anything applied on them???

I have seen enough of the same kinds of leather in many similar vehicles to be able to see and know the difference between those that perhaps had something good or bad, slathered all over them periodically by well meaning people, and then, the leather in similar vehicles where absolutely nothing was ever done to them...

If there is an error for either of the 2 camps - I have always chosen to error on the side of applying the best possible product on leather that will safely remove the embedded gunk and then leave enough moisture for however long it lasts, to hopefully keep it more pliable and resistant to wrinkles that eventually lead to cracks in the surface which then shows the color breaking up and the real color of the hide underneath...
Dan F
 
Sonax and leather masters seem like good products. Mike Philips at auto geek just reviewed the new sonax cleaner and conditioner. I`ve got the trans am with the thick leather seats which never gets driven anyways and the new fiesta with super stiff leather.


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If the leather is coated, you`re not cleaning or conditioning the leather, but the top coat(vinyl). So clean and protect, no need to "condition". So, pH balanced leather + leather masters protection cream.
 
Brewins- so the leather masters cleaner too?

I also read that einszett leather product is great for coated leather as well. Not sure if someone here has used it


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Striker said:
Brewins- so the leather masters cleaner too?

I also read that einszett leather product is great for coated leather as well. Not sure if someone here has used it


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That`s excellent cleaner, too(leather masters). Not sure about Einszett. Any pH balanced leather cleaner is good. As far as reconditioning leather, not sure how that`s possible. There may be products, but I don`t know much about that. What I do know makes sense to me; with coated leather, you working with the top coat which is not leather, so clean and protect. All those oils in conditioners will attract dirt and grime.

Email these people: Leather Master Products - Conditioner
 
I`ve used the Leather Masters stuff and it`s good. I get their "Strong" cleaner and dilute to my needs.

As for the "you`re only conditioning the coating, not the leather, when working on coated leather", that is the "theory vs. practice" that I spoke to earlier...where I was able to make (apparently uncompromised) stiff-as-cardboard coated leather soft and supple by using a Conditioner that "shouldn`t have worked because of the coating". Cut-and-dried, no question, it worked like magic despite my not expecting it to.

Not saying it`ll always work that way, or even that it`s a good idea to try. But it absolutely *DOES* work in some situations, BTDT.
 
Accumulator said:
I`ve used the Leather Masters stuff and it`s good. I get their "Strong" cleaner and dilute to my needs.

As for the "you`re only conditioning the coating, not the leather, when working on coated leather", that is the "theory vs. practice" that I spoke to earlier...where I was able to make (apparently uncompromised) stiff-as-cardboard coated leather soft and supple by using a Conditioner that "shouldn`t have worked because of the coating". Cut-and-dried, no question, it worked like magic despite my not expecting it to.

Not saying it`ll always work that way, or even that it`s a good idea to try. But it absolutely *DOES* work in some situations, BTDT.
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Cool. What did you use?
 
Brewins said:
Cool. What did you use?
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Both Sonus and Leather Masters. The first time was just a "what the [heck], see if this does anything..", the second time I wasn`t so sure I`d be wasting my time!

I bet that had I done the full Leather Doctor process, or even just used his Hydrator, the results would`ve been even better. I used to be all cynical/skeptical when [people who sell such products] said they`d work on coated leather, but live and learn.

Now watch somebody try it based on what I`ve posted and have it *NOT* work out for them! IME ya just never know until you try it.
 
I ordered some leather masters protection cream. Finally got that out of the way


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I have never seen "oils in conditioners attracting dirt and grime" on any of the hundreds of Leather Interiors I have cleaned and conditioned..

And I also still believe that no matter the coating, etc., whatever it is called, there is still a way for the product used to get either the top coating and/or the leather surface sufficiently more soft and flexible..

Which is what we all want it to be in the first place..

Better products in my experiences yield better results, i.e., clean, softer, more supple, matte finish, no scent, or if necessary leather scented, results in most cases where the leather is more leather-like, than what some less expensive automotive suppliers deem as "leather"..

If someone would like to take a tour of this place and ask all the right questions, perhaps we can finally put to bed the mystery of what happens when actual leather hides are treated before they are sold to those who make beautiful things out of them -------

Spinneybeck North America. 425 CrossPoint Parkway Getzville NY 14068. USA t 800.482.7777 or +1.716.446.2380 f +1.716.446.2396 e sales@spinneybeck.

Anyone near Getzville, NY want to go take a look there, or something like that??
If I were not 3,000 miles away, I would be there in a heartbeat... :)

And again, all I can say about their recommend product is that it works really great on real leather, in vehicles or in my house, and of course, they are all leathers with some type of something on them .. They smell really great before and after the treatment, as the product is not strongly scented to add a leather scent..

Ok, who wants to take a trip to Getzville, NY? :)
Thank you !
Dan F
 
Dan I tried ordering their leather conditioner. But guess what? 26 dollars for shipping to Canada. No way am I paying that.


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Striker said:
Dan I tried ordering their leather conditioner. But guess what? 26 dollars for shipping to Canada. No way am I paying that.


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Striker -
Oh no !! $26 ??? They are in NY already... Holy cow...
What if someone mails you a box with a bottle of it, from the US?
How does that work ?
Dan F
 
No clue buddy. I`ve had better luck on amazon. Got a bottle of leather masters cream for 30 bucks plus another 3 for shipping. I`m ok w it.


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Striker said:
No clue buddy. I`ve had better luck on amazon. Got a bottle of leather masters cream for 30 bucks plus another 3 for shipping. I`m ok w it.


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Striker -
Great ! I am so glad you found it !!!

Leather Masters conditioning cream - believe it or not - looks and smells a lot like the Spinneybeck leather cleaner and conditioner product..
I didn`t know this until I purchased the L/Masters product and opened the bottle and looked at it and smelled it..
Would be absolutely great if this L/Masters product is the same or about the same thing...

Hey I know waaaaay too much about Amazon - I already have over 70 orders this year... :)
Amazon Prime yearly dues has been paid over and over again in Free 2-Day Shipping.. :)
Dan F
 
I`ll bet the spinneyback product is the same thing if that`s the case.

For a cleaner I might use the locally available autoglym. It reads that it is ph neutral and won`t have ill effects towards your leather in that regard.


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Striker said:
I`ll bet the spinneyback product is the same thing if that`s the case.

For a cleaner I might use the locally available autoglym. It reads that it is ph neutral and won`t have ill effects towards your leather in that regard.


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Just being....uhm, me here...but guys like Roger Koh might question whether ph neutral isn`t bad since they want stuff acidic.

NO, NO....not seriously flaming it and I use stuff that I`ve never checked the ph on all the time.

And generally I consider AutoGlym to be a very good line and think it deserves more attention here. I`d use it without any hesitation at all.

Heh heh, we could talk this to death and then you`d *NEVER* end up getting anything done ;)
 
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