Griots Leather Care

M

MBZ 500E

New member
In my quest to find a leather condition that not only works good but smells good I decided to try Griots Leather Care.



First some background information on my leather. The leather is 11 years old, in good condition (no cracks, couple of minor scuffs) and is dyed perforated black leather. Note that many modern cars have a coated leather rather than dyed so your results may vary.



For perforated leather Griots recommended applying with bare hands which is what I did. Applicators, MF or Cotton cloths can be used for smooth leathers.



Application was easy enough, just pour some product into my hand and massage it into the leather. It was a bit streaky going on and this worried me. I finished applying the conditioner to the whole car and then went back and buffed with a cotton towel. The towel removed any surface residue and reduced the streaks but some still remained. I decided to wait overnight before making any judgement.



Cons:

- Very streaky when first applied

- The bottle top has a tendency to drip and can make a mess

- When first applied the leather does not look natural, it has a coated and shiny look to it.

- When first applied the leather is slightly tacky



Pros:

- Smells really really good. (like you just walked into a Coach Leather Store):bow

- Application is farely easy and spreads easily.

- A little goes a long way

- After 24 hours the seats look natural and new

- Softens the leather just the right amount

- Has mild cleaning abilities

- Did I mention it smells good!:o



After taking a look at the seats again today I am please with the results. The streaks are gone and the leather is supple again. The best part is that my interior smells like it should.:xyxthumbs
 
Actually MB Tex is a very high end vinyl that Mercedes uses. I used to have it on my 190E and loved it for its durability. I'd suggest looking at 303, Vinylex or Meguiars Vinyl and rubber rather than a leather conditioner.
 
MBZ 500E said:
Actually MB Tex is a very high end vinyl that Mercedes uses. I used to have it on my 190E and loved it for its durability. I'd suggest looking at 303, Vinylex or Meguiars Vinyl and rubber rather than a leather conditioner.
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Good Advice!

And If You have Leather Inserts With The MB-Tex Blosters, Zaino Zaino Z-10 seems to work well on both and leave a nice matte oem finish on both. The directions even say it can be used on vinyl.
 
MBZ 500E - As I recall, you'd had some issues with other leather products. Glad to hear the Griot's worked out for you.



I too like Griot's Leather Care. FWIW, I find the Griot's to be generally similar to Pinnacle's leather treatment.



One caveat (this is for you, Lynn): I just CAN'T get it to absorb uniformly on the XJS's Connolly leather. Some areas stay greasy (too much product/won't soak in, doesn't wipe off either) where other areas are MUCH too dry, like they weren't treated at all. I tried EVERYTHING, to no avail. Finally solved the problem by using Connolly Hide Food instead.



Note that I still use the Griot's for the Audis and for them I give it a big :xyxthumbs
 
Accumulator,





Just out of curiosity how often do you apply conditioner to your Jag and what kind of environment does it see (IE: Garage Queen or Driven Regularly)



Your right I have had issues with several other conditioners.



Meguiars Gold Class Cleaner/Conditioner Cream: This works extremely well on smooth leather. Unfortunately it's a nightmare on perforated leather and I had to stop using it. Smell was acceptable.



Meguiars Gold Class Rich Leather: This works ok, it doesn't deep condition and requires frequent applications to maintain the leather. Smell descent though.



Lexol: This conditioner works great IMO and I loved the results. It also lasted a month which is just about right. The problem was the nasty smell! I couldn't stand it and even after long term I noticed it would linger. My wife said the inside of my car smelled "Old":scared :eek:
 
MBZ 500E- For the last dozen years or so the XJS has been a real garage queen. Infrequent use for a few years before that (daily driver when new, and no garage at that time). I even left it stored for a few years (took proper precautions, but still a bad thing). Can't begin to say how often I treated it since new, but not too (and not NEARLY as often as I should have). The finicky-leather problem started after a protracted stay at my mechanic's last year (looong story) when I couldn't deal with/check on it and someone left the car outside for a while (:angry to the extreme). Before THAT disaster, the Griot's stuff worked fine. Now I spot-treat it (lightly) quite frequently (every other week or so). The "weird-dry" areas are becoming OK again and the rest of the leather is fine (I don't mind creases and a few minor scuffs, consider them "patina"). Generally, my Jag has had such an unusual life that it's probably not a good example to extrapolate from ;)
 
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