How can shine be measured?

V

valleyguy

New member
Anyone have any opinions on using Vinylex on leather?



I'm doing my dad's car this weekend and don't want to spring for a bottle of Lexol, as none of my cars have leather.
 
My guess would be you won't get the results you want. Vinylex is formulated for vinyl, obviously, so I doubt it will condition the leather at all. I'm also guessing it will leave the leather pretty "greasy" as well.



I would recommend not doing it. :(
 
I was doing my interior with Vinylex and let the bottle

sit on my passenger seat[this summer].



Without knowing, a few drops came out of the spout and dripped down the seat.



Outcome: A bleached drip stain [3 in long] on my beige seat.



Absolute Bedlum!!



I tried almost everything to get it out or blend it in and even emailed Lexol. They were little help. I am hoping that it fades

over time or maybe I will contact leatherique as I see they supply

dies specific for makes of cars.



So I would be very careful with any vinyl treatment on leather.



Moral of the story : Don't let your vinyl treatment sit on your

seats while your applying, rest them on your floor mats.
 
NEVER USE any form of vinyl spray or conditioner on leather surfaces. On my fleet of business cars I use on the cars saddle soap - the best way to clean the seats safely - it removes all contaminents - i then finish off by using leather conditioner just to enrich the leather followed by a couple of sprays of stay bright leather shine to add a nice finish -





REMEMBER NEVER USE NOTHING WHAT IS NOT MADE FOR LEATHER ESPECIALLY SILICONE FORMULAS - THEY DAMAGE THE SURFACE AS WELL AS MAKING ITS OILY.
 
First, here is one link to you might want to read

http://autopia-carport.com/Detailing-Articles/The%20Myth%20Of%20Saddle%20Soap.html

Here is what I can tell you from reading month's worth of posts on this subject.

1. Ron Ketchum(who sadly very rarely posts on this board anymore) has stated over and over that the Big 3 car manuf. and most imports all use CLEAR COATED leather in their autos. The clear is made to protect the leather surface. This clear coat is broken down by OIL based cleaners and conditioners. Ron mentioned that using a water based PDMS dressing (303, Vinylex etc) was the proper way to dress leather seats. Here is a post from an email sent to me

"Never apply "oils" as it slowly disolves the clear coating. That coating is
made, like so many from petrouleum and as with any coating of that type, the
oils try to return it to it's natural state.
Use a very mild cleaner and be sure and rewipe the cleaned area with a towel
that is wet with water and then dry it to remove any of the surfactants in the
cleaner that may be left behind.

Then apply 303, our Rubber Protector, etc,. Let it set, determine how much gloss
factor you desire, the longer you let it set the higher the gloss factor and
then wipe dry with a dry towel to set the resins and remove any excess.

Any "conditioning" is not really happening, that is "marketing" bullshit.
Kinda of like adding "oils" or "feeding" the paints clear coat.

Sure makes people buy product though."


Test the leather on an out of the way spot. Take some general purpose cleaner, spray it on a rag, wipe a VERY small spot the leather in an out of sight area. If color comes off on your rag, then you have non-clearcoated leather. If no color comes off, you have clear-coated leather.

If your leather is NOT clear-coated then an oil based conditioner(lexol, leatherique etc) is the way to go.

If you have clear coated leather then clean with a mild cleanser(lexol leather CLEANER, or mild soap and water). Make sure you rinse with a clean, damp cloth to remove the soap. Then dry with another clean towel, then apply your PDMS product.

Just to provide more data, the owner's manual in my 2002 Ford F-150 Supercrew states the following:

"Do NOT use oil based leather conditioner products on your F-150. The leather is clearcoated. To condition, use a quality vinyl conditioner. Wipe on the Vinyl conditioner, and let set, then wipe clean with a clean cloth."

I currently use Pinnacle Vinyl and Leather cleaner on my leather and Vinyl, and 303 to dress all Vinyl and leather. I have had the 303 on the seats for two months, and have no complaints. The leather is not overly slick or greasy, and has a nice matte shine.

My wife spilled a little water on the seats the other day, and the water beaded up like it had Klasse on it. Really nice. Wiped up the water. No marks left afterwards.

Before you use saddle soap or anything else, search this board on leather care and the like, you will find much info.

That all said, it is your choice, and to all other folks who use leather conditioners and saddle soap, if it works for you, stick with it.

Good luck
SJ
 
Geez, how about some more conflicting info guys.



SJ:



Thanks for the poop. I think I'll try the test for clear coat before I mess with the leather seats.:bow
 
We have pretty much exausted this subject. And yes, on modern leather (some exeptions eg. Connoly leather hides ect) are clear coated and I find that 303 does the absolute best job on leather. John Ross, sory to say but saddle soap is the worst thing for the leather. Plus I thought that just like a week ago you were using Armor All on the seats. I may be mistaken but I remember you saying this before us Autopians nearly had a heart attack.:eek:
 
Valleyguy,



No sweat. Like I said, good luck with it. Prior to coming to Autopia, I used saddle soap and oil based conditioners on a 1994 Honda Accord's leather. I owned the Accord for less than 3 years before an accident which totalled the car. I can say that even new, the leather in my 1994 Accord was not nearly as soft and plush as it is using the Pinnacle and 303.





Anyway, read the forum and check out the posts. I only know what other's here find, and what my owner's manual states on leather care. I plan to stick with the manual's recommendation and stay away from oil based conditioners.



Here is one thing I do know, STAY AWAY FROM ARMOR ALL! If you must, use it on your wheel whells to maintain that black finish..otherwise use it for shinin' up your favorite axe.

SJ
 
I have used saddle soap for years and have never found it does not clean the seats - as for armour all - i used it once about a week and a half back - and switched to Stay bright leather shine - which i use after the seats have been cleaned with the soap.You may have found saddle soap does not work but there are many who do I wouldnt use it for nothing!
 
puterbum, thanks for the link, I missed it in my search. Very informative.



However, if leather is coated and sealed with vinyl, how come cars have that "leather " smell? Is it seeping from underneath through the foam pads?
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by valleyguy [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>puterbum, thanks for the link, I missed it in my search. Very informative.

However, if leather is coated and sealed with vinyl, how come cars have that "leather " smell? Is it seeping from underneath through the foam pads? [/b]</blockquote>I seriously doubt (IMO :)) the finish ("clearcoat") on the leather is a tight enough seal to prevent smells from being emitted by the leather below.
 
My guess would be that John's seats are not clearcoated. Very expensive leather often isn't. My leather shoes are pricey, and they aren't clear coated, so I use leather cleaner to care for them. But I bought a pair of leather gloves on sale for $20 last year, and they did have some kind of coating. When I applied the leather cleaner, it made a huge sticky mess and ruined the gloves.
 
Welcome to Truth In Detailing OhioRiverCigartte, to answer your question one way to measure the shine or depth of the finish is to use a ruler/yard stick. Now thats old school and to tell you the truth I have not heard or seen a meter that does that, but who knows if there's one out there. Anyone?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top