Leather Care

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imported_phareous

New member
OK Guys I need some advice on what to do to take care of leather. I am getting a brand new car so I'm going to do it right from the start.



I bought some leatherique but it seems to me that it is geared more towards doing it twice a year or maybe 4 times a year (esp. at the price).



What should I use for monthly detailing? In the forums everyone seems to either go with Einszett Lederpflege or Lexol. I also got some 2 year old Zaino leather products.
 
As far as I know, Leatherique is reserved for leather restoration if it's seriously dried out or something, not for regular use or even any scheduled use - just as needed. (Someone correct me if wrong.) Your Zaino products should be fine. A search should be able to find Z10 so you can read about it.
 
Stay with the Einszett! The Lexol, although good product, tends to be glossy. The Einszett just keeps leather the way it is. Also look into Autoglym as well, another very good leather treatment.



I still use Lexol cleaner, as it's close to a saddle-soap type.



You can see my SC430 Ecru interior in the members gallery.



Regards,

Deanski
 
Currently I am using for my regular maintenance the following:



Lexol Leather Cleaner

Lexol Leather Neatsfoot

Lexol Leather Conditioner



Then, topped with 303 Aerospace Protectant.



Got my SUV last Feb. 2003 and I plan to apply use Lexol Products every Quarter but twice a month re-application of 303 Aerospace Protectant.



From my estimate and planned usage of the above-mentioned products, the 16 Oz. spray bottles for the Lexol Products will be good for 1 year usage while a 32 oz spray bottles for 303 will last a year.



Stick with Lexol as it has been tested to have no side effects on leather over a long period of time... wait for a year before trying new products like Einszett to know more on how leather reacts on the product over a long period of time.



Don't have your brand new leather covers be a guinie pig.
 
I say use the Zaino, I've also read about the drying and did notice it, very little though. I think you'll be fine if you condition it monthly or every two weeks. Overall, I really like the Zaino product, smells great, softens the leather a bit and leaves a nice finish. :)
 
The Zaino leather products are just fine for "normal" care.



Leatherique is the king of all leather products, I love that stuff. You should only need the oil maybe twice a year. You can however use the Pristine Clean when ever you want, it's a great cleaner.



The Leatherique maintained with Zaino is a great combo! :up
 
Nobody seems to like Lexol's products anymore, including Vinylex, due to the glossiness. Pinnacle makes some good Leather products, plus they smell the best.
 
Hmm at this point I am kindof leaning towards Lederpfledge...I can't find any bad reviews on it. I got some 303 too and I guess it would work too I was just looking for something specifically made for leather.



I read up on the pinnacle stuff and it seems to get bad reviews for being too glossy.



I've heard a few things about platinum...anybody tried it? Likewise on the Griot's stuff



Also the thead about zaino drying out leather:



http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18368&highlight=leather+AND+dry+AND+zaino
 
Just after seeing this post, I went out and re-treated my '03 Lexus SC430 Ecru interior with Lederpfledge. It does do a light cleaning while it gets into the leather, but I still use a cleaner prior.



Go and see my pics of my SC430 in the gallery. White is a PITA to keep clean. My SC430 Ecru interior



SC430 Ecru #2



Good thing I did treat, the back seat area had some type of fine dark dust on it from having the top down. Must be some type of road dust. Not anymore! Lederpfledge did the trick along with a little Lexol cleaner.



Nice and soft, no overpowering smells (hate that), and clean and soft.



The Autoglym is also a very good product used by most high-end British cars as a replacement for Hide Food, which is now gone. Hide Food had that Kerosene smell anyway which I hated, but it did treat well.



Keeping up on the treatments will stop the leather from getting dirty or dry.



Regards,

Deanski
 
I use the Meguiar's gold class leather wipes and they work great. My leather is in fairly good condition, so once I year I'll put it on the seats and give a good cleaning/conditioning with them, then after about 3 minutes wipe with a microfiber towel. It leaves my seats a nice rich tan color, a hair darker than before the wipes. I like the stuff!
 
My vote goes to Griots Leather Conditioner. It works as well as Lexol but smells sooooo gooood. Do a search, I posted a product review not too long ago.
 
My choice of product is Renapur Leather Balsam. It contains completely natural ingredients including beeswax. Since i live in australia, i haven't seen or tryed Lexol. Lots of professional brands available from distributors in australia but no lexol as yet.
 
I have a 95 BMW m3 with black leather ( pretty sure it's coated ) and i'm still not sure what to use on it. Alot of people say Lexol isn't good for it. I'm trying to find a good cleaner and conditioner. I'll use the 303 aerospace protectant on the dash.
 
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