Leather Conditioner

[judyb]

Both types of leather have their place.

Most leathers these days have some sort of finish on them even the aniline style leathers. Ths market has been dominated by the finished (coated) leathers for some time now as they are easy to clean and come in many colours. They are finding some pretty interesting things to do with them now and the 'semi-anilines' on the market are made to look like aniline style leathers.

Aniline style leathers win on comfort and appearance but they are harder to maintain but there has ben a big increae on the domestic market of these. If looked after they will last a good deal longer than coated leathers (we have one that is over 25 years old now and looks as good as when it was new).



Leather in cars is these days normaly fairly straightforward pigmented and finished leather (this is still real leather!!) and is very easy to clean and maintain. It also repairs very well (aniline style leathers are very difiicult to repair successfully). I am sure soon they will start to bring some other types of finishing into car interiors like 2 tone finishes etc. then the fun will really start!!!!



Cheers

Judy

 

[jfelbab]

The hides in my Lexus come from GST Autoleather. <http://www.gstautoleather.com>



They specifically recommend the use of mild soap and water to clean their coated leathers. They also explicitly state to not use any harsh cleaners and those that contain solvents.



GST supplies a cleaner and a conditioner to Lexus dealers and it is quite extraordinary. It is also quite affordable. It doesn't have a strong smell like Zaino does initially and to me it smells more like new leather. It leaves the hide buttery soft.



I've tried a lot of leather cleaners and conditioners and this stuff is still my favorite.



FWIW, Lexus manual recommendation:

Remove dirt on the leather in the following ways:

1. Wipe it off lightly using a soft cloth (e.g. gauze) dampened

with 5% solution of neutral detergent for wool.

2. Wring water from a clean cloth and thoroughly wipe off all

traces of detergent with it.

3. Wipe off the surface of the leather with a dry soft cloth. Allow

the leather to dry in a ventilated shaded area. Excess of wet

may cause the hardening or shrinking of the leather.

 

[clnfrk]

Here's a quote about the cleaner: " It sounds strange, we know, but 303 Aerospace Cleaner is powerful enough to clean oil tanker holds and degrease engines, yet is safe enough to wash fruits and vegetables!"

I totally wasted $40 on a jug of the 303 cleaner. For me, this stuff pretty much had the cleaning abilities of plain water. Worst detailing purchase I have ever made.

 

[Deanski]

FWIW, Lexus manual recommendation:

Remove dirt on the leather in the following ways:

1. Wipe it off lightly using a soft cloth (e.g. gauze) dampened

with 5% solution of neutral detergent for wool.

READ WOOLITE

2. Wring water from a clean cloth and thoroughly wipe off all

traces of detergent with it.

3. Wipe off the surface of the leather with a dry soft cloth. Allow

the leather to dry in a ventilated shaded area. Excess of wet

may cause the hardening or shrinking of the leather.

As I said, save your $$ and use Woolite to clean coated leather with. Follow with a good light conditioner and your're good.



Deanski