"Leather seats"....nope!
10-20-2015, 02:41 PM
#41
Drifting
Thread Starter
There ya go! In fact, I believe Leatherique is the absolute worse product you can put on urethane covered leather. It is such a thick oil that it is almost impossible to remove completely. You will never get it out of your stitching!
It is perfectly normal that as you saw the leather break down and begin showing signs of premature wear, the natural thing to do is treat it thinking you are helping. Actually, the more and more you put conditioners/protectants on, the worse you are making the situation.
My advise to anyone who is interested is go out and buy some Woolite. Mix it 10 to 1 with water. Go out and wipe down your seats many times. Use a clean rag at the beginning of each wipe. I also recommend changing the water/Woolite at the same time.
After several wipes, wipe it down twice with clean water. Use a dry towel to wipe of the water.
No, from this point on, wipe your seats down with a moist towel every two weeks or so. You will be amazed how long your seats will last. When dirty, go back to Woolite 10 to 1.
It is perfectly normal that as you saw the leather break down and begin showing signs of premature wear, the natural thing to do is treat it thinking you are helping. Actually, the more and more you put conditioners/protectants on, the worse you are making the situation.
My advise to anyone who is interested is go out and buy some Woolite. Mix it 10 to 1 with water. Go out and wipe down your seats many times. Use a clean rag at the beginning of each wipe. I also recommend changing the water/Woolite at the same time.
After several wipes, wipe it down twice with clean water. Use a dry towel to wipe of the water.
No, from this point on, wipe your seats down with a moist towel every two weeks or so. You will be amazed how long your seats will last. When dirty, go back to Woolite 10 to 1.
Yes, I did condition them more and more (thinking this would be beneficial)- usually once every 2 months- and the problem just kept getting worse and worse.
Over 5 years of owning the car, I tried basically everything on the market:
*Leatherique prestine clean and Leatherique rejuvenator oil
*Mequiar's One Step Leather Care
*Zaino leather spray cleaner
*Zaino leather in a bottle
*Zymol leather cleaner
*Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner
*BooYah Clean Leather cleaner and conditioner
But the condition of the leather just kept getting worse and worse.
Several of the instructions encouraged the use of a light bristle brush to help remove contaminants.
For example: http://www.pinnaclewax.com/leatherbr...m_campaign=CSE
But I wonder if this just eroded the protective urethane coating away....which allowed more premature wear??
Safe to assume we should NOT use a leather brush?
I like your idea of using Woolite- very safe on the leather, and can lightly remove the dirt and oils.
Over 5 years of owning the car, I tried basically everything on the market:
*Leatherique prestine clean and Leatherique rejuvenator oil
*Mequiar's One Step Leather Care
*Zaino leather spray cleaner
*Zaino leather in a bottle
*Zymol leather cleaner
*Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner
*BooYah Clean Leather cleaner and conditioner
But the condition of the leather just kept getting worse and worse.
Several of the instructions encouraged the use of a light bristle brush to help remove contaminants.
For example: http://www.pinnaclewax.com/leatherbr...m_campaign=CSE
But I wonder if this just eroded the protective urethane coating away....which allowed more premature wear??
Safe to assume we should NOT use a leather brush?
I like your idea of using Woolite- very safe on the leather, and can lightly remove the dirt and oils.
10-20-2015, 04:27 PM
#42
Burning Brakes
Leatherique is totally nasty stuff....so sticky, and just doesn't help at all on modern leather.Maybe it works on older cars from the 1960s-1970s, etc.
It's interesting because I'll see leather seats on some cars that look 100x's better than mine and yet they have been putting ZERO products on them. Sounds like the products have been making mine worse all these years!
Will stick to Woolite spray mixture from now!
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Rob4092xx (10-20-2015)
01-18-2017, 01:05 PM
#43
Burning Brakes
Didn't have time to read whole thread, so I apologize if it were mentioned. I read where you posted that conditioners do nothing for the seats and possibly make things worse.
What about "uv protectants" like 303?
What about "uv protectants" like 303?
01-18-2017, 01:44 PM
#44
Le Mans Master
(Snip)
Anyway, take a look at your window sticker. It identifies the interior as "trim, leather." This is how the automakers keep from telling you most of your interior is actually vinyl. The seat inserts are all that are leather....nothing else believe it or not. This includes your dash, door panels, etc. (snip)
Anyway, take a look at your window sticker. It identifies the interior as "trim, leather." This is how the automakers keep from telling you most of your interior is actually vinyl. The seat inserts are all that are leather....nothing else believe it or not. This includes your dash, door panels, etc. (snip)
And of course, while the 1LT and 2LT have all other parts vinyl, the 3LT (4LT for C6) package does actually have leather door panels and dash covering.
01-18-2017, 01:49 PM
#45
Le Mans Master
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St. Jude Donor '15-'16,'18
Leatherique is totally nasty stuff....so sticky, and just doesn't help at all on modern leather.Maybe it works on older cars from the 1960s-1970s, etc.
It's interesting because I'll see leather seats on some cars that look 100x's better than mine and yet they have been putting ZERO products on them. Sounds like the products have been making mine worse all these years!
Will stick to Woolite spray mixture from now!
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CR2007VET (01-19-2017)
01-19-2017, 12:34 AM
#48
Thanks Rob, I've been using the damp cloth and water method only for a couple of decades w/ great success. The one time I tried a "leather conditioner," which shall remain nameless, I could tell it wasn't penetrating, and immediately cleaned it off with the diluted Woolite solution.
Last edited by Foosh; 01-19-2017 at 12:37 AM.
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Woodson (01-19-2017)
01-19-2017, 08:52 AM
#49
Ordered
If you want a leather smell in your car, I recommend you purchase "Wonder Wafers." You can buy them on Ebay. Very simple to use. Open one, place it under the seat and your car will smell like leather...seriously! I get about one week out of a wafer before the smell is gone. You can buy "Wonder Wafers" in a variety of scents. Here are some examples on Ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wonder-Wafer...575733&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wonder-Wafer...284852&vxp=mtr
I have only used the "new leather" so I can only speak for it. They smell pretty good.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wonder-Wafer...575733&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wonder-Wafer...284852&vxp=mtr
I have only used the "new leather" so I can only speak for it. They smell pretty good.
Thanks for link.
VH
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Foosh (01-19-2017)
01-19-2017, 09:09 PM
#54
Team Owner
Member Since: Sep 2005
Location: Big Bend Country, TX
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St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15- '16-'17-‘18-‘19-'20-'21
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You should see his hair ............. 
08-27-2017, 07:41 AM
#55
Racer
Excellent!
[QUOTE=Rob4092xx;1590718513]The three most common types of automotive leather
Excellent education in a single post.
I had put gobs of conditioner on my 98 convertible's seats, which I thought had soaked in.
Except after one long ride in the sun, my wife's white pants bore deep black marks from the seat!
Thanks for posting.
Excellent education in a single post.
I had put gobs of conditioner on my 98 convertible's seats, which I thought had soaked in.
Except after one long ride in the sun, my wife's white pants bore deep black marks from the seat!
Thanks for posting.
08-27-2017, 08:26 AM
#56
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St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15- '16-'17-‘18-‘19-'20-'21
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08-27-2017, 01:52 PM
#57
For the 1992 model year the Corvette featured "Leather scented Leather seats" I kid you not. They only did that one year in 1993 it was gone. Most leather seats today are bonded leather, Its a Leather base with a bonded vinyl overlay to make them wear better.
Last edited by FastC7GS; 08-27-2017 at 02:10 PM.
08-27-2017, 02:06 PM
#58
Le Mans Master
08-27-2017, 02:09 PM
#59
No, they have aniline leather per post #1 above. It's not actually premium or "real" leather, it's coated as described above. 3LT/Z may be a better grade of aniline than 2LT/Z, but aniline nonetheless.
Last edited by Foosh; 08-27-2017 at 02:11 PM.
08-27-2017, 02:23 PM
#60
Le Mans Master
"Aniline leather is a type of leather dyed exclusively with soluble dyes without covering the surface with a topcoat paint or insoluble pigments. The resulting product retains the hide's natural surface with the 'grain', i.e. visible pores, scars etc. of the complete original animal's skin structure."
It's still leather. I do realize it has a protective coating.
It's still leather. I do realize it has a protective coating.
Last edited by 2K14C7; 08-27-2017 at 02:24 PM.