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I am looking for a leather conditioner that preferably has no smell to it and adds a degree of UV protection? My car still smells new, and since its not a daily driver, it will stay like that for a long time I hope. I would like to leave the roof off while I go into the store or something without freaking out about the sun blaring down on my interior.
First, you don't need any leather conditioner because the leather has a protective coating on it. The leather conditioner will not touch the leather. Clean it with water.
If you can't find an odorless product check out Zaino Leather In A Bottle. The fragrance is just like new leather. It's pretty nice. Kept a little 3x3 swatch of cloth under the seat of my C6 frequently dampened with the stuff.
I understand cleaning the seats with just water, I am concerned with adding some protection from the sun with the roof is off and I am parked, but I may be being paranoid? Sorry, should have been more clear.
A long time ago, I used to use lotion with 100% lanolin in it. I had a BMW 535i with red leather interior. It worked great and didn't smell. Most car products that are made for interior leather will smell like leather.
All the leather in recent Vettes is plastic coated. No leather conditioner is going to penetrate and "condition," and it already is as UV protected as possible.
Many products will actually be counterproductive, because the chemicals may break down the protective coating on the surface of the leather.
Yes, I forgot to mention that part. People trying to protect the "leathers" in today's vehicles may actually be screwing them up by compromising a far superior protectant than they could ever apply from a bottle.
I use McGuires VLR (vinyl, leather, rubber). And yes, the leather is all sealed and a lot of the seat is vinyl. So, it covers all the bases, not greasy or sticky and no real smell. Seats still look new in my 2008.
I've been successfully using Meguiar's leather wipes on numerous cars for years now and it always keeps the leather feeling, and looking, new with a light shine and no greasy feel after rubbing them down with a microfiber towel.
When I first picked up my dad's red on red C6 convertible for him it was obvious the previous owner never did anything to protect or care for the seats. After 3 applications over a 2 week period using the Meguiar's wipes the seats were back to feeling soft and looking great just like the above.
On the dash, I prefer Armor All's vinyl wipes vs. Meguiar's offering.
if it is true that the leather has a protection on it and a coating is not needed - then why does the Corvette Museum sell leather conditioner, and many CF vendors sell leather protection, etc.
All the leather in recent Vettes is plastic coated. No leather conditioner is going to penetrate and "condition," and it already is as UV protected as possible.
Many products will actually be counterproductive, because the chemicals may break down the protective coating on the surface of the leather.
if it is true that the leather has a protection on it and a coating is not needed - then why does the Corvette Museum sell leather conditioner, and many CF vendors sell leather protection, etc.
Because many earlier Vettes do not have coated leather. Furthermore, when I was at the races at Laguna Seca last year, many of the Corvette engineers were there including the fellow who was in charge of designing the C7 interior. I had a nice chat with him, and he said because of the coated leather, all leather cleaning and protection products are a total waste of money. He said a damp micro fiber towel is all that is needed, and, if there is heavy soil, a small touch of simple green on the damp towel. That has worked perfectly for my black 3LT interior. I also have the suede inserts and a damp micro fiber towel is all I use on the suede.
04-03-2017, 08:34 PM
Leather conditioner that doesn't smell?
