jimbonic

Myself, I have only really used Zaino which I did think was ok, or a couple cheap things in the past, however in doing some light reading on CL it seems that either Leatherique or Leather Master are the two top choices to treat the leather interiors of these cars. Which one do you prefer and why? Ease of application. Protection they offer. Do they give a nice leather smell? Value? Anything else you can toss in would be appreciated.

MDames2

iTrader: (1)

Don't waste your money on Leatherique. I have used it many times in the past. It is quite expensive. Leatherique is a two step process. It is supposed to penetrate deeply into your leather and condition and soften it. However, the leather interiors in Lexus vehicles are coated leathers. Even the semi-aniline leather has a coating on it to protect it. Leatherique will not penetrate the leather because it cannot penetrate the protective coating on the leather. So it just sits on top. I now use Leather Master. I use the cleaner and protectant cream. These do a good job of cleaing and protecting. That's all you can do. Beware of any leather "conditioners" that claim to condition your leather.

JellyBean

I used Leatherique and other fancy leather products in my old 01GS430, but after a lot of reading I concluded that those products—as most detailing products—are equivalent to my wife’s ultra-expensive Facial Volumetric High Definition Age-Defying Rejuvenating Serum, but for cars.

Mdames2 is correct in that all leather options in our GS350s are coated leathers—even the semi-analine. Since coated leathers are moisture-proof on the coated side, I treat it as a vinyl and protect the protective coating—not the leather the coating is trying to protect—by damp-wiping it clean with a very weak solution of woolite (as Lexus recommended for my old GS430) and applying 303 protectant. It’s simple, quick, and worked perfectly with my old GS.

Jrocket

Here is what you need to do OP.

Vaccum really well. Wipe down Seats with a damp Microfiber (distilled water) and then wipe down with a dry microfiber towel.

Then Apply a Leather Coating. No need to use harsh leather cleaners and conditioners on Coated Leather.

The leather Coating serves as a protecting barrier just like a Paint Coating/ Sealant or wax.

I recommend Pinnacle Black Label Leather and Vinyl Coating!!


Please do not put 303 on your leather seats either. Dash is fine. However you can use the Leather and Vinyl Coating on it as well.

rustyd

Why do you say this? I have used on a couple of leather interiors and works good on them.

johnkol

If that were true, and the leather was truly impermeable, then how do you explain the fact that so many people have dye transfer problems from jeans onto the seats?

And if dye can penetrate the protective coating, then why not other substances and liquids?

Getrag

Doc Bailey's Leather Black is a very good product for black leathers and vinyl, which really brings back the color to the material.

https://www.leatherclear.com/cgi-bin/store/pid_01.htm

PondScum

FWIW, the high-end auto interior restoration shop that installed the leather interior on my Prius recommended alternating 303 with a leather-specific product every other month. The owner thought the UV protection from the 303 was important for the leather.

nwb3160

I use Obenaufs. I just started using it so I can't leave much feedback. Anyone tried Obenaufs and had any luck?

jfelbab

Some observations... Leather in our vehicles are coated for a few reasons. First is to make it look good. Second is to make it hold up to wear or a long time. Third is to prevent spills from soaking into the leather. As such the coating acts to make the leather highly impervious to liquids.

Do this test for yourself and draw your own conclusions. Put a drop of water on your leather seat and let it set for an hour. Did it penetrate the leather and leave a dark spot?

If a water droplet doesn't penetrate the coating, a thicker oily conditioner certainly will not. The leather in our cars absorbs moisture via transpiration. This is to say by raising the humidity of the air surrounding the leather. Protected, or coated, leather will allow humid air to pass through the coating as well as through the backside of the leather while preventing liquid from passing through.

Dye transfer is anther matter. If your leather is stained via dye transfer you will find that the actual leather is not stained but it is the urethane coating that has been stained. Much the same way that a painted board can be stained by pouring some ink on it and leaving it. Sand off the stained paint and the wood underneath is unstained.

Protected leather can and does take up moisture through a process of transpiration. Transpiration in this process is the passage of water vapor through the urethane coating. Note that the key here is that water enters the leather as a vapor and not a liquid. The actual leather is a fibrous material that acts much like sponge. (think chamois).

Leather protectors (not to be confused with conditioners) actually provide an additional barrier to stains, while being water based do not prevent the transpiration process. A leather protector will also not be oily or greasy. Protectors dry silky smooth to the touch and will not hold on to dust, dirt or other soiling as conditioners do. This results in cleaner leather and less abrasion of the topcoat which leads to longer life and better appearance over time.

Leather protectors are made up of water based fluorocarbons which are more costly than the typical oily conditioner but clearly are superior at preventing stains and wear.

Lastly do not use any product that has silicones in it as they will seal off the leather so that transpiration will not take place. This will result in dry hard leather and likely lead to premature cracking. Any product that leaves your leather slippery is likely using silicones.

Now to add some confusion. A lot of what is called leather these days is vinyl. Much of your leather upholstery is painted vinyl. In our Lexus, mostly just the seating area is real leather. Some manufacturers are calling this material by other names like MB TEX but it is synthetic or fake leather. Good or bad, you decide.

I've noticed that the leather in my 2014 is vastly thinner than that of the leather used 10 years ago. I doubt it will have the longevity I've seen in the past but for the manufacturer it is cheaper and if they can save a few dollars a car that amounts to millions. This means that if I want the leather to last I need to take even better care of it.

I use the following approach.
•Weekly: vacuum and wipe down the leather with Meguiar's Quik Interior Detailer (adds UV protection).
•Quarterly: deep cleaning and protecting. I clean my leather using Leather Master Strong Leather Cleaner. I protect my leather using Leather Masters Leather Protection Cream.

There are a number of other manufacturers that make decent leather cleaners and protectors. Pick your favorite and keep your leather clean and protected to avoid staining, cracking and early failure.

PondScum

Your argument in flawed, in my opinion.

Water has surface tension, so there are many surfaces that will allow water vapor to pass through, while water droplets will not. That's how Gore-Tex and other water-resistant fabrics work. Rain can't pass through them, because of the surface tension of the water droplets holds the water together in drops, preventing them from passing through the fabric. But because they can't block water molecules, the surface is breathable, and does pass water in vapor form.

You wrote above that a water molecule can't pass through the coating, yet later you say that humid air does pass through the coating. You just contradicted yourself. Water is what makes humid air humid. How does humid air pass thru the coating if a water molecule cannot? If you had written that water droplets can't pass thru but water vapor can, then I could believe that, as now you'd be saying that the coating acts similarly to water resistant fabrics. But that isn't what you wrote.

I'm not an expert, but I think the hydrophyllic properties of the surface or coating have to come into play. Hydrophobic surfaces would tend to keep the water droplets together, while hydrophillic surfaces would allow the droplets to spread out and wet the surface. It might be interesting to add a wetting agent like liquid soap to the water and see how that affects the penetration of water to the coated leather.

Also, greasy paper bags seem pretty good at allowing oil to pass thru them, while blocking the passage of water drops.

jfelbab

You are correct in that I misspoke. What I intended to portray is that water droplets will not pass through the urethane coating while water molecules would. One purpose of the coating is to prohibit liquid spills from penetrating the coating.

I'll go back and correct that statement.

PondScum

That makes a lot more sense. The leather coatings are probably hydrophobic and keep any pooled water in tight droplets. I think the technical term to describe this is "surface energy". I recall reading about this when trying to find a paint that would adhere to certain types of thermoplastics.

GoFastTSI

iTrader: (1)

So much disinformation in this thread. Leatherique is incredible for rejuvenating the leather with oils that do in fact permeate into the leather. It and the cleaner work wonders for leather seats and I highly recommend it. I would go further but am in work.

johnkol

If that was true, and the stain was simply superficial on the urethane coating, then one should be able to remove the stain easily -- much like wiping clean a plastic kitchen mat.

But people are having a really hard time removing these stains even with dedicated leather cleaners, which means that the dyes can penetrate deep into the urethane coating -- and if they can do this, your hypothesis about the impermeability of the urethane coating is simply wrong.

Moreover, most (all?) modern Lexus cars have perforated seats, so leather conditioners don't even have to penetrate the urethane coating -- they can get to the leather itself through the perforations, so how does your hypothesis about the urethane coating being an impenetrable barrier apply here?