SW17LS

The King Ranch is the only one I've ever seen. Google for pics, the leather gets a very interesting patina lol

Junglequac

They don't. Bentley uses Nappa leather and I believe RR and Range Rover still use Connolly Hides. That said, I have heard conflicting reports whether or not Connolly are still an ongoing concern. From what I remember, MB prefers leather sourced from cows from Southern Bavaria. Something about there being no barbed wire and the fact that at least the Germans and I am guessing most of the Europeans do not brand their cows. By doing so, it makes a large section of hide unusable.

Doublebase

​​​​​​​And you should see what King Ranch seats look like after five years, terrible. I imagine they look wonderful new, but after a few seasons? They look like worn out shoes.

SW17LS

See above where I mentioned the "interesting patina" lol.

Diplomatic for "the seats look f-ing terrible"

Doublebase

​​​​​​​lol! I missed that post.

SW17LS

I just googled it, on my phone so posting a pic is a pain but everybody should google king ranch interior. That's why we have coated leather seats lol

Gbp

Thanks for the information. I'd no idea an auto manufacturer would use up coated leather in a vehicle model:

http://www.blueovaltrucks.com/tech/h..._leather.shtml

Cleaning the leather seems quite the ordeal. With air circulation, one has to wait 6-8 hours for the leather after applying the leather cleaner and conditioner for the "blotches" caused by their application to disappear.

SW17LS

Yup, quite the ordeal is an understatement!

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

I used to swear by Leatherique in my old BMWs. However, since I learned that ALL leather interiors have an impervious polyurethane coating, I realized it was just a placebo effect!

Warm soapy water...... just like the owners' manual(s) state!

Junglequac

If only it was impervious. While using solvent based cleaners will hasten and can eat right through the P/U coating, just by the accumulation of time, UV exposure, wear, etc, the P/U layer will eventually stretch and holes will and do develop. This is where a leather conditioner becomes an important part of keeping the seats from cracking, etc.

I completely agree about using something like soapy water (use water/Woolite myself) and also frequent vacuuming is quite important as the dirt and grit will hasten the breakdown of the P/U layer. That said, especially after a few years, the use of a quality leather conditioner is quite important to keep the actual hide moisturized. In addition, I believe the P/U layer also contains the coloring of the interior as well.

R Z

My LS400 has tan seats. They became cracked and I had a tear along the seam. Lexus turned me on to a local guy who did leather repair and color matching. For $200 he repaired the tear, shored up all the cracks and then sprayed both front seats with the exact tan pms color. The seats looked absolutely amazing. He even touched up an area in the back seat for me at no additional charge. Unfortunately he took a career type job in Nashville and no longer does this work. I'm sure there are others out there. As for my 08, the seats are holding up just fine. My only interior issue is the driver door arm rest which cracked. Otherwise, no complaints.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

Leatheriques rejuvenating oil is highly reviewed all across the board

I agree it might not penetrate as well as some might hink due to the coating, but I think it does have some penetrating abilities

They do recommend you soak the seats in the oil for quite a long time, and cover them with plastic in a heated room, apparently this helps it penetrate best

I still haven't tried it , not sure what I'm waiting for

CRowe14

The seats in my LS I think are in fantastic condition. However, I must say that the passenger seat is seldom used and the rear seats (other than the passenger side rear which is occupied by my daughters booster seat with towels underneath to protect the seat) are used even less.

My drivers seat has some wrinkles, but I think overall its in pretty good condition.

To the OP, were you looking for people to post photos or simply written feedback?

Gbp

A picture is worth 10,000 words.

CRowe14

I couldn't agree more Gpb!