Redemption

Is the leather on the center console and door panel real leather or synthetic leather? Or is it vinyl? Could I clean it with leather cleaner/conditioner? Thanks

JCtx

First of all, anything not leather is vinyl. I HATE misleading misnomers like leatherette, synthetic leather, leather-grained coverings..... it's f*$^ing VINYL, marketing people!! (geez) However, quality is pretty good nowadays, huh? Also worth mentioning is different grades of leather are used on the seats. The outside pieces of the 'seating' surfaces are lower grade than the center portions, and you can feel it when conditioning the seats. But at least it's leather (most other manufacturers use vinyl there).

Back to your question. The 'gathering' material on the door panels is definitely leather, because it's advertised that way. The top portion of the arm rest looks identical than the lower portion, so my guess is they're vinyl; NO manufacturer 'wastes' leather in such places. Same thing with the center console armrest; it's the same material as the rest of the center console. And it's 'sticky' too; another clue I guess.

The method I use is to compare 2 adjacent panels of material; you can tell they're different, like the sides of the seats (always vinyl) with the front portions. Same principle with the sides of the center console's armrest (same material all over). And same again with the headrests (sides vinyl; front 'cheap' leather).

Anybody with a different take, or a more reliable method, speak up

Oh, and it's okay to condition them with leather conditioner. I do that. We're wasting our money at worst, but I'm fine with that just in case

Later

Redemption

LOL didn't know you was so sensitive about vinyl and leather Elps

Thanks for the detailed explanation. So let me get this straight...the only places with leather is the seats and door panels correct? Everything else (center console, armrest, ect) is vinyl? Would Vinylex work better on the vinyl parts?

JCtx

Actually it was directed at the manufacturers in a sarcastic way, specifically BMW. My brother almost bought his first car thinking 'leatherette' was a kind of leather, like 'bader' on our SC.

Back to the point. Hey, don't take my word for it buddy; would feel better if somebody with more leather experience would comment first. That's why I use the leather conditioner on ALL 'leather-like' surfaces, just in case. I'd do the same.

I started a similar thread asking this same question, but never got a specific answer.

Later.

Redemption

Thanks. Guess I'll take your advice and use the leather cleaner on all the leathery things. Which products do you use btw?

Umbo

ELP, I agree with your take on the vinyl areas in the car. When I installed my Luxlink, I did note that the door panel arm rests and center console were indeed vinyl.

JCtx

Thanks for the confirmation buddy. I was almost sure of the vinyl status as soon as I drove the car for the first time; your skin gets 'sticky' on vinyl right away. Hard to believe in a $60K+ car. I also thought such a price of admision, plus hard-as-rock runflat tires would afford forged wheels to minimize unsprung weight and improve ride. Oh well. It's still the best interior I've ever had so far

Redemption, I use Griot's Garage buddy (griotsgarage.com). I buy the big 160z bottle. Smells great, and best of all, dries clear. The formula used to be better, but even in its present 'diluted' state, it's still the best in my book. You can't wrong with any other premium cleaner IMO; just get it done. Pick the one you like.

lkirchner

I'm not certain about the SC but on my LS the center console is leather. The pockets on the back of the front seats are also leather on the SC; just put your hand in there and you will feel the unfinished part. I just looked and the headrests are also leather. Raise the headrest and look where the steel posts go in . If you peel it back you will again find the unfinished leather. All vinyl material will have a cloth backing. From the feel on the inside of the armrest it also has the supple feel of leather not the stiff feel of vinyl.

Redemption, I have to agree with you. I don't know why the manufacturers use some type of hype to describe the interior material. It's vinyl for goodness sake. Prior to buying the LS, I test drove a MB S500. During the test drive the salesman stated that the 500 had an all leather interior, at which point I reached back and put my hand in the pocket at the back of the front seat . I then asked him when did the Germans find cows that had material on the inside of them? His response was that he was not aware that the pockets were vinyl but proceeded to tell me that it was undoubtedly the highest grade money could buy. What a crock of bulls**t.

As far as using Vinylex on the interior, I have never cared for the shiny look that most of the conditioners leave behind. I have been using 303 Aerospace protectant for the last couple of years. It leaves behind a nice matte finish and will help block the UV rays and is not greasy. Yo can find it through Autopia. www.autopia.com, under the SHOP heading.

JCtx

Hey Lou, I found out the 'back pockets' were leather the first time I conditoned the seats, and was honestly surprised. Also the front and back (not the sides though) of the headrests are leather, as you pointed out; you can tell by comparing it to the sides. But that's not the high quality on the front-middle of the seats; it's the same as on the edges of the front of the seats.
And I also sat on an '04 LS (not interested in owning one), and I could IMMEDIATELY tell the center console's top covering was leather. I could almost swear ours is vinyl, but please give it a scrutiny and let us know what you think. I'm more inclined to think the top portion of the door armrest is leather than the console, but let's keep the comments coming.

As far as vinyl being 'stiff', think again man. The latest 'leather grade' vinyl is amazingly leather-like, and takes a trained eye to tell it apart, especially from the cheaper leathers (like on Acuras, etc).

I was just told a very good test is with a magnifier glass: 'grain' on the vinyl is all even, but not on real leather. Interesting. But don't have any though.

lkirchner

I'll look tonight and see what it is. The reason I stated stiff vinyl is that the vinyl used on the MB's is as stiff as a board. I am not a Mercedes basher by any stretch of the imagination and as I have indicated on this forum before I have continuosly owned MB's since 1968. However it is a pity as to what they have done to cheapen the brand and still demand top dollar pricing.

Enough of that. I'll do my best Inspector Closeau this evening and see what I can determine.

JCtx

Lou, first of all, you're not bashing anybody or anything in my view buddy. You're just being objective, like me. I give credit where it's due, but I also speak my mind about negatives, even if they're my own cars or motorcycles. Keep it up buddy; that's how manufacturers get better. And I completely agree with your MB assessment, by the way, but as you said, they're not the only ones (Ihave you seen the $1,400 leather option on BMWs?). Wall Street is now more important to manufacturers than us consumers my friend; we have to live with it. And don't get me started with the Corvette man... couldn't stand the Silverado interior for more than 6 months, and sold it with a few hundred miles on the clock (C6 doesn't look much better).

Now, I WAS WRONG about our SC . Just came back from a ride on the SC, and what a difference good lighting and very close inspection makes (duh!). To my defense, ecru is very hard to tell apart; I'm sure black or saddle are more obvious (or the charcoal LS I referred to). My conclusion is BOTH the top center console cover and top arm rest covers are leather. You can most definitely see the grain differences from the side coverings to the top ones. The top ones have the unique grain that only leather can provide, and the sides of the center console lid and door armrests are clearly vinyl (but darn good one people).

Sooooo, I'll continue to use leather conditioner for all the interior; too much trouble to change products for such a small vinyl area.

I'll look for your comments Tim.

Umbo

Now you guys have me crawling around the inside of my SC with a flashlight trying to differentiate leather from vinyl. I want to clarify that when I said that the center console is vinyl, I was refering to the material on either side of the radio. The center arm rest does appear to be leather but I'm not totally certain. I don't think that I can tell for certain without being able to see the backing. The seats look to me like they are leather on the tops and sides. The back of the seat is definitely vinyl except for the pocket.

lkirchner

We must have been all been crawling around the cars last night. I agree with the findings as well. By the way I have the saddle inrerior and am amazed as to how well the color and grain match is between the vinyl and leather. One can only tell by sticking their nose right in there or to use a magnifying glass as suggested by Redemption. I did the latter and was observed (caught) by my wife who gave me the old "What are you doing NOW"? Try and explain what it was that you were doing with a magnifying glass inside of the car to a non-car aficionando.

Umbo

Ikirchner, I feel your pain bro.

Redemption

I wasn't crawling around last night but I did do an inspection this morning. I didn't have a magnifying glass (idea was actually suggested by ELP), just my senses (which isn't very good). Well, I'm far from an expert on leather/vinyl, but I tried my best to find any differences. I agree with you guys, it's pretty difficult to tell the difference between them on some parts. Which I guess is a good thing.

lkirchner, atleast she didn't catch you sniffing the leather. Or tasting it.