I have the 350 with black leather interior. I have had the car about four weeks. I've noticed that sometimes, the leather appears white and cloudy in some areas. Usually, it is taken care of by a wipe down. However, the back headrest of the driver's seat is completely cloudy and I can't seem to get rid of it. The only solution I have ever used on the seats is the Lexus brand name conditioner. No one has ever even sat in the back seat!!! Is anyone else having this issue? How do I make the seats look nice and black???? I also notice white spots on the doors (the synthetic part not the leather part) sometimes, but these seems to be taken care of by an easy wipe. What is wrong with my new seats???

 

hmmm bump for this . . . mine is gonna have black leather!

 

Sounds like you're putting too much crap on the leather. You're only suppose to use conditioner to maintain the of the leather once or twice a year so it doesn't dry out. Don;t think the easy wipes are helping either. Leather is pretty resiliant by iteslf without all the chemicals. Just a damp cloth to wipe the dust down one a month or so.

 

Yeah, you may want to lay off the products... I have black leather in Austin Texas and mine looks just fine. I haven't treated it at all yet - have had the car for a few weeks. I previously had a black/black Mercedes AMG and I only treated the leather about every 3 months. It was fine, even in 100+ degree heat.

 

I agree, it sounds like you're using too much conditioner. I have the black interior and it looks fine too.

To remedy this, my suggestion is to take a damp microfiber towel, spray a little (2-3 sprays only) general purpose cleaner on it (e.g., Armor All All-Purpose Cleaner) and wipe the leather down. That should remove the excess conditioner. The cleaner won't dry out your leather because you are using so little and it is diluted onto a wet towel.

As an aside, I should say that our IS is my wife's car. She takes pottery classes and frequently gets the black interior smudged with pottery and porcelain dust. I've used the above method to remove those smudges with good success from all the interior surfaces (leather, dash, steering wheel, etc.). The Lexus is quite easy to clean, btw. Our Infiniti FX had a black interior, and it was difficult to get those pottery marks off the leather and dashboard.

 

I have the same problem in my car and I haven't used one drop of anything on it. The same white/cloudy marks keep showing up even after I wipe with a plain towel. What gives?

 

Is the appearance of this residue related to weather conditions (hot sun vs overcast) or where you park the car (outside vs garaged)?
Happy belated birthday by the way, S-L.

 

LOL how did you know my birthday was this month?? Thanks for the belated wish tho!

I park my car outside when I'm at work which is from 9-6 and it's pretty sunny since I'm in Southern California. Then when I get home, my car is garaged. I only notice this white residue on my driver's side door, usually where my elbow/arm would be when I reach up to open the door. I'm not sure if the residue could be due to the lotion that I use on my arms?