2018 RX350 leather cleaning
 

What kind of products do you guys recommend to clean leather seats on your RX?
I have an RX with black leather seats. I start to see some creases after 5000 miles.
I heard Lexus leathers are a little tricky to maintain. I have been using meguair's quick detailer spray in my 2016 C300 with MB-TEX (MB's version of N luxe) for the past two years and the seats look brand new and My 2013 Sienna LE that I replaced my RX with had cloth seats and it didn't need any cleaning for 120K miles.
Would it still be ok to use the meguair's quick detailer to clean the leather seats on the Lexus? It does say it's safe for leather surfaces. Any recommendations are appreciated.

Meguiar's D181 is my favorite affordable leather cleaner, personally. It is gentle enough to use on all interior surfaces (though it will temporarily smudge shiny surfaces until wiped off) and it restores leather to its natural matte finish as opposed to the shinier finishes some leather cleaners leave behind. I use it combined with a horse hair brush to get in all the creases and then wipe the whole interior down with a damp cloth to make sure everything feels as natural as possible.

For protection, I spray 303 Aerospace on a damp cloth and wipe down. It will smudge in some places as it is UV protection but you can wipe the smudges off with a clean, dry towel.

I've being using a few of go to products (see below list) and they never disappoint and worth the money. I've being using them in all my BMW's for years and current GS and now RX with the semi-aniline leather and work great. I stay away from all the off the shelf consumer products as they tend to contain some form of solvents and other toxic formulas that will actually wear and not good for the leather. I prefer the stuff that is pH balanced and mostly natural or

Here are my top 3 products I got to all the time in no particular order:
1. TriNova - 2. Leather Honey - 3. Chemical Guys -

Zaino leather cleaner and leather in a bottle conditioner. Both make the leather smell like new again. With the cleaner use a soft Kiwi shoe polish brush to agitate the cleaner in all the crevices that attract dirt. Both can be done in a total of less than ten minutes.

Whether your Lexus has real leather or NuLuxe, the cleaning approach is the same. I'd suggest an automotive leather cleaner every 3-6 months, depending on the level of soiling, and a weekly wipe down with a wrung out cotton towel to remove dust. I'd recommend switching from Meguiar's Quik Detailer to Meguiar's Quik Interior Detailer for weekly use. Different product for different purposes.

If you have real leather, only the contact areas are real leather and the rest is synthetic (faux) leather. Real leather can develop creases, and ultimately cracks, if not properly hydrated so I'd wipe the leather down weekly with the wrung out towel. The faux leather (NuLuxe, MBTex, etc) does not accept moisture so there is no hydration option, just keep it clean.

Real leather plumps up and softens when properly hydrated and shrinks and hardens when it gets dry. You need to keep real leather hydrated to maintain it's soft and plump fibers and minimize the creasing. Coated leather absorbs h20 via transpiration (elevated humidity in the proximity of the leather), hence the recommendation of the wrung out towel wipe down weekly.

There's a whole sticky above about leather. Lexus "real leather" is polyureathane coated. The surface is basically vinyl just like the NuLuxe. Nothing can penetrate it. It cannot be hydrated or conditioned. Just use an all purpose cleaner. None of the product marketed for leather makes any difference. They are all a scam.

Anthony, Just to correct the hydration issue... Coated leather can be hydrated. It is essential to maintain proper hydration in real leather to minimize creasing and eventual cracking. While it''s true that the urethane top coat will not allow a drop of water through to the leather beneath it. Real leather will absorb H2O from elevated humidity in the surrounding area via a process called transpiration.

How real leather differs from NuLuxe is that the real leather is a fibrous material that readily accepts moisture. It needs this moisture to remain soft and supple. NuLuxe is a man-made synthetic and does not have the ability to absorb moisture and therefore cannot be hydrated nor does it need to. Whether this synthetic product turns out be better than real leather over time remains to be seen.

When a leather professional speaks about conditioning leather he is almost always speaking to hydration, not the smearing of an oily, waxy or greasy product on the urethane coating. The only benefit of these old school "conditioners" is the moisture content in them. The same benefit you can achieve with plain water via a weekly wipe down. But, there are some beneficial leather products. For example, leather protectant products that incorporate a water-based hydrocarbon can help both real leather and faux products from absorbing dye stains from jeans and the like.

Jim, how do you know if you have real or NuLuxe? I have looked different places and been given different info? I have horrible issues with dye stains from jeans and struggle cleaning it.

Thanks

It is often difficult to notice the difference visually since faux leather is engineered to look like real leather. You can tell if you compare the feel and smell. Real leather retains the characteristic leather smell even over some time. It does get fainter with age but it is still there while faux leather does not smell like leather. The feel or "hand" of the leather surface is also different. Real leather being less uniform, as no hide is uniform, and faux leather is totally uniform. In our Lexus vehicles with real leather, only the contact areas are real leather. The new car sticker usually notes real leather as "Leather trimmed". Real leather historically has held up to wear much longer over time than faux leather but science has been progressing so we don't know how the latest faux products will fare. Faux leather certainly is less costly for the manufacturer than real leather and it seems to come in more color options. Typically, the areas that are real leather are the seat bottom and boisters, seat back, the arm rests and steering wheel inserts. The rest including the entire back side of the seats and the side and front non-contact areas are faux leather. This also includes the door panels. If you compare these areas in your vehicle, you can usually tell which is which.

Fortunately both require about the same care. Regular deeper cleaning and a weekly wipe down with a rung our cotton towel. Both types will benefit from a fluorocarbon protectant to minimize dye transfer issues. Removal of these stains can often be very difficult. I've had best success with Leather Master dye transfer remover but the longer the stain is left on the surface the deeper it penetrates and the more difficult it is to remove. In some cases it is not possible to completely remove these stains and the only options are to live with it or to have the leather refinished which is pretty costly.

Woolite (get the alternative from the dollar store) is recommended by Lexus and work wonders on jeans transfer.

Disagree
 

That is purely a matter if opinion. I've tried at least 20 different Leather Cleaners / Conditioners and personally give Leatherique a Thumbs Down. Matter if fact I sold the rest of it to a kind member here after just one use of it on wifes RX. We all have our own take on products, which is the reason why I preface my statements with "In my opinion X is the best product for me" etc. I've already voiced my Go-To Leather products so will now cease and desist.
Semper Fi ! 🇺🇸

Yeah, everyone has their favorites. Ask any 10 detailers what their favorite leather cleaner is and you will likely get 20 answers, LOL. Same is true for most auto care products. I've found the following to be true.

A good detailer can make a car look great with almost any brand of product.

The reason is that skill and technique is what is the most important factor.

Truth. Cars were beautifully maintained before this deluge of products was even imagined.