My recently acquired 14 still has that wonderful leather smell. Seems like it might be weakening some. I’ve cleaned and conditioned the seats with Chemical Guys products, but I heard it’s best to clean the seats with Woolite diluted with water, so I do that now and have conditioned a couple times. I don’t even like picking up food in it to carry home, like fast food or pizza, as the smell consumes the car for awhile.

Anything I can do to keep it smelling nice? I know it’s not a golden chariot, but it’s lasted 10 years so far.

 

Everybody will have a different opinion of course but I use Mothers VLR because it has a leathery smell and leaves a matte type of look like oem, with the perforated seats I always spray the cloth and not the seats.
Works good on the under hood plastic panels too if you want.

 

I use Zaino Leather in a Bottle to treat my leather seats. In my opinion, it leaves a fresh leather smell. The smell doesn’t last forever, but an occasional reapplication rejuvenates things
Claims to be a good conditioner, but I don’t know how much conditioning is making through the leather top coat. I was told by an old upholstery guy to focus on the seams when treating car leather, as that’s where it tends to dry and split, so that’s what I do.
Good luck!

 

I know everyone uses different cleaners and conditioners, even though the leather is coated. I’ve heard don’t use conditioners; then, I’ve heard use them because it gets down into the cracks where the coating has degraded. It’s all opinionated like which oil to use. Just wondered if it’s a “keep it clean with mild detergents” or “don’t use chemical cleaners”, etc. type answer.

 

I don't think I would use laundry soap on leather.

 

I use Lexol for the leather conditioner and Leather Honey for the cleaning. Lexol is basically what Toyota used to give out to condition leather. Absorbs quickly unlike the Leather Honey.

 

I've used a variety of things on my other cars. The leather honey is sticky, and I couldn't tell a difference. Lexol didn't seem to do anything; wasn't a great cleaner and the conditioner did nothing. Granted, these were old Ford leather seats in a 95 Taurus SHO that I acquired in 2010 (and have since sold). It appeared that the leather got worse the more I tried to clean and condition it. With mine looking pristine to be 10 years old, I wish I could ask what the PO did to keep it that way besides garaging it and not driving many miles per year. I realize this is like a "which oil should I use" question, but even on detailing forums, people argue about it. The most agreement consensus is to keep it vacuumed and wiped down clean, even with just a damp cloth.

 

Another vote for Zaino Leather in a Bottle.

 

Most car leather is sealed so just use whatever smells best to you and pay attention to the seams and any folded areas.

 

I didn't even know Zaino still existed!

Regarding leather and topcoats and conditioning. "Conditioning" the leather really isn't possible, I would adjust your thinking there to "protecting" the leather.

You can really use whatever cleaner you use for any plastic or vinyl in the car. I use a product nowadays called P&S Xpress Interior cleaner:


I use these autofiber scrub ninja pads with it:


For protecting the interior I use Koch Chemie's Leather Star. This is a topical protectant that is designed for the leather's top coat:


It comes in a comically large bottle, you will never need to buy another protectant in your life lol



What this results in is a matte, new appearance to the leather which really looks great.

 

Just a guess but the leather smell was a result of a product that the dealer used when preparing your very nice pre-owned car for delivery. I am not sure what they used but I woould be interested in finding out. Perhaps a detail shop would be helpful or detailing forum.

 

Part of why the smell fades too is you become used to it

 

Leatherique gave my 400 that old leather smell and did not leave a shiny residue. Now I can just get the leather smell through the climate control.

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Yes, if I don't drive my A8s for a while the first time I open the door is a dramatic and pleasant experience. My wife says she knows when I opened the door on the W12 in the garage since she can smell it afterwords if she runs to the fridge.

If you have high spec leather options you get even more smell from semi-aniline leather and suede contributing even more.

 

You hit the nail on the head. It’s been in the garage all week, and I opened it up and the smell is still strongly there again! It has the semi-aniline leather, even though it’s a “base” model.