Got a Ford F150 King Ranch edition to do today and was wondering how you folks would go about cleaning the leather in them. Would i be able to use a cleaner be it APC or CG Leather Cleaner and then condition them as i normally would any other type of leather? Sample shot from the net:
To this day, I refuse to touch it. My neighbor has one and it's fantastic, but it's scuffed up from daily use. I have another friend with the same interior (these are all F-350s by the way) and he covers up his seats with towels at all times to preserve them. Nice interiors, but incredibly picky leather.
Do you know if it's coated? You can use a drop of water to test it. I would definitely NOT use APC and just stick to leather cleaner. Just use a MF or foam pad instead of a brush and you should be fine, but then I again I haven't encountered this leather yet. I would just rather be safe then sorry.
as far as cleaning.. no brush for sure! maybe use your favorite leather cleaner with mf and ask the owner to see if he has the King Ranch leather condition from the factory ..:shead:
thanks guys. I'll be doing it later today. Lucky it's a buddy of mine. I haven't seen the truck for over a year but he keeps it pretty clean. I was just wondering what the best way to attack it would be and i got some great responses. I'll be sure to not use the brush. Heck it might not even need cleaning. We'll see though. Thanks to those who responded.
Most leather needs cleaning even if it doesn't look as though it does!!! It is dirt that does the damage so keeping it clean is very important. It is difficult to tell from the photo whether this is a coated leather or not as it does appear to have some sort of a finish on it although most King Ranch leathers are aniline style leather which absorb moisture. First - do the moisture test and see if the leather absorbs - this is best done with a cleaner (or the foam of a cleaner) as cleaners will have a lesser surface tension than water and some leathers may have been waterproofed which would give a wrong reading. Best to do this test in a hidden place. If the leather turns dark and then dries out then you have an aniline style and this will need clenaing accordingly. If the moisture does not soak in but sits on the surface then cleaning for coated leather can be followed. Please remember you can only 'clean' off the surface of leather and not out of it. Pigment coated leather: Leather does not require 'conditioning' with anything other than water. Keep your leather clean by protecting it with a leather protector and then regular cleaning. Adding 'conditioners' which generally contain oils and waxes will change the appearance of your leather over time as dirt will build up on the surface and cause a sheen. Using the correct care methods and products will not alter the factory finish. Your type of leather is 'coated' leather. This is essentially a 'painted' leather with a clear coat finish over the top. The leather may or may not be dyed through with aniline dyes prior to the finish coating. Essentially it is this top coating that needs looking after. Cleaning is vitally important as the top coat will wear away if allowed to become dirty. Dirt on the surface will aslo become ground into the finish by constant abrassion. 'Conditioners', balms, feeds etc (traditionally oil and wax based) cannot penetrate this finish so are not worth applying - they can also leave behind residues on the finish which will only attract more dirt if allowed to remain. A protector will make the finish easier to clean and also inhibit dye transfer etc on pale coloured leathers. Leather however finished has to remain breathable and it will allow the movement of moisture back and forth (transpiration) so the use of water based cleaners and protectors will keep the leather correctly hydrated which is essentail to keeping it in good condition. The routine for correct care should be Protect from new (Auto Ultra Protect) Maintain with a regular clean or maintenance product (Auto Ultra Maintain) Deep clean with a foam cleaner once or twice a year (Auto Ultra Foam) This will prolong the life of the finish on the leather When using a foam cleaner a stiff bristled brush is perfectly safe to use on coated leather (horsehair brushes tend to soften too much at the ends and will not achieve the same results) Aniline style leather Using liquid or foam style leather cleaners will be totally ineffective on these type of leathers as most of your cleaning product will be soaked up by the leather. The best way is to use an aniline cleaner which are ones that have been developed from cleaners with no surfactants, these can then clean the surface without soaking into the leather. It is also crucial to use a very good quality protector on these (one that does work) so that the leather cna be protectoed against future dirt and body oils and make cleaning easier. Hope this helps
King Ranch (Aniline) leather This type of leather has little or no protective finish on the surface of the leather which means that any spillages, body oils etc will soak into the leather hide Use a specific aniline leather cleaner that that will clean the surface of the leather.. Any 'wetting' cleaner will not be of any use as it will soak into the leather taking any surface dirt with it. There is no need (or point) in using oil-based or wax-based products, water-based products will hydrate and maintain the necessary moistures balance. It is very important with this type of leather to use a protective type product, which will inhibit dirt and body oils etc from being absorbed into the leather in the first place; these can then be cleaned from the surface easily. Aniline leather fades at a faster rate than protected (pigmented) leather, so ultra violet protection is very important.
Jon Miller (TOGWT) - You should be ashamed of yourself for coping judyb's post almost word for word from another forum yet again. From her post on Autopia: You are no more than a word changing plagiarist and have been called out once again. In fact you were banned from not onlyAutopia, but Autogeek & MOL too for doing the same thing. In fact Judy directly called you out for copying her copywrited material again on this thread: Gliptone Cleaner & Conditioner correct application - Detailing World If one does a simple Google search of "togwt plagiarizing" you'll come up with several interesting things. Does Knowledge unshared is experience wasted really mean you are a professional regurgitator? I used to admire your advice until I wised up and realized what you're all about. Pathetic!
Yikes . . . . can we stay on subject here guys. Don't need a beefing thread here. I was just looking for some general information.
Hardly word for word, same subject, obviously similar care methods Posted by Togwt King Ranch (Aniline) leather This type of leather has little or no protective finish on the surface of the leather which means that any spillages, body oils etc will soak into the leather hide Use a specific aniline leather cleaner that that will clean the surface of the leather.. Any 'wetting' cleaner will not be of any use as it will soak into the leather taking any surface dirt with it. There is no need (or point) in using oil-based or wax-based products, water-based products will hydrate and maintain the necessary moistures balance. It is very important with this type of leather to use a protective type product, which will inhibit dirt and body oils etc from being absorbed into the leather in the first place; these can then be cleaned from the surface easily. Aniline leather fades at a faster rate than protected (pigmented) leather, so ultra violet protection is very important. Posted by Judyb King Ranch leather is one of the few leathers that is an aniline style leather in a vehicle. It has little or no finish on the surface of the leather which means that any spillages, body oils etc will soak into the leather itself. These cannot be 'cleaned' out as you can only clean the surface of leather and not out of it. There are some good aniline cleaners on the market which do not contain surfactants so will sit on the surface and clean what is there. Any 'wetting' cleaner will not be of any use as it will soak into the leather taking any surface dirt with it.There is no need (or point) in using 'feeds' 'conditioners' especially if they contain oils and waxes. Although these will be absorbed by the leather they may upset the balance of the 'fatliquors' already in the leather and cause problems. The important thing is to keep the moisture balance good and this can be doen with simple water based products. The important thing to do is protect them (as you would with fabric) with a 'scotchgard' type protector which will inhibit dirt and body oils etc from being absorbed into the leather in the first place, these can then be cleaned off the surface easily So Clean (with a non surfactant cleaner) Protect (with a strong tested leather protector) Maintain (with a non surfactant cleaner on a regular basis) Redye when faded These steps will keep the leather in good condition and looking good too. Hope this hleps
