Hello All, Been a while since I've been on here, but my brother just got a 135 and is as anal as they come with it. I want to start his detailing career out with a nice leather cleaner/conditioner for the holidays and just wanted to hear some of your recommendations. I use to have the zaino both clean/condition (and LOVE the smell) but felt like i had to use a lot for it to be effective. Any input is much appreciated Thank you in advance and happy holidays everyone! Drew
I personally like Adam's leather & interior cleaner paired with Adam's leather conditioner. It gives a natural looking finish which I like compared to the shiny look. I would eventually like to try Leather Masters set after I finish up the Adam's bottles.
Unless a Premium Leather option was purchased the type of leather upholstery used by 95% of OEM is a multi stratum covering over the leather hide; the top strata is the surface pigmentation (colour) and an abrasion resistant urethane. Simple cleaning and protection steps that will prolong the life of finished leather, urethane doesn’t require conditioning or rejuvenation
This. Almost all leather in newer cars are coated. Keep it clean and apply a protectant every month or so. My go to combo is Optimum Powerclean (diluted) followed by Optimum Protectant Plus.
If it is coated, a conditioner becomes a mute point. Vacuum regularly to remove all the crud out of the welts and wipe down with a damp MF. Every couple months, use a leather cleaner. No conditioning is necessary.
The three leather care brands I would recommend are Duragloss Leather Shampoo and Leather conditioner, Four Star Ultimate twins as the enthusiast choice and the Leather Masters as the premium choice. The Duragloss twins are my go to leather care products because the work well, smell good and conditioner leaves leather with a natural look. I tried the Adams leather products, but did like the cleaner. The conditioner was just ok. 911Fanatic. Would recommend using 303 protectant, Optimum leather protectant or similar product?
Second this as well leaves a very nice finish clean finish and can be used on virtually every surface excluding glass and electronics. The Mothers Leather Cleaner works good for those leather surfaces that need extra cleaning basically what their VLR cant remove, I then follow up with their Leather Conditioner.
Types of Leather Used in Automobiles - http://www.autopia.org/forum/autopi...pes-leather-used-automobiles.html#post1474058 Leather Surface Identification - http://www.autopia.org/forum/guide-...tery;-surface-identification.html#post1451654
I have settled on Leather Masters as my primary "conditioner" with Mothers VLR for maintenance on my coated seats. I prefer Leather Masters because it leaves the seats the least slick of any I have tried and Mothers has a nice light leather scent. Most all the automotive leather conditioners are water based (although they have some oils or fats in them in small amounts) that leave a barrier even if coated.
I clean my leather with AG Interior Shampoo and condition it with Leatherique Pristine Clean. Nice matte finish. I also like DG leather conditioner and PB Leather stuff. I know most people say it's not needed, but IMO old leather needs some type of lotion to soften it up a little bit. I lightly buff the leather after the conditioning process to make sure that only a thin coat says on the leather. Too much conditioner will attract dirt ... not to mention that you and your passengers will be sliding all over the place when taking a corner ... lmao.
I have been using SCG Dash Away on my Subaru's leather and the leaer on the Pilot, both of which seem to be only leather seating surfaces. Seems to work extremely well but not so sure on how durable the protection is. The finish it leaves on the leather is second to none.
Some "leather" seats aren't leather at all, but a imitation vinyl. Take a look at the underside of the fabric.
For coated leather, I would recommend the 303 although I have been using the Optimum product for a while now and quite like it as well.
