i have honda accord with black "leather", what is good thing to use on it? ppl seem to like LM. is it really leather or its fake leather? looked at DD and there are a lot of those leather stuff. not sure which to get. what to get
Leather Masters is good for both coated leather and natural leather. It works great at keeping the leather feeling good. Another good product is 1z Leather Care. LM Strong Clean is a nice cleaner and have used that to clean my seats and then follow up with 1z Leather Clean. Leather you have I am 99.99% sure will be coated,pigmented leather. Pretty much means there is a clear coat on the leather to protect it.
As you know, I too have an Accord and had the same dilemma as you. Honda uses both coated and uncoated leather in their seats. The outer parts are coated and the center section and door panels are not. That is what they told me (Honda) at one point. Could be all BS, but whatever. I said screw it and tried out the Leatherique that I purchased on the seats and had mixed results. The Honda leather is so textured, that I did not feel that this high end of a product was necessary for soft and as supple leather as possible, in this Honda. (My Porsche is another story). So I wound up just using some Megs OTC leather cleaner and conditioner with great results. Not too shiny and as soft as I think this leather can get.
One way to test if it is coated or non-coated is to put a few drops of water on it and if it soaks in then it is not coated but if it stays on the surface then it is coated leather. LM will work well for both.
i had rain on seats and it didnt soak it in, just stayed wet. wiped it off with towel and all good. just didnt think leather would be in honda, in acura... maybe. i have armorall leather stuff but dont like it, maybe i need cleaner first
Even Acura has coated leather, most leather in cars are coated now a days. If you want a good OTC leather cleaner go to Target and get a bottle of Zymol Leather Cleaner (amber colored) it is a nice leather cleaner, conditioner not so much as you can find better ones, but still not that bad for OTC.
Most leather cleaners are going to be safe for coated leather. LM, 1z Leather Care, OTC ones, and most you can buy from online stores are going to be safe.
I used to have a 2000 Acura TL, and it had coated leather. Yes, you need to condition it. I would recommend Leather Master as one of the very best combos out there, be sure to get all 3 products...Best of all, you will not be getting that "sqeek" from motion on leather from LM, but you will from other leather conditioners. My second choice would be 1Z Leather Care, as a maintaince product (1 step). If you are looking for a Leather Conditioner that will smell like new leather, then something like Four Star leather conditioner is very nice too...I have 3 bottles of it, and I love it. Those are my favorite 3. I have 3 cars, with different leather in all three ('99 Infiniti I30t, '04 BMW 325Ci, and '05 Acura RL), and these leather products work well in all three. You won't be dissapointed...
Polyurathene doesn't allow water to permeate, so a water-based (or an oil-based for that matter) will only sit on the surface until you wipe it off. Q: Why would you need to condition a plastic? You only ned to keep the surface clean
My co-worker had a 2000 Honda Accord, and he did not conditon leather...Matter of fact he used something cheap, was extremely dissapointed, and never bothered conditioning it ever since...4 years later he started getting cracks in it... My point is there is a big difference between uncoated leather (which is usually in in very expensive cars), coated leather (most modern cars), and so called "leatherette", which pretty much is plastic coated fake leather...So unless car's interior came with this "leatherette" (I think that's what BMW calls their fake leather) I would condition it...
Leather Upholstery and Trim Surface Identification The most important thing to find out before you attempt to clean or care for something is to ascertain what the material is made from. Much the same is true if you’re trying to remove a stain, what caused the stain and what is the material you are trying to remove the stain from. Formulate a detailing plan, then utilize proper detailing techniques, combined with quality products is what makes a details outcome successful. It is important to be able to recognise the different materials used for vehicle upholstery as some OEM use different materials for the various surfaces (i.e. perforated leather for the seating areas, PVC bolsters and seat backs) Before choosing a product to clean or maintain interior surfaces you must be certain of the material used and wither it is Urethane covered or pigmented Aniline, as the correct care product requirements are vastly different. Once you’ve correctly identified the leather and / or the applied finish applicable to your vehicle's upholstery, it’s easier to select suitable products / methods (one size fits all is just a vendor's marketing myth) To identify the material used; (N-Nubuk / Alcantara®) (A-Aniline / Non-Coated) (P-Protected / Coated) Leather however finished has to allow the movement of moisture back and forth (transpiration) so the use of water- based cleaners and protectors will maintain hydration, which is essential to keeping it in pristine condition. (a) Natural leather (A-Aniline / Non-Coated) Aniline Leather is coloured all the way through with a transparent dye. The effect is applied by immersing the leather in a dye bath. Because the finish is transparent and shows the natural markings of the leather, only top quality hides can be used. It is absorbent and has a random shade colours and grain pattern; lightly scratch the surface to see if it reveals a lighter colour, water drops will darken its colour (temporarily). (b) Protected leather (Pigmented) (P-Protected / Coated) - by slightly scratching it with your nail, if it changes to a darker / lighter shade, it is unprotected (i.e. how suede changes colour depending on the fibres' orientation). If this has little effect it’s protected. If water ‘beads’ on the surface, or if cleaners and conditioners remain on the surface, it’s (polyurethane) protected leather as liquids will not penetrate this type of surface; it will also have an even shine. (c) Nubuk, Alcantara® (N-Nubuk / Alcantara® ) - are top-grain cattle hide leather that has been sanded or buffed on the grain side, or outside, to give a slight nap of short protein fibres, producing a velvet-like surface. Alcantara® is a non-organic (synthetic) material. Both materials are very soft to the touch and will scratch or scuff very easily; water drops will darken the surface, but it returns to its original colour after drying. (d) Nappa Leather (A-Aniline // Non-Coated ) – for leather used in autos, nappa is a term that is used to denote a high quality leather, its a very soft, absorbent full grain (uncoated) and usually tanned with alum and chromium salts and dyed throughout, water drops will darken its colour (temporarily). (e) Vinyl - is a non-organic (synthetic) material that has an even, almost repeating pattern. The depth of the lines within the grain on vinyl is also consistent, while the same lines on leather will vary; it is also usually smooth and soft to the touch. water drops will remain (unchanged) on its surface The common denominator for all the above surface finishes is that they all require specific products in accordance with the finish; not forgetting protection from ultra violet (UV) radiation
I'll get lm or ask Honda what they recomend, driver seat already cracking on side bolster but I wana clean it all anyway, or I'll get lm
Honda dealer might recommend Lexol. It works well, but I personally don't like that it leaves leather sticky for a few days...
Agreed, stay away from Lexol. I have used it on our leather and it is not the best option. Try the Megs Gold Class OTC stuff, I have found this to work the best.
togwt thank you once again. for the "why would you need to condition plastic" i have coated leather in one of my cars and was bummed i couldn't get it to look like the other car after a LM treatment. oh well.
Their cleaner works well, but not their conditioner. You need to use a very wet applicator, then wipe it off with a damp cloth, and then a dry MF. It works very well for me. Their conditioner isn't very good IMO.
