Leather cleaner / preserver

[star-art]

It's not "faux" leather, it's real leather but protected by a surface coating that helps it last and survive the environment. Decades ago you'd see such a shiny plastic surface that made leather look like, well, shiny plastic. Those coatings did not last and started to crack after a few years, eventually disintegrating altogether. The newer ones perform much better.

I would be wary though of applying anything to finished leather that might abrade or otherwise damage the protective coating. My detailer uses only water (I've read that many other pros do this as well). The Prestine Clean product I like is extremely mild and formulated for use on leather but is also designed to clean and protect both rubber and plastic so it seems ideal for treating the various surfaces found all over the interior of our trucks.

 

[no MORE_MPG]

Hello star-art,
I know that this is an old thread, but I'll still thank you for you comments about the coating on our leather seats.
I replied to an even older thread with this same question. I'm trying to strike a balance between creating a new thread for everything and reading all existing threads before posting everything.

I still have a bit of an open question (in that other thread about Lexol getting old), but it seems that the coated leather is likely the best answer to my question about the stuff getting sticky on the surface.

Again, Thanks for the info!

 

[star-art]

You're welcome! Glad I could help. That's what these forums are for.

 

[Kevin08]

I forgot to take a before picture of my 08 King Ranch center console lid, but it was much worse than this pic I found of a similar one. It’s was actually so crusty that we scrubbed it with a 3M blue scrub pad until it was down to an even consistent surface. Then we used this tinted conditioner balm Joe found on Amazon.

Warning if you use this, one coat looked good but after it dried, some areas I thought could use another coat. That was a mistake, first coat looked like original King Ranch leather, second coat has taken on the appearance of paint. Kinda thick. I guess first coat acts like a protectant and is keeping the second coat from soaking in. Idk
These seats have 275k miles, 5 kids, and heavy smokers before I bought it. The most disgusting interior I’ve ever seen.

 

[os1kne]

meguiars