Leather treatment

[Eric91Z]

Well, being that this is my first car with a leather interior, I was wondering what people use to maintain the leather? I am going a major cleaning and polish on the car this weekend for 2 car shows. Planning on getting my first applications of Zaino on there. Figure I mine as well get the interior, too.

I have heard that Lexol is supposed to be decent. I was thinking that unless there is other ideas out there to try. I know Zaino make a leather conditioner, but I have never used it. A friend of mine locally is a distributor and that is where I get my stuff from, but didn't ask about that when I picked up some more polish, ZFX, etc.

Any input?

[TopCat]

I use Four Star Ultimate Leather Cleaner and Conditioner. I wipe it on by hand, then use a microfiber towel to remove. Works great!

[Eric91Z]

I use Four Star Ultimate Leather Cleaner and Conditioner. I wipe it on by hand, then use a microfiber towel to remove. Works great!


I did a search and found recommendations all over the place. Seems that Lexol, Zymol, and Meguirers wipes come up a lot. And then there are the "off" opinions of other items: Groits, Armour All, etc.

I think I will pick up some Lexol (and some Mother's power balls for the wheels) and call it a day for now. Guess I kind of answered my own question with a search. Should have done that first...

[Breadfan]

Careful with the wheels - they may be polished aluminum but do not treat them as such. They are clearcoated to keep their shine...do not use an abrasive aluminum wheel polish and buff ball or you'll damage the clearcoat.

I just use mild cleaner and maybe a bit of non-abrasive polish here and there, mine look fine.

As for the seats, I used Armor All a few times, as well as Zymol. I'd probably say Zymol and Lexol are better, but the Armor All is a decent product. The Zymol I have is a two step process, one a cleaner one a conditioner, but my seats are never really dirty. ;)

[fastblackmerc]

Careful with the wheels - they may be polished aluminum but do not treat them as such. They are clearcoated to keep their shine...do not use an abrasive aluminum wheel polish and buff ball or you'll damage the clearcoat.

I just use mild cleaner and maybe a bit of non-abrasive polish here and there, mine look fine.

As for the seats, I used Armor All a few times, as well as Zymol. I'd probably say Zymol and Lexol are better, but the Armor All is a decent product. The Zymol I have is a two step process, one a cleaner one a conditioner, but my seats are never really dirty. ;)
Going out right now to do the same thing... all Ford show this Saturday... should be the only MM there. Wax on, wax off. I use Meguirers exclusively on my MM's interior and on my leather furniture in the house. Use the foam or cream type to to the cleaning / protecting and keep the wipes in the trunk for spot cleaning. Just look at your cloth to see the dirt that you get off.

[Breadfan]

Cool, I keep hearing about the wipes, I may try them out for inbetween cleanings. The conditioner is a bit more of an involved process, and I like to do it with heater on full blast to get the leather warm...the wipes sound like a nice quick clean method.

[Marauder2005]

Never Ever use harsh wheel cleaner on your wheels. Treat them as you

would the paint on your car, its cleared coated the same way. I simply use

car wash soap on them with a soft cloth and wax them every 3 months.

As for leather, I just started using Zaino "Leather in a Bottle" GREAT stuff.

If I did not have any Zaino I would use Lextol.

[michael ward]

Well, being that this is my first car with a leather interior, I was wondering what people use to maintain the leather? I am going a major cleaning and polish on the car this weekend for 2 car shows. Planning on getting my first applications of Zaino on there. Figure I mine as well get the interior, too.

I have heard that Lexol is supposed to be decent. I was thinking that unless there is other ideas out there to try. I know Zaino make a leather conditioner, but I have never used it. A friend of mine locally is a distributor and that is where I get my stuff from, but didn't ask about that when I picked up some more polish, ZFX, etc.

Any input? one word ZAINO!!

[wchain]

I use lexol with pretty good results..

[Ozz]

At work I sit next to the engineer that developed the seats for our MM's and he says that most leather in cars today (MM's included) are 'clearcoated' with plastic. This is done to keep the leather surface looking good. I had my MM detailed recently and the detailer mentioned the seat coating as well and said that they apply a product to reinforce the coating. The seats will look good as long as the coating is not worn off. I can speak from experience that leather car seats that do not have the coating do not fare well. My '91 Mustang has white leather seats and they are all cracked, etc. The PO did not treat them with any leather conditioner and they were hard as rocks when I got it. Lexol made a world of difference.

That being said, there is little that can be done to 'condition' the leather seat surfaces due to the coating. You can still use Lexol, etc on them but there will be very little (if any) absorption into the leather. I would avoid using any product that contained petroleum since you all know what paint thinner, lacquer thinner or gas do to plastic... they melt it.

On a side note, the engineer mentioned that the MM has the best leather that Ford has ever put on a car seat. Much better than any other seat he has ever worked on...

[StevenJ]

I use the off the shelf Eagle One Aluminum wheel cleaner. Is that too strong? Please tell me now before I destroy my clearcoat.

[Breadfan]

Others will have to chime in to the wheel polish, I once used mothers on half a rim before realizing it was clearcoat...lol. If it's the light white liquid, it's not very abrasive. You probably won't do much harm, it's like a glaze polish for paint probably. The harder you rub the more abrasive effect it will have.

I don't think you'll ruin them, but I would not continue using it anymore. Might want to start a new wheel thread if people have lots of questions about that.

[MM2004]

Zaino Leather Conditioner.

Eagle One All Wheel Cleaner (good for coated rims).

Use 'em both with wonderful results.


Well, being that this is my first car with a leather interior, I was wondering what people use to maintain the leather? I am going a major cleaning and polish on the car this weekend for 2 car shows. Planning on getting my first applications of Zaino on there. Figure I mine as well get the interior, too.

I have heard that Lexol is supposed to be decent. I was thinking that unless there is other ideas out there to try. I know Zaino make a leather conditioner, but I have never used it. A friend of mine locally is a distributor and that is where I get my stuff from, but didn't ask about that when I picked up some more polish, ZFX, etc.

Any input?

[Marauder2005]

I use the off the shelf Eagle One Aluminum wheel cleaner. Is that too strong? Please tell me now before I destroy my clearcoat.
Would you use it on your car itself? I would'nt, again there clear coated like

your paint. Car wash soap and wash mit takes everything off, just fine.

[Eric91Z]

Thanks for all the input folks. And thanks for the heads up on the wheels. I didn't think they really looked like the last set of Centerline Polished wheels I had that were actually polished and took same taking care of. I will just keep washing the wheels.

As for the seats, they look pretty good right now. Might just wait and pick up some Zaino leather in a bottle and keep it all in the family.

[Dragcity]

Ozz,


I'd like to hear more about the coating on the seats. Sounds practical, and feels like it too. So how do we properly care for the coating vs. the leather underneath? Seems to be the logical question to me.

[danbike]

I know many don't trust the British automobile industry, but their leather interiors are something else. Every RR comes with a jar of HIDE FOOD in the glove box. I doubt that it is any different than the other preparations out there, but I like the feel it gives the leather. I also use it on my riding jackets.

Dan

[Dragcity]

Hey Dan.


I know the company that supplies the leather to RR. There is NO coatings on that stuff. The top grain quality of their leather is absolutely beautiful. Probably 3 times thicker than the lower grades we get. If you ever need whole of half hides (they sell no less than 1/2 hide at a time) let me know and I'll pass along their contact info.

Joe..

[PJR]

The Zaino has worked well for me, and you can't beat the smell.

[magindat]

I use the off the shelf Eagle One Aluminum wheel cleaner. Is that too strong? Please tell me now before I destroy my clearcoat.
DUDE,
Don't use alum polish on the clearcoat! The clearcoat is the same urethane clear your car was painted with. You wouldn't use alum polish on your paint!!!! The wheels may become dull as the clear wears, then will be shiny as you actually start polishing aluminum. This would happen slow and spotty over time.

Good news.... if you trash the wheel clearcoat:
getting dull: Polish with very mild abrasive wax
getting spotty/shiny in areas: Have them repainted with clear!

Re-clearing: Lightly sand w/600-1200 wet paper (for a tooth). Tape EVERYTHING except EXACTLY what you want paint on. (Clear rebounds and oversprays ALOT). Tack. Then paint.

Any really good paint shop should do it for $100-$300 a rim.

[wchain]

I know that the MM leather is Nudo, which involves a tumbling process before the leather is installed to provide a nice and soft touch.

Personally, the light flint interior is not my favorite color. Didnt like it in my dads 95 GM LS, but beggars cant be choosers, this was, afterall the last MM at NPLM! Every time I drive the car and I'm wearing dark dress slacks, the leather looks dirty. Dunno if thats the dry cleaning making the dye stain it or what, but every time I wash the car, the driver side seat gets lexol'ed.....

[the_pack_rat]

I like Leatherique & Lexol.

www.leatherique.com (http://www.leatherique.com)

www.lexol.com (http://www.lexol.com)

While the Lexol products are more like that of a regular liquid ..... Leatheriques' stuff has more of an oily consistency. In fact, their leather conditioner goes by the name of "Rejuvinator Oil". They(Leatherique) also make crack fillers & dyes for leather.

Do note ...

You will be reaching a bit deeper into your pocket$ for the Leatherique products.

[jgc61sr2002]

The Zaino has worked well for me, and you can't beat the smell.



What he said. ^^^^^^ :D

[MarauderMark]

The Zaino has worked well for me, and you can't beat the smell.
Yep :up: I'm Zainoized.Zaino on everything please. :D




I know many don't trust the British automobile industry, but their leather interiors are something else. Every RR comes with a jar of HIDE FOOD in the glove box. I doubt that it is any different than the other preparations out there, but I like the feel it gives the leather. I also use it on my riding jackets.

Dan



Is this it~~~>http://www.saddler.co.uk/acatalog/Connolly_Hide_Food_for_Leather .html

[Todd]

I have used Griots leather products for years. Always looks great. We even use it on the leather furniture in the house.

I ended up buying a Zaino kit and it came with the leather stuff IIRC. Anyway, I have used Zaino leather in a bottle for the last few times and it seems to work really well also.

I just wash the rims with the car wash soap from either zaino or griots and a 100% cotton cloth. Wax once in a blue moon. They look great.

[Eric91Z]

OK, so here is what I have planned so far (already washed with Dawn and clay bared tonight) for tomorrow:

1) Wash with Zaino car wash (including the wheels)
2) Z2 with ZFX - planning a couple of coats and hitting the wheels with that too
3) Lexol or Zaino Leather in a Bottle for the interior

But what about the exhaust tips? Can I use the Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish that I have on them or do they need something different? Are they polished or chrome?

Thanks for all the input so far. Can't believe how smooth the car is now after the clay bar. I really thought with it being a year old and only 7,000 miles on it that it would not be too bad, but I was wrong. Defnitely didn't have a smooth surface before. Now it does. And it is parked in the garage so no bird poop or other stuff will get on it until I can get it washed again and get the Zaino on it tomorrow morning.

[2003DOHC]

The exhaust tips are polished stainless steel!!

[MarauderMark]

But what about the exhaust tips? Can I use the Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish that I have on them or do they need something different? Are they polished or chrome?.

NO!! :eek: I used mothers on my exhuast tips and they turned golden in color i quess the polish and heat don't mix..

[Eric91Z]

NO!! :eek: I used mothers on my exhuast tips and they turned golden in color i quess the polish and heat don't mix..


I would why that was. The Mag & Aluminum polish is just supposed to polish them up and you remove any residue. I didn't think it was like a wax were it actually left a coat on the tips as like a protectant. I thought it was just like a metal poish and nothing left...

[Brother Mike]

I would be curious: what about when we need to replace the leather seating? Is Ford the only source or are their other OEM's out there? Ray- how much for a front driver side leather seat cover?

[JonW]

The seats are not all leather, right? What part is vinyl and what part is leather? Are just the perforated sections leather and the rest vinyl?

[cruzer]

Is Ford still supplying all colors seat covers for our cars?????My "clear coat' is beginning to show cracks. I am having my Barracuda done locally and the interior specialist says he can duplicate the covers, stiching, etc.-----right down to the god's head logo--make each panel in different colors ( red insert in middle logo panel, etc)--he ain't cheep--but does fantastic work--can post pics if anyone is interested. I need to know what Ford covers cost to see if we can afford his work. I am not promoting anybody or making anything out of it--if we have enough interest, he will probably become a sponsor. :help: Maury

[BAD MERC]

I have light flint and have water spots on the driver seatback. My windows were down and water was sprayed on my car accidentally. Nothing I have used even begins to touch the stains. I condition them with Lexol and use cleaner but they ARE clean, the stains makes me nauseous.

[sailsmen]

Try vinegar. Do a test spot 1st. Use a white cloth and check to make sure no black is coming off, a sign you have gone thru the clear coat.

Then clean w/ lexol to restore the ph.

I would also email Sal Zaino, he always responds.

[Brother Mike]

Maury,

The cost of doing the driver's seat is between 500 & 600 for just the material. I would be interested in what you guy could do and his prices.

[Larry Staunton]

I've used Tandy's Dr. Jackson's Hide Rejuventor for years. I believe it's the only non oily leather preservative out there. It works great and it's easy to use and remove.