MM Leather care

[murphypeople]

Hey Jason,
I saw this post and wondered what is the best way to care for our MM leather. Looks like the leather has a clear coat on them...so what good would the leather care products due in this case. Seems like light soapy water is all we need???
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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...

[Rider90]

I have not heard of any leather seat clear coat...ever. That does not make it untrue, but throughout all my research and hands on experience no one has ever mentioned clear coat and leather together, nor have I seen anything like it. I will research this further and let you know what the results are.

I also have a feeling, comparing Ozz's 91 Pony to our Marauders, that technology for leatherworking such as maintinence and production has evolved in 14 years. Leather did not start hitting the scene again until the 80's/early 90's IIRC (Could be wrong, of course.) the rest was vinyl. Back in the day, the 30's and 40's, it was the poor man that had leather/vinyl and the rich man that had cloth but society seems to have switched it around and made leather seem like a plus.

Also, now again this is my personal experience talking, I have not seen Lexol do magic with much of anything...If you want a good cleaner, Zaino and Blue Magic are at the top of my list. Blue magic assisted with this:

http://jasonsautospa.com/beforeafter/lexus1.jpg

Boy, lexol sure is talked about though. If you like it, great! but I don't use it much anymore. Blue Magic and Zaino work better for me, and Zaino leaves the leather very soft and supple.

So long story short, I will get to work on the research and let you folks know about my findings. Thanks for the interesting topic!

[SamF]

I seem to recall the owners manual mentioning a clear coating on the leather. FWIW

[Dragcity]

But Jason, Why remove such a lovely PATINA that has formed on that leather???????????

[jgc61sr2002]

I also use the Zaino for the leather seats. Great product IMO.

[murphypeople]

Found the information below on page 177 of the owners manual. I guess this kind of says it all. Interesting. I guess this means it does not need a lot of treatment?
T:burnout:


LEATHER SEATS

Your leather seating surfaces have a clear, protective coating over the
leather.

² To clean, use a soft cloth with Motorcraft Deluxe Leather and Vinyl
Cleaner (ZC-11–A). Dry the area with a soft cloth.

² To help maintain its resiliency and color, use the Motorcraft Deluxe
Leather Care Kit (ZC-11–D), available from your authorized dealer.

² Do not use household cleaning products, alcohol solutions, solvents or
cleaners intended for rubber, vinyl and plastics, or oil/petroleum-based
leather conditioners. These products may cause premature wearing of
the clear, protective coating.

[Rider90]

Throughout all my research I have found no other vehicles that utilize any sort of Clear Coat over the leather. If anyone knows of another vehicle that does, please chime in, as this is something I nor anyone I have spoken to has heard of.

Leather has pores that it needs to breathe out of. The result of clogged up, or dirty pores, results in the leather not being able to absorb moisture and breathe causing it to crack and wear easily. Having a clear coat over these pores would certainly result in moisture not being able to absorb and the pores would constantly be clogged because there is a coat over the surface not allowing it to breathe. Either the folks at Ford are trying something experimental that they aren't sure of, or they know some tricks that even Bentley Motors (http://www.bentleymotors.com/Corporate/display.aspx?websiteid=2&langid=2&cpflgs=1111&infid=17) has no clue about.

It just so happens I was at a Bentley/Cadillac dealer last week because my father was closing in on a new car. I wandered off and spoke to the Bentley salesman about the crafting of the vehicle and he began talking about how each Bentley car has upwards of 12-13 leather cow hides in every interior. He mentioned nothing along the lines of any protective clear coat, and it was obvious by the feel of the seat that it was pure and genuine.

Conclusion? I have the P/N of the leather care items Motorcraft distributes to care for their oddly-clear coated leather seating. I will be utilizing this on all Marauders as soon as they arrive. As for Ozz's friend saying the Marauder has the best leather Ford has ever used on a seat - Why use nice leather and smother it all up? On the other hand, I can see Ford using a less expensive leather and covering it with a clear coat to maintain some form of durability and strength. It could also be a marketing ploy, for you to use Motorcraft products on your seats because they are different than everything else, and any other cleaner will do harm. Sounds about right to me. But for the peace of mind to my fellow Marauder owners and customers, I will be using it per Ford's suggestion unless asked not to.

:beer:

[Marauderjack]

I have replaced my driver's side seat back twice due to the "Magic" finish wearing off the embossed God's head at the top??:argue:

Truth is ONLY the panels that touch you are leather.....ALL the rest of the seat is VINYL!!:confused:

We also have a Chrysler 300 and the leather in that car is FAR SUPERIOR and much more durable......NO CRACKS OR WRINKLES and no finish wear!!??:bows:

What is "Nudo Leather" anyway?? :confused:

Marauderjack:popcorn:

[sailsmen]

What is "Nudo Leather" anyway?? :confused:

Marauderjack:popcorn:[/QUOTE]

I am not touching that one!

[TheDonk]

It appears that "Nudo" leather is a brand name Ford utilizes
as a description for it's leather seating.
Per a google search it appears that Ford gets it's leather here:
http://www.eagleottawa.com
The site discusses leather care and coatings briefly.

[ik04]

http://www.griotsgarage.com/images/products/lg/11202_LG.jpg

These work great and keep the leather soft and clean.

Kevin

[BAD MERC]

I hope this helps somebody. I had water sprayed into my car accidentally and DID not know about it. It dried and stained my light flint seats. I tried, Lexol, vinegar, Murphy's, all home remedies. Nothing helped. I finally had a guy give me some Ford King Ranch leather conditioner. Took the spots off immediately and made the leather light flint again.

[ckadiddle]

What is "Nudo Leather" anyway?? :confused:

Marauderjack:popcorn:

It's made from the tanned skin of Nudists, not cow hides.
:lol:

[Larry Staunton]

The owners manual for my 2005 Thunderbird mentions a clear coat seat treatment.

[murphypeople]

I hope this helps somebody. I had water sprayed into my car accidentally and DID not know about it. It dried and stained my light flint seats. I tried, Lexol, vinegar, Murphy's, all home remedies. Nothing helped. I finally had a guy give me some Ford King Ranch leather conditioner. Took the spots off immediately and made the leather light flint again.

I was at the dealer the yesterday picking up mud flaps (CV front & rear) and the parts guy was saying the "Ford King Ranch leather conditioner" was not good for the MM. I am glad to have this place as an alternate, maybe more reliable, source of information.
Tony