Please help! Meguiar's Gold Class Rich Leather cleaner-conditioner ruined brand new seats !

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carenthusiast said:
The plastic container had 25 moist wipes in it , I used a total of 3, for 2 front seats and bench seat in the back.

I applied it by wiping it on the surface of the seats.
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Oh ok, it was the wipes. Not real clear from your first post.

Never used the wipes before, but I just can't see how they could do any permanent damage... unless it was a bad batch?
 
07RS4 said:
It doesn't look this bad does it?

I ruined my King Ranch leather seat using Leatherique - any advice?

Here is a search I found, I didn't see anything about the wipes...

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...s-leather-conditioner-destroyed-my-seats.html
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No, neither one applies to me.

I didn't scrub my seats with the brush, just gently wiped them. And I didn't see any discoloration after using the cleaner-conditioner. It just shines as if someone applied exorbitant amount of Armorall over the surface of the seats. I used 3 wipes for 2 front seats and the back bench.

The second link you posted is about leather conditioner being applied as a separate product , after using Megs cleaner.

In my case, I used cleaner-conditioner (2 in 1) , and these are wipes, not a spray on product.
 
carenthusiast said:
Someone suggested earlier to take it to professional detailer to steam the seats. I am not sure if I really want to steam them: it does damage the leather and unless benefits outweigh the harm I wouldn't do it. With my seats being brand new I do not think it is the best thing I could do.I have a steamer and I could try it, but only as a last resort.
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I thought they were super damaged already. I didn't say to burn them with steam just open the pores so u can wipe out the muck inside em. u always recondition them after so not to sure as to how it will hurt them. Put a towel on the end of the steamer so it sinks in the towel and warms it up. Not steam st8 on the leather.
 
davey g-force said:
Oh ok, it was the wipes. Not real clear from your first post.

Never used the wipes before, but I just can't see how they could do any permanent damage... unless it was a bad batch?
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At first I didn't panic and didn't assume that there was any serious damage. I just noticed that something is wrong about the looks of the leather: it shines too much and it looks like it's 15 years old, like used cars' shiny leather seats, kind you may see in used car dealers' lot.


Then I started Googling "Meguiar's Gold Class Rich leather cleaner-conditioner_________" (filled blank with various key words and phrases suitable to my circumstance) and that's when I started to feel like something terrible may have happened.
I hope there is no real damage and it would eventually evaporate, but from what I have read so far it does not look like this thing just goes off on its' own. Some people claim that it hardened their brand new, soft seats (I can't say it hardened my seats at this point), but most reported the similar issue I have with it: this greasy, shiny look all over (and even that is not even, but patchy!). And after spending an hour trying to rub it off with Lexol, I started to feel the pain of those who experienced this same issue earlier.

I am hoping that someone will reassure me that there is a way to safely get rid of this hideous look on leather. And those of you who haven't bought or tried this product yet: BEWARE! DO what instructions tell you to do (test in a small, conspicuous area first!) and then decide if it is good for your car. This is my first but very serious disappointment with Megs product. Either they don't know how to make leather cleaners-conditioners or "Gold Class" is just a fishnet to catch silly buyers who are attracted to anything that has "Gold" written on it. I personally didn't buy it because of it's name, but because of it's brand (Megs) , still, I am just as stupid for not doing my due diligence research before buying it :cry:
 
stilltipping3 said:
I thought they were super damaged already. I didn't say to burn them with steam just open the pores so u can wipe out the muck inside em. u always recondition them after so not to sure as to how it will hurt them. Put a towel on the end of the steamer so it sinks in the towel and warms it up. Not steam st8 on the leather.
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There are different kinds of damages. To me it is ruined and seriously damaged if brand new leather looks like someone had greased it with Armorall and if I can't get this shine off no matter what I try. This is not the look of a new leather. This is how 15-20 years old, cracked up leather seats look like after used car dealers apply a lot of greasy products on them to make those look "shiny" and "fresh".

Believe me I know how to use the steamer :) I just hope I don't have to use it at this time.

Thank you for your advise !
 
I never saw any pictures posted but it sounds like the "damage" you keep mentioning is just a darkening/glossy effect from the conditioning wipes. Right?

The primary ingredients in this product are mild cleaners, aloe vera gel, "trade secret" conditioners, and some other polymerwhatchamawhoozers. I think if you just use a mild mix of all purpose cleaner or some other dedicated leather cleaner (NOT LEXOL) then you should be able to remove the glossy residue very easily.
 
I have not used this product at all but you should contact meguiar's. They should be able to assist you. I have only used their gold class leather sealer kit and have nothing bad to say about it. No greasy shine but a natural shine. It comes with a cleaner that works well. It is similar to their dedicated gold class cleaner.

These guys have given you some good suggestions but I would contact megs.
 
Nicholas@Autowerx said:
I never saw any pictures posted but it sounds like the "damage" you keep mentioning is just a darkening/glossy effect from the conditioning wipes. Right?

The primary ingredients in this product are mild cleaners, aloe vera gel, "trade secret" conditioners, and some other polymerwhatchamawhoozers. I think if you just use a mild mix of all purpose cleaner or some other dedicated leather cleaner (NOT LEXOL) then you should be able to remove the glossy residue very easily.
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U don't like lexol?
 
I have used gold class spray on my Porsche for nearly a year with great results. Goes on shiny and a few hrs later looks just like oem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
swanicyouth said:
I would stop with the OTC stuff. I wouldn't use APC, Woolite, or anything not designed specifically for leather. I would use Strong Cleaner by LeatherMasters. If you don't have it, order it. It works well. Use it with a foam applicator. The blue one from Griots work well, but you can even use a grout sponge halved.

eve2e7uv.jpg


That is what I use, and it doesn't damage coated leather.
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:iagree:
 
First off, I'm sorry to hear you've had a negative experience with one of our products, but I have to say this is highly unusual to hear about with Gold Class Leather product of any kind. But I think I know what's going on here and how to correct the issue.

There is no "damage" to the leather at all, it's merely product residue. And if you used 3 wipes to do just the two front seats and the back seat, I'm thinking you actually used too much product which resulted in the overly glossy look you've gotten. To add to that, the other product you used subsequent to the wipes has only exacerbated the issue.

The good news is, clean up should be very straight forward. If you're reluctant to use your steamer, you shouldn't be. If used properly it won't harm the leather in the slightest. Even so, you should not have to use it to remove the excess residue of the product you now have on the surface. The Gold Class is water based (can't say for certain about the other product as it's not ours) so you can easily remove the excess by simply soaking a large, clean cotton towel in very warm (not hot) water, wringing it out, and wiping the seats down. Repeat if needed, but a good warm water wipe down should remove everything.

In future, it's important to minimize the use of any product, not just this one. And if you ever do see more gloss than you like, a quick wipe down with a clean microfiber towel almost always does the trick, regardless of the product used.

As a personal side note, I'm not generally a big fan of any sort of wipes as they tend to deliver more than I like on initial contact with the surface. I prefer to meter out my product and therefore prefer a lotion or spray product for interior use, but I always apply to an applicator pad first rather than directly to the interior surface. And for the record, I've been using a variety of our Gold Class Leather products for a decade on my daily driver, with zero ill effects. Same thing on my weekend toy (though that's only been 6 years).

So, why do even make wipes for various products? The general consuming public loves them and buys them in very large quantities. Simple as that.
 
As Michael and others have mentioned above, it probably is only a film left on the "surface coating" of the leather. The material itself should be fine, especially if it didn't darken as you applied it. Pictures would definitely help. It's just a question of removing the surface remnant.
Take a deep breath, nothing sounds ruined.
 
I don't believe you damaged anything, your just panicking.
A wipe will do no harm.

Take it to a pro and have them look at it.
I'm positive a little cleaner will fix the problem.
 
Everyone, thank you for your suggestions and advise!

Actually, two days later the extreme shine that I had the first day had faded a bit. In fact Lexol has helped to reduce the Armor-all effect of Meguair's wipes and the seating and reclining areas look almost like normal. I still have an excess glare on areas that don't come into contact with anything, but I am less panicked today than I was the first day.

Those of you who want to understand how I felt should type "Meguiar's Gold Class rich leather cleaner conditioner ruined" in Google and browse some of the search results. I believe first or second from the top will be a link to Amazon where more than half of buyers left comments about the effect of wipes that is similar to what I observed. They also claimed that they couldn't get it off - that's what set me off. But, as I wrote above, I am a bit more optimistic now , since I can see it is slowly starting to fade.

To Meguiar's representative here I have to say this:

First of all , thank you for replying to my thread. I really appreciate your willingness to address the issue.

But there are couple of things I thought I should let you know, since this opportunity to communicate directly with Meguiar's representative may not be around the next time.

Most importantly, you should know that the issue I was concerned with is not all that unusual or unheard of. If it was I wouldn't panic, I wouldn't think that something terrible has happened. But if you Google "Meguiar's Gold Class rich leather cleaner conditioner ruined" you may see that more than a few buyers left comments about horrific experience with this particular product from Meguiar's that did considerably worsen the looks of brand new leather on their cars. You shouldn't dismiss so many bad reviews as something highly unusual and unheard of. It is a real problem and you may either discontinue this product or put some large font warning on the plastic container to make buyers BEWARE of effects.

I also learned that "Gold Class" is a catch phrase to lure the shoppers in lower end mass markets. Perhaps when designer of these wipes was conceiving idea at Meguiar's he was envisioning hordes of people who owned 15-20 years old cars with dry, cracked-up leather and who wanted that artificial Armorall supershine to compensate for the already ruined looks of the worn and used leather surface.

To me the whole experience came as a shock. I didn't expect this effect from Meguiar's products because I only had good or great experience using your Professional grade care care products for exterior care. Never thought that the same brand could make so drastically different in quality products, but now I know.

Finally, let me ask you this rhetorical question: why would anyone at Meguiar's want to roll out another Armorall line of product with different brand name/label on it?
If I want cheap, shiny, greasy product to apply to my car I already know where and from whom to get it. Why ruin your hard earned brand name and prestige for the sake of competing with the Armorall and the likes in mass market?
Your products were always a bit expensive but with it came the quality.
This was a great disappointment and you bet I will never buy anything that has "Meguiar's" written on it if I need to clean or condition my leather seats.


Best regards,

Carenthusiast
 
You know, the average person wants that shiny look. Only pros seems to understand that it's not desirable. Also you over used it, so the fault did not lie entirelly on the product here. Take any product, use it incorrectly and you are at risks of ending up with something you don't like.

As I said in my previous message, people reacting the way you did simply don't understand how conditionners work. You can't damage leather by applying it, many people here requested you post pictures and you never did and most told you that it was very unlikelly any damage was done yet you did not listen.

I would take this as a Learning experience. Next time research the product before buying, some products will not deliver the kind of results you desire... doesn't necessarilly make them bad products but they may not suit what you want. Then if something goes wrong, let people help you. This forum is one of the very few places on the net were you can find plenty of people willing to help. Take advantage of it.

I have used Gold class cleaner and conditionner in the past and had great result with it. It's all a matter of using it correctly. The product itself is fine.
 
Calendyr,

I respect your opinion and thank you for your advise, but I have to disagree with you on some of the points you made.

First, since these are wipes that are moisturized in factory (and all you do really is wipe them on your leather seats), overuse of the product is not such a big factor here as the content and effect of the product on the surface.
If it was a spray or liquid-gel and I poured a hearty bit on a sponge or on a seat then wiped it all over then surely my overuse of the product could be blamed as prime culprit.
But it is not so. In fact, the quantity of product on wipes is determined by Meguiar's so even if I somehow "overused" the product then who else but Meguiar's put it there on the wipe?
Even if someone used only 1 wipe he or she would have to start somewhere, from one seat, and that first seat (while just wiping it) would get as much of the product as Meguiar's poured on it in factory. That's number one.

Next, it is not that I have never washed or cleaned my cars before (interior as well as exterior). And I do understand that the way you apply the product can make difference on end results. Even natural shine dashboard cleaners by Meguiar's state that if you want more shine keep wiping it on in more than one layer. I hate the Armorall type of cheap, glaring shine and I never applied more than one layer of their plastic cleaners if I had to wipe my dashboard and door panels. And I never had any bad results using their "Natural shine" plastic cleaning products before.

But this is clearly the case where the factory INTENDED to make their product to generate as much of an artificial shine as possible. It doesn't matter how little you apply it, at least you must wipe it once and that's when you will get the greasy product all over and , left to dry, it will become a greasy coat that will make your leather look like fake or vinyl seat from 80's.
You can not lessen that effect by applying "less" of a product. All you can do is wipe it off immediately with terry cotton cloth before it dries, that will give you the best chance of reducing the horrific effects on your seats.

I am very glad at this point that , at least, the damage is not permanent and that it will wear off.fade off eventually.

And of course I have learned my lesson. I will not buy any product blindfolded again, even from a brand such as Meguiar's which I know of and had positive experience with in up to now. I just didn't expect this from them. But as you said "lesson is learned".

I thank everyone in this forum who took time to reply and tried to help with advise!


Carenthusiast
 
So... I went to my dad's for a BBQ tonight and eventually drifted out to the garage to talk shop. I noticed he had the Meg's leather conditioner wipes and asked him how he liked 'em. He said "They're great! They add a bunch of shine to the leather in the old Buick."

Just thought I would share this because the audience that is looking for this type of result is obviously going to be happy with the product. Because they leave a glossy sheen is not necessarily "bad" it is just a result that you did not find desirable. I don't think that makes it a bad product in general... just a product that you don't prefer.

In the words of MP "Find something you like and use it often."

You might give Pinnacle leather cleaner & conditioner a shot as I have found that it leaves a supple finish without the gloss. The latest leather care products from Mothers seem to be getting great reviews as well (although I have no first hand experience with them.. yet). Happy detailing! :props:
 
Thank you Nicholas for well wishes :)

I am already chilled about the whole thing since I get the feeling that there is no permanent damage done (if you read reviews of many people online you will get a sense that you must order new set of leather seats to fix it).

I will try Pinnacle products. In fact I will explore this forum to find the products that produce results I am looking for. This is a great forum :props:
 
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