Do I need leather conditioner or coating protector?

Coopers ST said:
On my focus ST Recaros I clean with a horse hair brush and water four times a year unless they are extremely dirty. Once a month I use chemical guys leather conditioner on them. Not sure if it really does anything or not, but they seem to feel better. Also once every other week I apply Optimum leather protectant.
Overkill or wasted product? Maybe, but my seats still look nice.
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Looks like we've got the same car. I've got the full leather seats, do you have those or the partial with fabric inserts? How are yours holding up? I've got about 35,000 on the odometer. My only issue with my seats is that the left leg bolster seems to be wearing quicker than my right left, probably due to the clutch and having my leg rub it constantly. The material has sort of gone completly smooth, it no longer has the texture it had that the other bolsters do. The white stitching on the sides seem to be going grey too, need a cleaning. Other than that, love the seats. Very comfy for long trips.
 
BurnsXXIV said:
Looks like we've got the same car. I've got the full leather seats, do you have those or the partial with fabric inserts? How are yours holding up? I've got about 35,000 on the odometer. My only issue with my seats is that the left leg bolster seems to be wearing quicker than my right left, probably due to the clutch and having my leg rub it constantly. The material has sort of gone completly smooth, it no longer has the texture it had that the other bolsters do. The white stitching on the sides seem to be going grey too, need a cleaning. Other than that, love the seats. Very comfy for long trips.
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I have a ST3 so full leather. I have 22k ish on my car and they are doing great. My stitching is also grey, I don't remember them ever being white and I bought the car new.
 
Modern chrome tanned coated leather does not need conditioning (perforated or not)
Even if the coatings are cracked the leather itself does not need oils or waxes and these can be counter productive causing other problems.

Protect
Maintain
Deep clean
Repeat

The easiest way to keep your leather in good condition
Protectors should never be leaving a sheen or a glossy look - if this is the case you are using either a 'conditioner' that has been relabelled a protector without changing the formula (which will be useless as a protector) or a coating that contains silicones (these should be avoided)
Hope this helps
Judyb
 
judyb said:
Modern chrome tanned coated leather does not need conditioning (perforated or not)
Even if the coatings are cracked the leather itself does not need oils or waxes and these can be counter productive causing other problems.
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Hi, I like to vacuum, then apply this product about every 10 days to all leather & vinyl surfaces inside my car [97 Cadillac Seville] using a microfiber applicator. Can you please explain how this is counterproductive? And what kind of problems could it lead to? Thanks.

View attachment 40679
 
Conditioners that contain oils or waxes simply sit on the surface of leather and will attract dirt which will help to abrade the finish on the leather which in time breaks it down and will then need repairing. None of the oils reach the leather itself and in any case are not needed.
Adding oils or waxes to the surface can also cause issues if the leather ever needed repairs etc as they would need to be completely removed before any work could take place.
Vinyl is a completely different product to leather and products are more of a finishing and dressing rather than the need for oils or waxes etc
Hope this helps
Judyb
 
judyb said:
Vinyl is a completely different product to leather and products are more of a finishing and dressing rather than the need for oils or waxes etc
Hope this helps
Judyb
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Thanks for the reply. However, I don't quite understand the last part pertaining to vinyl.
 
Vinyl is not made in the same way as leather - ie. it has no top coatings - there is absolutely no need for oils and waxes on vinyl but some people like their vinyl to have a certain sheen so a 'dressing' of some sort would be used. As there is no top coating to wear down vinyl does not respond to dirt in the same way as leather does however pale colours can be very difficult to clean nice dirty so a protector will make them easier to keep clean.
Hope this helps
Judyb
 
I also have 1 more question if you could please advise..
I've been using this product [Meguiars New Car Scent Protectant] to wipedown all vinyl surfaces inside of my 2014 Kia Sorento since it was new.. I'm somewhat happy with the results it leaves but I've been thinking of switching to the Megs Leather Cleaner & Conditioner that I use in my other car.. What would you recommend? Stick with this protectant? Would switching to the Leather Cleaner & Conditioner be ok? [ok meaning same results as the Cadillac] or should both products be avoided? Thanks.

View attachment 40680
 
Conditioners are not required for leather so any products containing oils and/or waxes should be avoided. On vinyl I am not sure why you would want to use a leather conditioner
Hope this helps
Judyb
 
judyb said:
Conditioners are not required for leather so any products containing oils and/or waxes should be avoided. On vinyl I am not sure why you would want to use a leather conditioner
Hope this helps
Judyb
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I like it because of the bit of sheen it provides on the surface, plus it smells fantastic:)
It also has a light cleaning ability.

IMO, the vinyl surfaces look bland & lacking without something on it.

The protectant I'm currently using looks good, smells great, but only lasts maybe a couple days before it completely fades [both look & scent]
The Leather Cleaner & Conditioner provides longer lasting results in my other vehicle, which is why I'm curious to try it on the Kia, which is all vinyl interior.
 
This is what I was explaining that some people like to 'dress' vinyl for the look it gives - if you are happy that this gives the vinyl what you like then that's fine just don't use it on leather!!
Cheers
Judyb
 
judyb said:
Modern chrome tanned coated leather does not need conditioning (perforated or not)
Even if the coatings are cracked the leather itself does not need oils or waxes and these can be counter productive causing other problems.
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So no leather seats in vehicle's ever crack any longer?
 
It is not the leather that is cracking - a common misconception
The coatings can certainly crack and abrade due to dirt etc but if this is the case the coatings need to be replaced
Hope this helps
Judyb
 
judyb said:
It is not the leather that is cracking - a common misconception
The coatings can certainly crack and abrade due to dirt etc but if this is the case the coatings need to be replaced
Hope this helps
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From other posts (I won't link though as some are from other forums):

Originally Posted by link626 "I actually emailed Lexol the other day, and they responded, stating that they no longer recommend Lexol for coated leather like mine because it has no effect.Straight from the horse's mouth."

Originally Posted by Michael Stoops "Sorry, but this just isn't correct. Quite the contrary, these highly engineered coatings are highly porous and very elastic. They are engineered to behave as close to leather as possible, otherwise there would be no reason whatsoever to even consider using real leather in a car. What would be the point of using such a premium material if you were to then just lacquer over it and totally change the surface characteristics of the material? It would be so much cheaper to just highly mimic the texture with a quality vinyl and call it a day. It's not like the lacquer coating applied over fine woods on high end luxury cars like Rolls and Bentley - that coating is there to protect and even enhance the natural beauty of the wood. The coating on automotive leather is there to protect the leather, yes, but it is also designed to mimic all characteristics of the underlying leather as closely as possible. That includes porosity. If these coatings were totally impermeable then products like Leatherique would be useless as well, yet Leatherique does an incredible job of rejuvenating badly dried out leather seating."

With that said... I may just agree with you, that it's not the leather cracking, rather it's the coating. I can't find an example online showing issues with the leather but instead only the coating appears to be cracking.

I posted the quotes above to put this in context. Some people claim that products do go into the leather through the coating (or at least into the coating). I believe this. But I'm also starting to believe that the leather then does not benefit from the product.

However, I then also still think (be it right or wrong) that the coating does need to be maintained so it can stretch and not crack.

Thank you for the posts.
 
Lexol was created to be used on saddle leather which us very different so good to hear that they actually now say that it is no good for coated leather.
On high end leathers the coatings are designed to mimic the leather as much as possible to retain the flexibility and beauty of the product - this is possible when full grain leather is used. On lower quality leather the top coatings are added to corrected grain leather to cover natural markings and scars on leather that cannot be used as full grain. The level of damage may dictate how much finish coating is used.

The coatings used are indeed porous to a certain extent particularly to moisture which is necessary to keep the leather in good condition but not to the density of oils and waxes.
Top coatings can and should be protected with products that help preserve them guarding against dirt and abrasion which will cause premature wear.
Hope this helps
Judyb
 
judyb said:
Lexol was created to be used on saddle leather which us very different so good to hear that they actually now say that it is no good for coated leather.
On high end leathers the coatings are designed to mimic the leather as much as possible to retain the flexibility and beauty of the product - this is possible when full grain leather is used. On lower quality leather the top coatings are added to corrected grain leather to cover natural markings and scars on leather that cannot be used as full grain. The level of damage may dictate how much finish coating is used.

The coatings used are indeed porous to a certain extent particularly to moisture which is necessary to keep the leather in good condition but not to the density of oils and waxes.
Top coatings can and should be protected with products that help preserve them guarding against dirt and abrasion which will cause premature wear.
Hope this helps
Judyb
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Ok so I'm not the only person with the conception that most leather in cars doesn't need conditioning, but requires cleaning and care of the coating.

I've tried the CarPro Leather Coating (not the leather/fabric coating combo). I've also used a Gteqniq L1 Leather Guard. The former was defiantly designed to last much longer, the L1 is defiantly a cheaper product but feels nicer but doesn't last more than a couple weeks. Guess its more of a dressing, feels smoother too. Maybe it helps against friction and stop abrasion of the coating?
 
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