From what I've read - Meg's APC on leather = bad?

Eldorado2k said:
Darren states that he doesn't care about the PH scale. The reason why is because he's been doing what he does for 20+ yrs, and if the PH scale mattered he would've known by now. He says the PH scale is for sissies. Lol.
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I got a gallon of D180 and D181 coming so I will use a specific leather cleaner and not APC...but I mean honestly...I have a hard time believing that APC diluted from 10:1 or even 20:1 is going to hurt your leather. It's not like your saturating your seats in this stuff. Not to mention you typically would use some sort of a protectant after the fact.

I like Darren I think he is a smart guy and probably a pretty smart business owner when it comes to doing things effectively and efficiently. I'm just a hobbyist...so for me to buy product after product after product is ridiculous. Maybe if this was my one and only hobby, but at some point buying a special product for everything becomes expensive. One of his videos he sort of calls out the "forum detailers" and I couldn't agree with him more. It's enough to make my head explode when people try to make this so incredibly complicated. Not to mention there seems to be a stigma around this forum (not everyone but some) who correlate more expensive product to being better product.

The funny thing is I rarely see any sort of concrete evidence or scientific evidence that proves much of anything. It is in the "eye of the beholder".

For me polishes and waxes are well worth trying tons of different products (I got everything from Wolfgang to Pinnacle to Collinite to Menzerna, etc). These things can produce very different results. But product to clean your wheels, tires, interior, etc? Seems like I'm better off keeping it simple than I am buying a single 16oz bottle of magic juice for my "rubber", for my "vinyl", for my "carpet", etc.

I don't mean to disparage anyone or anything said here. This is a great forum, but if your not careful you'll end up spending $1000s on product that you never needed. I ordered a bunch of the Meguiar's Professional line and it should be here in the next few weeks. That is the way I will go from now on. Great products at a great price. No snake oil.

Hell if I recall correctly I remember Mike stating in his book it is best to keep it simple!
 
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Yep, one of Mike's best pieces of advice it to find what you like and use it often.
 
Darren needs APC to be legitimized in his mind because he does this for a living. He needs fast working products that remove dirt fast. APC works fast because it's harsh, according to the Ph scale. Many will continue to stick up for APC because it works so fast and because people don't like to spend a lot of money buying the correct cleaner. As far as the Ph scale being for "Sissies," then call me a sissy. Sorr, but I trust science and what it says and means.
I've seen what almost a gallon of APC will do to my interior over time, and the results aren't favorable, but I assume APC fans will chalk it up to user error.

In all honesty, if his clients can't see a difference, then why not use it? However, I can see a difference, and won't use it nearly as often as before.
Here, I copied and pasted this from the net:
Original pH value:
13
Amount of original base/acid:
1
Amount of added water:
999999
pH value of the diluted base/acid:
7
How many gallons of water is 100,000 ounces?
 
expdetailing said:
Darren needs APC to be legitimized in his mind because he does this for a living. He needs fast working products that remove dirt fast. APC works fast because it's harsh, according to the Ph scale. Many will continue to stick up for APC because it works so fast and because people don't like to spend a lot of money buying the correct cleaner.
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I have the "correct" leather cleaner and even though I'll continue to buy the leather cleaner I wouldn't hesitate to use Megs APC on leather..

View attachment 52016

I have so much confidence in it being safe that I gave my brother a pre diluted gallon of it to start him off after he bought his new Jeep Grand Cherokee w/black leather seats.

View attachment 52017

I'd rather use diluted Megs APC to wipedown the interior than Megs New Car Scent Protectant, which contains petroleum distillates.

What kind of vehicle was it that you noticed the negative effects from APC?
 
expdetailing said:
Original pH value:
13
Amount of original base/acid:
1
Amount of added water:
999999
pH value of the diluted base/acid:
7
Click to expand...

What's the PH of the polyurethane coating on top of your leather trimmed seats?
 
Idk...I guess you could do APC at 20:1...at that point you would practically be using water on the leather lol
 
CC268 said:
Idk...I guess you could do APC at 20:1...at that point you would practically be using water on the leather lol
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D180 is up to 80% water...Even if APC at 20:1 is 95% water (in my case distilled waster), what does it matter if it does the job? It keeps my seat clean, has never dried them out (personal experience - your mileage may vary), and mean one less product I have to buy.

For that matter, perhaps straight water might just work, too.
 
BM1024 said:
D180 is up to 8-% water...Even if APC at 20:1 is 95% water (in my case distilled waster), what does it matter if it does the job? It keeps my seat clean, has never dried them out (personal experience - your mileage may vary), and mean one less product I have to buy.

For that matter, perhaps straight water might just work, too.
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Yep straight water with a MF will often do the job just as well.. all my maintenance clens are just that..

I use APC and have had no issue to date.. but it use it infrequetly (every 3 months of so on drivers seat only) and diluted 10 to 1...

I do finish my seats with a leather conditioner afterwards but only really for the smell.... Its a leather / vinyl product seeing as my leather is coated anyway)....
 
BM1024 said:
D180 is up to 80% water...Even if APC at 20:1 is 95% water (in my case distilled waster), what does it matter if it does the job? It keeps my seat clean, has never dried them out (personal experience - your mileage may vary), and mean one less product I have to buy.

For that matter, perhaps straight water might just work, too.
Click to expand...

Yes...I was defending the use of APC by the way...I wasn't discouraging it.
 
Both are good products in my eyes. I have been a long time user of Meg APC and Meg leather cleaner and of course many others. When it comes to thorough cleaning of leather, I picked meg leather cleaner over APC every time. I often experience that unevenness and dryness feel with APC especially on delicate, worn and extremely dirty leather even at a much more diluted ratio. The more I dilute, the more the cleaning performance dropped, and then you start rubbing more and more and causes more agitation, then more damage. Even at high dilution ratio, I still dont find it any safer than neat meg leather cleaner which clean extremely well at undiluted. YMMV
 
Don't use it on older wore leather. It can cause it to crack. It cleans better then the the dedicated Meg's leather cleaner, but I have never had an issue with the dedicated stuff damaging leather. I have damaged old leather with 10-1 APC. Almost all leather now is coated. Every once in a while I will run into un-coated, usually higher end foreign models and the notorious ford king ranch. If there is a question put a drop of water on it. If it's un-coated, it will absorb in. Hope this helps.
 
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