Leather care question.

choijw2

choijw2

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Mike,

I hear a lot of modern cars with leather seats are water based clear coated.

I believe if its clear coated, then you cant use traditional leather care products like connolly.

So what is the difference between clear coated and non-coated leather in terms of clean and maintain?

Also how do I tell if one is clear coated or not?

Thanks.
 
choijw2 said:
Mike,

I hear a lot of modern cars with leather seats are water based clear coated.

I believe if its clear coated, then you cant use traditional leather care products like connolly.

So what is the difference between clear coated and non-coated leather in terms of clean and maintain?

Also how do I tell if one is clear coated or not?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Most modern cars have coated leather.

You can tell by applying a drop of water onto the leather.

If the water soaks into the leather, then it's not coated.

If the water beads on top of the leather, then it's coated.
 
What I read is that if its coated, then leather cleaners and conditioner won't soak into leather, just sit on top.

And I thought all treated leathers will bead the water regardless.
 
choijw2 said:
What I read is that if its coated, then
leather cleaners and conditioner won't soak
into leather, just sit on top.
.
Click to expand...
•Leather Cleaners:
-Just like you don't want car-wash shampoos
(cleaners) to soak into the paint...you don't
want leather cleaners to soak into the
coated leather.

•Leather Conditioners:
-I don't use leather conditioners because they
wind up just sitting on top of the coated leather.

•Leather Protectants:
-You do want leather protectants to wind
up on top of the coated leather...that's how
they are going to provide protection.


•Once again it's:
"Clean and Protect"



Bob
 
We have tried many products and have landed on Meguiars cleaner from the Detailer line. It seems to clean better than APC and it is designed for protected leather. In our shop, we do mostly daily drivers, so protected leather is the norm. We do apply a leather conditioner afterwards and let it soak in for a few minutes. Then we remove the excess with towels. It seems to work well for us. Nathan
 
Natron said:
We have tried many products and have landed on Meguiars cleaner from the Detailer line. It seems to clean better than APC and it is designed for protected leather. In our shop, we do mostly daily drivers, so protected leather is the norm. We do apply a leather conditioner afterwards and let it soak in for a few minutes. Then we remove the excess with towels. It seems to work well for us. Nathan
Click to expand...

I've recently begun to use the same Meguiars Leather Cleaner and I agree, it works great. I haven't come across any extremely dirty leather interiors lately so it's been mostly spray and wipe with terry towels. I'm curious as to how you use it in your shop, and which method you find it works best. Do you use it alongside with a steam cleaner? If so, how does it perform? Similar to D101 or better? Thx in advance.
 
I haven't tried it with steam, but I would expect it to be great. We spray a thin layer on lower portions first, agitate with brush or scrubbies and then wipe off with towels. It is important to start low and have even coverage to avoid streaking. Some heavily soiled seats may require 3 or more applications. When the towel no longer picks up soil, we've gotten all we can. Thanks, Nathan.
 
Steam is not recommended for finished leather (coated) as it can release the bond between the leather and the top coatings.
Conditioners are not necessary n modern chrome tanned leather and are counter productive as they sit n the surface of the leather where they simply attract more dirt. A protector is far more beneficial and will help to keep the leather clean as well as helping to prevent dye transfer etc.
Hope this helps
Judyb
 
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