Leather reconditioning

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Zee19

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Hey guys, I have a customer that wants his 10 year old leather seats PERFECT. They are in good condition for being 10 years old and getting them to the condition he wants them at isn't out of the question but they are 10 year old regularly used leather seats so... What products and techniques should I use? Luckily he's paying me by the hour.
 
If your getting paid by the hour I think you are losing there.you should of quoted flat rate.when it comes to seats there are some variables like coated or non coated how much embedded dirt.you have to ask yourself what's the safest effective way to clean without taking the color off or what's left to it.I would use ultima cleaning gel and agitate with a horse hair brush.lexol leather conditioner would be a good choice.
 
Well I'm charging him for travel and material too at a 50 percent markup so it's not a total loss. Even if it just takes a couple hours I want to use it as a learning experience for the next one
 
Understandable and becareful with seats.
 
GSKR said:
If your getting paid by the hour I think you are losing there.you should of quoted flat rate.when it comes to seats there are some variables like coated or non coated how much embedded dirt.you have to ask yourself what's the safest effective way to clean without taking the color off or what's left to it.I would use ultima cleaning gel and agitate with a horse hair brush.lexol leather conditioner would be a good choice.
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Lexol conditioner is not meant for coated leather. Lexol has been quoted in this forum saying so.

Better off with a regimen like leather masters: strong cleaner ----> leather vital ----> protection cream
 
If it where me, I wouldn't get involved in this.

1. Nothing will ever be perfect.

2. 10 year old seats will never be close to perfect without recoloring them.

Don't know the owner's expectation, but he may think wear in the color coat or top coat is fixable without recoloring the leather. And, if the seats are 10 years old and the car has any number of miles on it - they have wear on those surfaces.
 
[QUOTE=Audios S6;1380605you can use it on pretty much anything coated or non coated or vinyl.
 
Lexol was founded way before any other leather conditioner decided to jump on board.
 
Manny years ago I used Lexol on vinyl office chairs and they ended up looking like new.
 
GSKR said:
you can use it on pretty much anything coated or non coated or vinyl.
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From this thread, included is the quoted response from Lexol, and JudyB who knows a thing or two about leather.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/32605-opinions-using-apc-clean-leather-7.html

buddhadog said:
I had put in an email to lexol and here is my question and their reply:

I have an auto detailing business and have used lexol conditioner for years. My question is that most leather is now COATED.......so is lexol conditioner really the right product to use? Does it penetrate into the leather beneathe the coating? Thanks!

Good morning,
Thank you for your inquiry on our Lexol Leather Care products.
You are correct, most manufacturers do “top-coat” the leather to protect it during processing. It’s like “scotch guard” for sofas.
Gradually that will wear off with continued use, getting in and out of the vehicle. You can do the water-drop test, to see if the coating is still on the leather, I would recommend after 3 to 4 months of a new vehicle. The leather should be protected until the top-coating comes off.
Our Lexol is formulated to absorb into the leather, to condition from the inside out. So applying Lexol will only sit on top of the leather and become sticky.

image001.jpg
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judyb said:
'Top coats' on leather are pigments and clear coat finishes - 'Scotchgard' type products are topical protectors and these are not applied during the manufacturing process. Topical applied protectors do wear off with use and need to be reapplied, they are used to protect the finishes on leather from dirt and abrassion. You cannot tell if a pigment coated (finished, protected, coated - these are all names for them) leather has had a topical protector applied which is why it is important to do the job yourself . On a coated leather (as in most cars) a water droplet test would sit on the surface anyway due to the finish (it would only soak in on very old and cracked leather).
Test to see if a topical protector works are done on crust leathers (absorbent) to prove that the product works or not.
'Conditioners' cannot be absorbed by the leather through a pigment and clear coat finish so never get anywhere near the leather itself and as Lexol say stay on the surface and get sticky which only serves to attract more dirt. Once the pigment and/or clear coat finish has broken down and begun to crack this needs restoration work and if you add more 'conditioners' (which generally contain oils and waxes) at this stage they will only further weaken the finish and loosen the pigment. Moisture is the only 'conditioner' that leather needs and pigment coated leather needs to be kept clean to avoid break down of pigment due to abrassion and dirt (which acts like a fine sandpaper) and this is best done with products that have been tested on leather and will not in any way affect the finish on the leather.
Lexol products were produced for saddles and work in a different way to products designed for furnishing and auto leathers.

Hope this helps
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Sure you can use it, but it's going to be counter productive.
 
I understand the whole leather synopsis ,I just suggested lexol to keep more profit in his pocket and at the end of the day it will cause no harm and he deosnt know if there coated or not coated because he didn't mention it .Thanks for the time on the great info.
 
It's a 2006 BMW I'm sure the leather is coated. What is the best product to use on coated leather?
 
Thanks, that's actually what I'm 90 percent on getting. I was just going to buy the leather masters strong cleaner and then use armor all brand leather conditioner/protectant after it's clean
 
well for me I wouldn't use armor all ever. doesn't do anything but ruin everything.

From my experience, or at least with my cars when I cleaned my leather, when I bought my coupe the seats were hard as a rock. got home and immediately cleaned them with the pinnacle black label cleaner and conditioned them also with PBL. The first pas cleaned it up nicely but didn't soften it up much. Did 2 more passes with the conditioner and it softened up as if it was new. Cleaning and conditioning leather takes time. But i'm talking about old leather that hasn't been taken care of.
 
Even 10 year old leather will be coated leather

Deep clean with a water based foam cleaner - if the leather is extremely dirty this may take a couple of goes, use a stiff bristled brush to help agitate the foam (not to scrub the dirt out)
Protect the leather after cleaning - avoid anything containing oils or waxes
The leather can then be easily maintained on a regular basis

If the leather wil not clean as well as expected check to see if the pigments are cracked as if so the leather will look dirty but will need restoration work rather than cleaning
Hope this helps
Judyb
 
This thread worries me. I would be very disappointed to pay a detailer to store my 10 year old leatehr and willing to pay top dollar, only have it conditioned with Armor All....

Then you have the other guy recommending Lexol even though it is established it does absolutely nothing on coated leather. Most modern day leather is coated, it doesn't matter if Lexol was around before other brands jumped on board.

The irony of course, Lexol has been around before leather was being coated!
 
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