Review: Chemical Guys Leather Combo

[rwright]

Greetings all. I was given this product combo consisting of Chemical Guys Leather Cleaner and Chemical Guys Pure Leather Conditioner to write a review on and after some testing I have prepared a review. Please note that some photos were enhanced to show better detail, those photos will be marked as enhanced. Previously I used the CG Leather Cleaner on a different vehicle with excellent results but failed to document the use. For this review the leather cleaner was up against very, very lightly soiled leather in our 2011 Buick Regal and will not be the focus of attention. Notes and final thoughts to follow at the end.

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Products: Chemical Guys Leather Cleaner, Chemical Guys Pure Leather Conditioner

Package Size: 16oz. bottles with flip cap (conditioner) and spray head (cleaner)

Price: Varies by retailer - Cleaner - $9.99, Conditioner - $14.99

Scent: Cleaner - scent free, Conditioner - leather scent


To start off I snapped a couple pictures to show what little surface grime was visible, which was not much:

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After cleaning the surface by spraying a micro fiber towel and gently wiping:

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Ensuring the surface was free of any residual cleaner, I started the conditioning process. The following shots are after applying one layer of conditioner and removing the masking tape for the 50/50 shot.

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According to the label on the conditioner bottle, after applying it leaves the surface dry to the touch. I waited 1-2 minutes and decided to test this and for squeaky leather, not a good idea! As you can see I nearly removed all the conditioner.

Assuming it transferred to my jeans I sat down on the door sill to take additional pictures and guess what? I left a mark.

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Close up after sitting on leather:

The next test was against the claim on the label of "Formulated with stain repellants, and waterproofing agents that aid in the protection of leather." For this test I simply misted the surface with water.

As you can see there is no difference between the two sides. Not impressed I proceeded to wipe the surface dry and as you guessed, it removed the conditioner.

At this point I decided to clean the seat again and was ready to give up. Then I started thinking that maybe it needs to sit on the surface longer. Like some other leather products you should wait 12 hours for the product to dry and bond. This time I decided to try a couple things, a single layer of conditioner and a second layer of conditioner to see how much gloss was added. Take note of the "1", "2", and "No Conditioner", this simply describes the layers applied.

Here is a close up with flash on to show level of gloss:

Followed by random shots:

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Final product shot:

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Final notes and thoughts:

After allowing the conditioner to sit on the surface for 28 hours I decided again to try the ability to repel water, same results. The water just remained on the surface with no beading or anything. Using a dry micro fiber towel I wiped up the water with the same results the day prior, the conditioner appeared to be removed. At this point I just cleaned the surface again and left in natural form.

I feel the cleaner is a very good product and recently read that you shouldn't use it full strength. I believe the recommended ratios were 1:6 for heavy cleaning and 1:4 for everything else. The conditioner dramatically darkens the leather but doesn't appear to stick. It smells really good for what it's worth. The surface didn't feel sticky after applying the conditioner. Maybe this leather conditioner is better suited for older leather?

This concludes my review and as always thank you for viewing and if you have any questions I will do my best to help.

Thanks,
Richard

 

[cobraa]

Props on the review! very interesting.

 

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Props on the review, bud!

I think most leather conditioners will be removed with water. A protectant would probably be a better idea. Plus, I think these conditoners add too much sheen. Leather Masters Protection Cream gives a nice ,natural look. I'm going to do the water test on it.

 

[rwright]

Props on the review, bud!

I think most leather conditioners will be removed with water. A protectant would probably be a better idea. Plus, I think these conditoners add too much sheen. Leather Masters Protection Cream gives a nice ,natural look. I'm going to do the water test on it.

I thought it was interesting since the label says "waterproofing agents".

 

[WRAPT C5Z06]

I thought it was interesting since the label says "waterproofing agents".

I wasn't aware it said that! Obviouslyyy, that's not the case!

 

[hoyt66]

Thanks for the review. Awesome camera work. The findings speak to something i posted a few times here. What i learned is that most of today's leathers are

"coated" which means most conditioners won't penetrate them and just lay on the surface. I'm with z06 in the idea of a "protectant" is the way to go.

 

[Pats300zx]

Great review Richard. I have been using the CG Leather Conditioner for years. I love it and the smell...

 

[BobbyG]

Hey Richard,

That's quite a review and I've been looking to try some new leather products as I'm nearly out of Lexol.

I'm very impressed with your results of both cleaner and conditioner. The photos and especially those closeups show amazing detail and it's east to see just how much impact they made...

Once again, another great product review Richard and thanks for taking the extra time to document and post!!

 

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Great review Richard. I have been using the CG Leather Conditioner for years. I love it and the smell...

Hey Richard,

That's quite a review and I've been looking to try some new leather products as I'm nearly out of Lexol.

I'm very impressed with your results of both cleaner and conditioner. The photos and especially those closeups show amazing detail and it's east to see just how much impact they made...

Once again, another great product review Richard and thanks for taking the extra time to document and post!!

Did you both notice that it wipes off with water?

 

[Stang Man]

Did you both notice that it wipes off with water?

How often do you put water on your seats? :laughing:

It did look like some transferred off of the seat onto his pants when he didn't let is "soak" in- not sure if he did the same comparison after the 18 hours though.

 

[WRAPT C5Z06]

How often do you put water on your seats? :laughing:
.

Well, considering it's good for leather to wipe your seats with a damp cloth often, ummmm, yea....

 

[hoyt66]

Props on the review, bud!

I think most leather conditioners will be removed with water. A protectant would probably be a better idea. Plus, I think these conditoners add too much sheen. Leather Masters Protection Cream gives a nice ,natural look. I'm going to do the water test on it.

Please post your results with the water test. I'm still not sure what I'm going to use as a protectant for my "leather" seats. I bought some BF Interior Protectant for now.

 

[Stang Man]

Well, considering it's good for leather to wipe your seats with a damp cloth often, ummmm, yea....

If that's the case, why would you want something that's water repellant if you plan on wiping them down often with water? Seems counter-intuitive.

Essentially, if you were wiping them down with a damp cloth and your protectant DID stay on, that would mean you aren't actually doing anything for the leather- since the protectant is hydrophobic?

 

[hoyt66]

If that's the case, why would you want something that's water repellant if you plan on wiping them down often with water? Seems counter-intuitive.

Essentially, if you were wiping them down with a damp cloth and your protectant DID stay on, that would mean you aren't actually doing anything for the leather- since the protectant is hydrophobic?

I think the idea there is that you clean the contaminants off the protectant. The

protectant keeps a barrier between the leather and contaminants.

 

[Stang Man]

I think the idea there is that you clean the contaminants off the protectant. The

protectant keeps a barrier between the leather and contaminants.

That makes sense- less time cleaning and having to reapply the protectant rops:

(All my vehicles have cloth, haven't had to mess with leather too often!)

 

[Jomax]

On my parents excursion with 12 years old leather, the coat is wore out with mini cracks. The CG conditioner penetrated instantly making it soft and supple and left a matte finish. The wonderful smell also stayed awhile. Now on the focus with new black leather, it didn't soak up at all. Actually did exactly what your black leather did. So like you said, it's meant for older leather and leather that doesn't have the seal our cars come with. If anyone tries it on leather that older and takes it in or unsealed leather, its a wonderful product. Not trying to bash you, but on leather like ours you can't really test it. We need protector and when our leather ages and breaks down, conditioner comes into play. Great write up on a great product!

 

[HellDemon]

While CG does have a slew of good products, they also have a couple of not-so-great ones! Excellent review, and thanks for the heads up on the conditioner!