Safe leather cleaner and conditioner?

[fordlexus]

Hello all,

I ordered some Mothers leather cleaner and conditioner for my wifes car. She recently informed me that you are not supposed to use anything with oils, waxes or silicones on leather. I did some research and some people seem to agree. The conditioner has neatsfoot and lanolin oils in it. So.........is it safe to use or not?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Ted S.]

I'm sure it is. Most people go by what they hear from others. I'm not knocking on your wife or others, but they wouldn't make leather cleaners and conditioners if they weren't safe. Especially a reputable consumer product line, like Mothers.:xyxthumbs:

 

[fordlexus]

From what ive read the Mothers cleaner and conditioner seem to get the job done. But supposedly these type of products leave a residue that does more harm than good. I just want to make sure so my wife is comfortable with me using them. Thanks again.

 

[Matt]

Yea they'll be fine. I used to use the Mothers leather duo, now I use Leatherique.

The mothers cleaner is great, and the conditioner is completely safe to use on coated leather, but I don't think it looks too good. Darkens the leather significantly and looks a bit too glossy. You can buff it down good and reduce the gloss, although I by far prefer the look the Leatherique gives (like brand new).

The look and performance (of the mothers conditioner) is actually very similar to the Wolfgang leather conditioner, but the Wolfgang has a leather scent where the mothers has a scent I cannot quite place- I want to say it's a corn scent.

 

[Ted S.]

Most of these products help protect and restore leather, therefore prolonging the life and the look of the leather. Leather that is left uncleaned and unconditioned will heavily degrade in appearance and "feel" over a period of time. Silicon based stuff is probably what they are referring to.

Hopefully this link will help:

Leather Cleaning and Care: clean and condition leather seats with premium leather care products. leather care, leather cleaner, auto leather cleaner,

 

[fordlexus]

Thanks for the replies and the link

 

[Matt]

Yeap, the most important thing is to keep leather clean, as the dirt can act as an abrasive and wear the leather down (abrade the top coat off on coated leathers) and oils like sweat help to attract and retain dirt (as well as make it look horrible).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk so please excuse any grammatical errors

 

[HeavyMetal]

If it's your Lexus, they recommend cleaning with a 10:1 solution of Woolite. I use it at 16:1, 10:1 was a bit too soapy. It does an excellent job. For a conditioner I recommend the Lexus conditioner. It's made by the company that makes the leather for Lexus. Since Lexus leather (except the semi-aniline option) is coated, a conditioner is not really required. However, I tried it and it does seem to leave the leather a bit softer.

 

[ScottB]

Einszett makes Leathercare which is designed for coated leather (finished leather) and a good choice.

 

[fordlexus]

Thanks for the advice all, yes its for my wifes lexus, ill have to check out thier leather products.

 

[ObsessiveAutoDetail]

Leather Master.

 

[supercharged]

Lexus has coated leather. Leather Master would work very well, as well as Pinnacle...And if you are on a tight budget try Duragloss leather twins...Mother will work too, but there are better products out there...
Lexus dealer will recommend you Lexus leather products...

 

[Matt]

Lexus dealer will recommend you Lexus leather products...

Exactly, and there are better products out there. Infact, they're not made specifically for Lexus, they're just rebadged with Lexus labels.

I saw a list on Club Lexus (or Lexus Owners Club) a while ago that listed Lexus branded products and their manufacturers. If I can find it I'll repost it here.

 

[HeavyMetal]

Thanks for the advice all, yes its for my wifes lexus, ill have to check out thier leather products.

Try the conditioner but don't bother with the cleaner unless you have leather that's very dirty, or you have light colred leather and want it on hand just in case. The Lexus recommended diltue Woolite works just fine at cleaning light to moderate dirt and spills. And, dust and very light dirt will wipe away with a mf damped with distilled water. I see no sense in for a cleaner unless you absolutely need to.

As Matt noted, the cleaner and conditioner are not made by Lexus. They are supplied to Lexus by the leather manufacturer. Now, the mfg may actually be making the products or they may be subcontracting to a company that specializes in leather cleaning products. No matter. The products are specifically approved by the mfg for the leather. They made the leather, they know what will work. Other products may, in fact, work just as well but a choice like that is truly a no-brainer.