WWYD : Ivory Interior

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chefwong

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Just thinking about the next car ....leaning on Ivory Leather
Leather is the non coated and is the good stuff....

However, just short of coating it (which I know the pros/cons).....
What would you do if you have a light interior leather and did not want to put a permanent-semi-permanet coating

I've done a coating on Ivory in previous car. It worked out but I knew that even though the leather could accept conditioned , I *sealed* it...
 
chefwong said:
M8
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I had a feeling you were going to say that… A friend of mine bought an M8 with white leather interior and he said the original owner paid like an extra $35-40k just for the white leather interior. I don’t know if it’s uncoated, I was under the impression that it was… But then again there was some wear on the drivers shoulder bolster that he asked me to see about cleaning, and that damn dirt wouldn’t budge. 1st I tried Blackfire Leather Complete, next I tried Pinnacle Leather & Vinyl Cleaner and no dice. That was both w/microfiber towel. [you can see it if you zoom in]

I didn’t want to try anything more aggressive for what we had set up that day + I didn’t want to mess anything up with how special that interior is.

[now that I think about it, I couldn’t get any of the spots with dirt to come off that interior. It’s mostly pristine, but there were like 3 wear areas that were dirty]

ebfddd7e681d88490b0bcbc611262d79.jpg



I’m surprised it’s not going to be coated. Why would they do it that way? Especially considering it’s white.
 
Dye=Semi is good...it will absorb products.

Maybe my word of coating is throwing you off. It's not *color coated*
In my OP, coating, I wouldn't do on leather that will accept conditioner, etc...
I would not hesitate on color coated leather though.
Yes, I suppose in wording, it is fine to put a permant-semi permanent coating on semi aniline leather....but that just means I have sealed it.....
 
So you would put a coating on top of the coating it already has, but you wouldn’t on leather that is bare such as the Ford Ranch for example.
 
Our wording is off....

I would put a coating if the leather was color coated
On leather that is dyed, then back to OP, I would prefer to not use a coating. I know colourlock has their version of a sealant and that is what I currently use in my cars.

Ivory, like all things car care, if well maintained can be kept relativey clean....

Was just curious what fellow detailing enthusiast would use on non color coated leather....
I know many who would not detailing enthusiast but car enthusiast would just *coat* it , but that's because coating is all the rage right now..
 
You’re the only person who uses the term color coated & dyed… I don’t know if other people totally understand what those terms mean, but I sure don’t because you’re the only one I’ve ever heard say that before.

Last I checked just about every vehicle made today has coated leather except for that dumb truck that almost nobody owns anyways, so basically all vehicles have coated leather… So how does “color coated” & “dyed” leather play in? What’s going on.
 
I apologize if that came off the wrong way. I didn’t mean for it to, my fault for not putting together a better post, but if you could explain those terms I’m interested in hearing more about them. Thx.
 
It's exactly as stated . The leather being discussed is not -color coated-, aka, a plastic like product that is sprayed ontop that gives the leather the color it is.

The leather being discussed is dyed.
 
Are you sure that leather doesn't have a coating on it?

I've driven an 850, M5, and a 550 all with that Ivory leather (sat in a few more like a 7-series with it too) and they all had the same type of leather as any other top-model BMW. The color was different, but the composition of the material was the same. Like Eldorado mentioned the only vehicle I know with the uncoated leather was the Ford King Ranch. That stuff looked to be a nightmare to maintain and I imagine it would not wear well over time either.
 
The dash, doorcards, etc is all true to the spec of the leather.
However.....one funky detail not known as one should presume the seats are all the same material

This is where it's not 100% written is USA literature but for the seats, where it's still the same spec leather on where it is -solid- like the boltsers, headrest. In the center where the perforated leather is, they use a cheaper color coated leather for this. I suspect it's due to the perforations, they chose to do this for durability but it's not in any literature calling out this one specific detail
 
Yeah, you're confusing me, too. I always understood the "coating" to be clear and having nothing to do with the "dye" which is responsible for the color of the leather. I've never heard of a "color coating" except as a repair product for damaged seats. But I'm far from a leather expert, just what I've absorbed from forums over the years which may be limited due to my factory coating.
 
chefwong said:
It's exactly as stated . The leather being discussed is not -color coated-, aka, a plastic like product that is sprayed ontop that gives the leather the color it is.

The leather being discussed is dyed.
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The only kind of “color coated” that I’m aware of comes from a product such as this.

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7b26b5367dd8f9a364e376dfa610a190.jpg


Btw I’ve seen the results from that stuff as a highly regarded detailer changed the color of his leather & vinyl interior using that and the results were phenomenal.

But when it comes to seats, I agree with Setec Astronomy, I’ve never heard of seats being coated with anything but a clear coating unless it’s a leather repair job.

And I’ve never even considered the vinyl on dash & door panels being sprayed with its final color.
 
Desertnate said:
Are you sure that leather doesn't have a coating on it?

I've driven an 850, M5, and a 550 all with that Ivory leather (sat in a few more like a 7-series with it too) and they all had the same type of leather as any other top-model BMW. The color was different, but the composition of the material was the same. Like Eldorado mentioned the only vehicle I know with the uncoated leather was the Ford King Ranch. That stuff looked to be a nightmare to maintain and I imagine it would not wear well over time either.
Click to expand...

The way those patches of discoloration wouldn’t budge on that white interior felt weird to me, kinda like if I was trying to clean a soccer ball that had a been used a bit. It almost felt like natural wear and not just dirt that could be cleaned off. If you told me that leather wasn’t coated, I wouldn’t be surprised.
 
I am also not an expert in leather so I may be wrong, but...

I believe semi-aniline leather typically has a thin layer of color coating applied between the (likely dyed) leather and a clear coating.

I do know that isolated damage can occur to semi-aniline leather, as I've seen it happen, although I don't know what part of the leather was damaged (a coating, the dye, or both). The leather also "felt" different to me on these "stains".

I don't have advice about the original question about coating the seats, sorry.
 
If there is a question about it, then lean toward the side of caution and don't put a coating on it.
 
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