Leather care - conditioner, sealant, coating or water?

[skiwhmts]

I have alot of leather products including Gyeon Coatings etc but I find myself going back to Meguiar's G10924SP Gold Class Rich Leather Cleaner and Conditioning Spray, 24 Fluid Ounces. Its like $14. It smells good, cleans conditions and leaves leather feeling supple. If you are looking for something new to try for small money give it try.

[DUBL0WS6]

Leather Honey works well on neglected leather. It's a bit less effective on coated leather but it does help.

[Eldorado2k]

I used to do alot of testing when I 1st got back into detailing a few years ago back when I had my old Cadillac Seville.
1 of the things I tried once was aggressively cleaning my backseat with Meguiars Super Degreaser @4:1 w/horsehair brush just to see if it would ruin my backseat… Well it didn’t ruin it, but there was a price to pay in that I immediately found out that whatever coating was once on the seats was now gone because my white terry towels turned olive green during the wipe off part of the cleaning.

The other thing that happened was it left the seats very tacky to the point where I started to wonder if I had actually caused irreparable damage, fortunately they came back to normal after a few hours and some help of leather conditioner.

But the main point is that visually I couldn’t tell the difference the next day, meaning you can’t see the difference between when the coatings there and when it’s gone. I even tried inspecting near the headrests because I was certain I hadn’t really cleaned those areas with the SD and I was hoping to see a line where the coating was and was no longer on the seats but even under bright LED lights I could not tell.

So based on that I’m for using leather conditioners as at the worst they do no harm, and at best they’ll help condition parts of the leather seats where the coating has worn off because I’m convinced that original coating is nowhere near as durable as some people think. And once it’s gone, you won’t be able to tell.

[PA DETAILER]

I have been using BLACKFIRE leather complete. A AIO so to speak. No complaints. Very good product.

BLACKFIRE Leather Complete

[DUBL0WS6]

I think the way to tell if the coating has worn off is by using an oil type product and seeing how fast it's absorbed. With a natural leather it will start to soak in immediately. Even on my 20 year old leather seats, oily products sit on the surface and slowly absorb but some will remain and will need to be wiped off.

[judyb]

Most auto leather is a finished leather with a pigment layer and a clear coat finish.
Auto leather is also chrome tanned.
Chrome tanned leather does not need the addition of oils/waxes as the fat liquors are sealed into the leather during the tanning process. Most leather finishes will allow the absorption of moisture (which is needed) but oils etc will not reach the leather itself so sit on the surface and attract more dirt which is what we want to avoid.
Keeping your leather clean is essential to prolong the life of the coatings designed to protect the leather itself and the best way to do this is to use a protector and clean regularly

[Eldorado2k]

Most auto leather is a finished leather with a pigment layer and a clear coat finish.
Auto leather is also chrome tanned.
Chrome tanned leather does not need the addition of oils/waxes as the fat liquors are sealed into the leather during the tanning process. Most leather finishes will allow the absorption of moisture (which is needed) but oils etc will not reach the leather itself so sit on the surface and attract more dirt which is what we want to avoid.
Keeping your leather clean is essential to prolong the life of the coatings designed to protect the leather itself and the best way to do this is to use a protector and clean regularly

What kind of protector would you recommend? If leather conditioner is out of the question, do you recommend something like a spray wax that’s typically used on exterior paint? Or an interior protectant such as 303 Protectant? Or a different type of product?

What about an older vehicle with seats that are a bit worn and creases are visible and the seats are noticeably dry to the touch, would leather conditioner be of benefit in those cases?

Here’s the drivers seat of my 2000 Cadillac Deville for example.

[judyb]

Auto LeatherGuard is one of the best protectors there is. This is a specialist protector developed for auto leather .
You need to deep clean your seats with a foam cleaner and brush and then you will be able to see whether they were just dirty or need to be restored. If the pigment is damaged the leather needs to be refinished.
Conditioners are not needed as it is a chrome tanned leather and cleaning and protecting will do the correct rehydration without adding oils etc
Hope this helps

[Eldorado2k]

You need to deep clean your seats with a foam cleaner and brush and then you will be able to see whether they were just dirty or need to be restored. If the pigment is damaged the leather needs to be refinished.

Hope this helps

Believe me, I’ve deep cleaned these seats… This is what they looked like when I bought the car 2yrs. ago.



This is what they look like now.







The backseat needed a deep cleaning as well..




Currently looks pretty exceptional if I might say so myself.

[Coatingsarecrack]

Just like paint clear coat i use a coating when possible to protect the leather coating.

My current leather is aniline so no coating for it.


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