nanagnos

I keep my leather seats clean but I can't help noticing these little white piece of dirt or whatever that get in the tiny holes in the leather. Anyone out there know how to clean those tiny holes out? I have black leather so it's fairly noticable on the seats. Thanks in advance for any posts!!

fla-tls

Uh oh... Don't tell me that the '04 can experience the same shedding problem that some of the'02 and '03's experienced.

Is the "dirt" little pieces of whitish fuzz?

Cyclonus

I hope I don't sound condesending but have you tried a damp cloth or a round dust vacuum attachment? When I recently conditioned my seats w/ Meguire's Leather Cleaner/Conditioner I got conditioner in those holes. A bit of extra rubbing got it out but I certainly learned my lesson.

Cyclonus

fla-tls: Now that you mention it I see the same thing in my car. It's almost if the stuffing inside the seat is coming out of the holes. It's not too bad in my vehilce though, just a minor annoyance.

caball88

hahahaha i did the same thing. after that i switched back to lexol(spray) it works alot better than the meguairs. the leather absorbed alot of the conditioner and the seat now feels better. i still get the butt prints but the some parts of the leather that looked and felt a little dry are not anymore.

Cyclonus

Great tip caball88, I will definitley make the switch (once my Meguire's runs out). To be honest with you I've read previously on this board that Lexol was the way to go but they didn't have it my local Walmart so I bought the Mequire's.... later on that same day I went to Auto Zone and low and behold, there it was, Lexol in abundance. I should have taken the Meguire's back.

2004MT6TL

Take a sharp object and push the crap in the holes through

moregrip

the first time I treated my leather I had to apply the conditioner twice, It was like the seats were drinking it, they was thirsty, and who am I to deny her of what she needs?

TBone2004

OK, Lexol for seats, cool. What do you use for the Dashboard etc to maintain the dull finish...some products leave you with the infamous Armor-all shinny shine! What is a good Dull product?

Thanks.

P.S. Had a BMW for breakfast this morning - ha,ha he had a look like "what, this cannot be happening to me!"

moregrip

my suggestion is Adam's VRT, its the best stuff I've used, nothing shiney about it.

Teh Jatt

use VINYLEX by lexol for dash or california duster...

caball88

this is what i used on my last car, i have not used it on the TL yet but it did not leave a oily shine.

1Z Cockpit

i have also come across this product which i have read about and heard good results as well.

303 Aerospace

TBone2004

So you have used on your TL's dash and it adds zero shine?

cool. can I get at like kar parts or pep boys?

moregrip

yep, I use on everything except leather.

http://www.adamspolishes.com/index.c...1&maxrows=100&

nanagnos

I apologized to my TL for doing it, but I was lazy and used the Armor All Leather Wipes one day. It got very swirly and you can see where you did/did not get it on the seats. It even left swirl marks. Anyone experience similar results?

w1n78

so autozone carries lexol? didn't see it in my area, i guess la area autozone only carries this?

caball88

lexol is everywhere, check another autozone in your area. even walmart and target stores carry it.

w1n78

i've been to a couple walmart and target but i'll keep looking. i just don't wanna order it, i've already waited on my car no more waiting for me for a while :lol2: . i did find some microfibre towels, the 3'x2' size at walmart, been looking for those and finally found them

moregrip

FYI,

For immediate product sources:

Microfiber Towels = Costco

Leather Care = Petsmart, Petco, Shoe Repair, Doc Martens Store, Nordstrom.

Note: The pet stores usually carry some saddle care products.

w1n78

k found mine at Pep Boys near my work. Ah love the navi, showed me where to go. too bad it can't tell you how good customer service is at the stores

TBone2004

Am I better using these Microfiber towels or cotton bath towels to dry and wipe off wax? Are the micro fiber things only for drying the car? Sorry, just always used bath towels (100 % cotton). Please educate this towel using fool...

What is best - and which will leave me with the least amount of scratches that I see in my wife's '02 black TL...do not want to repeat that on my TL.

Thanks for info.

moregrip

well it seems like this would be easy to explain but it ain't:

Just like everything there are better grades of same product, goes for 100% cotton towels and microfiber towels.

Walmart micro fiber towels are decent. IMO Costco's are better. I have peronally used both. The Costo microfiber towels are what I would consider some of the better "affordable" micro fiber towels.

Why microfiber = they're softer, less chance of damage to paint.

Now 100% Cotton. A towel can say 100% cotton and have a nylon backing (what all the cotton fibers attach to) = not very good. ranges from shop towels to "seemingly high quality towels". 100%/100% cotton towels are made in the USA and sold by fieldcrest(expensive) at places like Robinsons/May etc.

100% cotton towels are awesome!

reason I get microfiber. Costco is closer to me than the mall.

peace

TBone2004

Mo'Grip
Thanks - I had heard stuff about the towels but wasn't sure if it was legit or not. So, you have used the Micros from Costco and you are pleased? No scratch etc? OK, I was going there anyway tonight for the wifey, so why not do a little shopping for me too right??

Now - do you use them stricktly to dry or do you wipe off the wax too?

Any particular brand name or are they called COSTCO wipes or something?

Thanks for the reply - I appreciate the input.

moregrip

They sell two types, get the all yellow pack in the Automotive section, not the multi color pack in the house cleaning section.

I use (High Quality) Large micro fiber towels I got from Adam's Polish for drying.
I use (High Quality) Med micro fider towels for dry washing with Adam's Spray detailer.
I use (Med-High Quality) Costco Micro Fiber towels removing wax, cleaning interior, drying car, basically everything else.

The reason I rate Costco Micro Fiber med-high is you have to be very careful where you store them, the micro fiber pile is higher than my Adam's micro fiber towels and they attract and hold more fiber/debris than the Adam's.

What that means is don't leave them out in the open and don't wash them with other clothes. Because somehow those airborne fibers or fibers from other clothes will attach to the towels and you'll have to pick them out by hand.

So, I keep them in a covered plastic container, one for clean microfiber, one for dirty.

As long as you keep them clean they will not scratch.

hope this helps.

TBone2004

Thanks Mo. Huge help.

TBone2004

Should I clean them after each use? That's what I would do with the towels - one use and wash 'em.

JetJock

I believe the stuff sticking out the holes in the leather seats are actually the leather itself shedding from the rear where it looks like suede. My previous cars all did this, and while it's annoying, I found using a very sharp safety razor, and lightly "shaving" the seats, while not applying enough pressure to scratch or dig into the actual leather did a great job removing it. It's better to remove this fuzz, than leave it and apply Lexol or any other leather conditioner because as many of you found out the hard way, it get's into the holes and then is very hard to remove. If you get rid of the fuzz, then the conditioner won't get into the holes quite as easily. Just my 2Cents with the shaver, but it worked fine on my seats.

Cyclonus

I also use the microfiber towels from Wal-Mart. My every 2 day ritual is 1) CA car duster my entire vehicle 2) use Meguire’s Quick Detailer to clean off bug juice etc. w/ a microfiber towel (not too crazy about the Meguire’s but I bought the bottle so might as well finish it).

Ideally it’s probably better to wash the microfibers after each use but I usually use it twice/three times before I wash mine and I don’t notice any swirl marks. I do try to use a clean side of the towel though each time I go through my ritual. My car is NBP so talk about a constant pain in the a$$ to keep clean. I know…. it’s what I get for buying a black car.

moregrip

yeah I do too, clean after each use that is.

catsailr

Ace hareware stores carry Lexol.

w1n78

i clean my car every saturday sometimes sunday too and i use the micro fibres for drying and interior. i use about 8-10 towels to do the job. just got lexol yesterday and will try it out tomorrow when i wash my baby. i wish i had more time coz if i did i would wash it every 2-3 days. i also use CA duster everday before i leave for work.

TBone2004

What is CA duster?

jjmott

I am a new 2004 TL owner. When I got the car, it had some nasty grease marks on cloth part of the interior. Any suggestions how I should remove them with out grinding it deeper into the cloth? I have a green car with the two tone tan interior.

Also I am looking for products to keep the leather, plastic, cloth clean. Can someone one clue me in on what are the best products.

Thanks

w1n78

california car duster. you can get them at walmart for like $10 for exterior and i use a smaller one for interior for $7-8

w1n78

for interior i use the CA duster and will be using lexol for the leather. havent used lexol yet just bought it but i've read threads and have friends who have similar cars and that's what they use. i use micro fibre towels and meguires to wash the car. havent found wax to use yet because there's a debate between meguires vs zaino so i'll wait for a bit. my car is only 13 days old so i won't be waxing it until next month probably

jjmott

What is CA duster? Can you recommend a product to remove the grease. I am afraid that once I go after the grease that I will just spread it around.

w1n78

california car duster, i posted it above

don't think that would remove grease. i haven't come across grease stains so i dunno

Cyclonus

Specifically what part of the interior do you have the grease stains? If it is on actual fabric then I’m not sure how you would go about treating that. If it’s on the leather then I would probably try Lexol or Meguire’s Leather Cleaner/Conditioner.

I’m just having a hard time trying to picture what part of the interior has fabric besides the carpet on the floor.

A CA Car Duster is pretty much like a huge version of a Swiffer Duster. Great for dusting but it wouldn’t be much help on stains or anything “stuck on”. I actually use a Swiffer for dusting the interior, works great.

I would recommend using a different product for each different interior material, i.e. Lexol on leather, Adam’s on the plastic, and maybe a household carpet cleaning product on the floors (Oxyclean???).

When I first bought my car I also went and got a couple cans of 3M Scotchguard and sprayed my floor mats and carpeted areas in my car (obviously remove the floor mats first). It will stink up your car for a couple days and it’s recommended that you let it dry thoroughly (the can says 24hrs but I just waited until it was dry to the touch). It eases my mind as far as carpet stains go. You never know what kind of crap you may drag in off of the bottom of a shoe.

moregrip

from my experience the lexol leather cleaner doesn't work very well.

It may contain some good PH balanced fluid, but I've always had to use something stronger for the dirt it does not clean. :banghead:

For the tough stuff I use diluted simple green, yes you heard me right, and a soft bristled tooth brush for the dirt that hides in the grain of the leather.
It has never hurt a thing. :facelick:

Now at this point if I left it as is I would deserve I kick in the arse, but alas I now FEED the NEED with Adams Leather Conditioner. Its a very thick product with the near consistency of jelly.

see below for description:
This non-greasy, thick cream replenishes nutrients to leather upholstery. Unlike other lanolin-based products, Adam’s leather Conditioner contains special U.V. blocking agents, and rich conditioners, keeping your upholstery supple and Soft. This Conditioner will never dry your leather. Easily wipes off the windows, burlwood, and paint. Use on vehicle and home upholstery for healthy, rich leather!

http://www.adamspolishes.com/index.c...1&maxrows=100&

peace out

TBone2004

Thanks!