Just wondering what some of yall use to keep yalls tan interior clean or should I say get it clean back or close to looking its original color again.

 

lexol

 

I have used LEXOL conditioner, but not the LEXOL CLEANER, so cannot comment on the cleaner. I use the Lexol conditioner after a vacuum and after cleaning w/ saddle soap, or just a damp wipe if the seats are not really dirty, about twice per year.

My Chevy OM (owner manual) suggests saddle soap for dirty seats, and it works well on my tan Chevy seats, as well as my very light Acura RDX seats (don't remember the Acura color name).

I prefer saddle soap for cleaning rather than some of the cleaning lotions. Most all of them contain petroleum solvents, although Lexol Cleaner does NOT. Check the MSDS for contents.

I use Fiebings Saddle Soap for very dirty seats, or stains, or spills. Use the lather with a sponge, gentle aggitation, but not scrubbing. Use the WHITE tin, not the YELLOW tin which contains ethanol. Again, many saddle soaps contain petroleum products, including stoddard solvent (for cleaning). Fiebings does not - can be purchased at a shoe repair store or online.

I do my seats twice per year w/ saddle soap, lightly, unless something has spilled, or there is a dirty area - followed by LEXOL CONDITIONER.

Then every month or so I use ArmorAll Leather Care Protectant, because it contains a small amount of silicone for prevent spills from absorbing into the leather, and also protects against water (from snowy coats) during the winter. Do be aware that the ArmorAll can leave the seat a bit shiny or slippery. I apply then firmly wipe off any excess with an absorbant cloth.

 

You cant condition Acura seat .. they are coated leather ... For a cleaner I use a mix of water & Woolite 6:1 in a spray bottle ... mist it on .. agitate with a cheap microfiber cloth then wipe off with a M/F cloth dipped in clean rinse water and wrung out.

As far as "conditioning" .. which you cant really do .. conditioning is feeding the leather ... Any of the OTC products will do .. they more just make it smell like leather.


You might want to read this article.

http://www.1z-usa.com/assets/KIC/Kee...ather-Care.pdf

 

Gerald head to the wash and wax section on this forum to read more info.

Jesstzn thanks for that info. I had just purchased both Lexol conditioner and cleaner. I guess I should head over to the W&W section too.

 

Thanks guys!

 

No kidding? Pardon my ignorance but can anyone else confirm this?

If this is the case I'll forego conditioning my leather and just stop after cleaning it.

Even if it is coated, wouldn't the conditioner eventually find it's way into the leather through the perforation?

 

If your seats need a deep cleaning where no spray or cloth will work, use a mr clean magic eraser. Some here will disagree because its a slight abrasive, but if you use it lightly it will remove an incredible amount of dirt from your seats. Infact, try it on your stearing wheel, you will almost throw up with how much nasty shit comes off I gauruntee it. I do this on every car I have owned with many different types of leather and colors. It does not ruin your seats, it does not take color off of them, or scratch them or anything. Once you use the sponge (on everything your steering wheel, shifter, ebrake, whatever), then I go over everything with a damp cloth using the conditioner of your choice. I like to use a product called Zaino leather in a bottle. It leaves the leather feeling new and soft with no greasy shiny look which I cant stand.
I have been a car guy since day one and have had some pretty fancy cars and my interiors always look BRAND NEW, so anyone here that says dont do this really doesnt have experience.


This is a picture of the interior of my now sold 08 Type S where the seats show no discolorization from dirt or grime. Had 30,000 miles at the time of this picture.


This one is even tougher because its the Taupe interior of the Type S so the seats are very light. Most of these colored seats now look almost brown or yellowish from the years of neglect. Yes this is the passnger seat, but show me a 7 year old Type S with seats that look like this. THis one had around 40,000 miles at the time of the picture.


Lastly, here is my first TL. Its an 07 base with tan interior. The interior and seats look literally new. 60,000 miles at time of picture.



I use the same cleaning methods on ALL my vehicles and the results are amazing. I recommend using the magic eraser lightly once to get rid of the nasty dirt and grime that no solution or cloth will get rid of. Then after that just use any conditioner. Only use the eraser when there is a lot of visible dirt build up. You wont be disappointed!

 

Your matts stayed like that after 60,000 miles? BTW its advised not to use abrasibes on the type of leather in out cars as it wears away the top coating.

 

That's why I stated use it lightly and really only once just to get that really nasty layer of dirt off. After that then a regular cleaner will be perfectly fine. The reason I say use the eraser is because without it your leather seats, steering wheel, and anything else will be very dirty even if it doesn't necessarily look real bad. It would almost be like trying to wax a dirty car.

 

Yep. And as far as the smell I always preferred Zaino's "Z-10 Leather in a Bottle" even if we do have coated leather. Lexol always smelled nasty to me.

As for creases that have gone dark in my camel seats I fear the only way to get rid of them is to hire a pro to "paint" over them with whatever that stuff is they use. My guess is it only lasts so long.

 

I dont clean them, shit looks good.

 

woolite and 303

 

I use meguars conditioner and interior cleaner wipes they're awesome and don't use armor all something about when the sun hits it it starts to bake I forget it's something like that all I know is I start away from armor all

 

I can confirm that after 10-15 years if no conditioner is used the leather will harden and crack/ split. And Acura RDX leather will crack sooner, in less than 4 years - depends upon whether you live where the humidity is 10% or 80%, and how hot are the summers..

Never seen a 20-30 year old Ferrari/ Mercedes/ etc. seat? You can always tell whether some sort of conditioner has been used (or not). Of course, if you don't keep your cars for more than a few years ...

Anyway, a good saddle soap will contain some amount of oils, depending on brand, that will help condition the leather, or just use any *good* national brand of actual conditioner.

 

Wow! your cars look amazingly clean!
I got 80,000km about 50 000miles on my 08 tl, and with the winters here in Toronto I wish I can have my interior looking like that!

 

Agree if used lightly and only once. A better option for really dirty leather is Optimum Power Clean diluted 3:1 and a nylon bristle brush. It will be less abrasive and OPC is a terrific all purpose cleaner. Woolite at 20:1 for light cleaning (its more concentrated now so you can dilute it to 20:1 now vs 6:1) and for maintenance, wipe down the leather with a dampened microfiber towel every time you wash your car.

Leather fails way more often due to dirt than lack of "conditioning".

 

Save your money and get Duragloss #221 Leather Conditioner. Same stuff, even smells the same. All of Zaino's stuff is made by Duragloss anyway. Just like Adams is made by Chemical Guys.

 

So I tried the magic eraser today... worked awesome! I only used it on the front seats and steering wheel. The amount of dirt and general grossness that came off was surprising, considering I clean my interior every 2 weeks. I followed up with warm water then lexol. NO ill effects on the leather from the magic eraser.

 

I wound up using 5 magic erasers on my interior- night and day difference in the outcome! I found that I would start with one seat and go to the other seats with an increasingly dirty eraser. Get another eraser and do the same thing again until the eraser was semi-clean after going through a seat. I then used the dirty erasers to do the bottom door sills and other stuff that was dirtier than the seats.

I then found it might be easier to spray the Lexol conditioner directly on the leather and rub in with my hand instead of spraying on a rag. I'm letting the condition soak in as I write this.

Thanks for the tips! It was raining today so this was a perfect garage activity.

 

For sure!

 

Awesome, glad to hear some of you guys were able to use my advice with excellent results.