JLTSX07

I know that this is kind of a redundant question, but after seeing someone's leather in their TSX today, it makes me wonder. A local guy who is pretty meticulous about his car usually conditioned his leather about once a month with Lexol. However, at 30k, his driver's side seat looks TERRIBLE! It looks like something you'd expect to see on a car with over 100k. My question is, why would this be occuring? Does conditioning REALLY preserve the vinyl/leather in the Acura's much better than if you were to do nothing? Also, has anyone on here seen any Acura TSX's or TL's with over 50 k miles on them? If so, what did their leather look like? I just hope that this isn't what I have to look forward to.

Thanks.

Jeff

Jesstzn

One of the keys to keeping leather good is keep it clean and don't let the dirt grind in .

I use Woolite solution to clean and I condition bout 3 times a year ..


Seats get wiped down with the solution every 2 or 3 weeks.

JLTSX07

How much Woolite do you use? Also, doesn't the woolite kind of negate what the Zaino leather conditioner does? I would think it would dry out the leather, but I guess not. I will have to pick up some Woolite and try that stuff out!

Jesstzn

Check my web page

Hawhyen51

Most leather maintaining products have a separate cleaner and conditioner. The Woolite solution is strictly for cleaning and you still need a product to condition the leather. The mix ratio is one part woolite to 5 or 6 parts of water.

csmeance

6 to 1 water to woolite ratio. This is for cleaning. It should be followed up with conditioner, thats what I do and I don't have too much wear on the seat. The wear is normal of high quality leather. conditioning it does keep it from wearing as it has a protective barrier of conditioner to take the damage first.

TOGWT

Leather Care / Cleaning / Maintenance–my first question when asked for recommendations on leather care / maintenance is; what kind of leather finish is it? There are three main types: Natural (Uncovered) Covered and Unfinished (Nubuck)

Before using a leather care product a detailer needs to know the material they are working on, and wither the product chosen is compatible with the material and will not damage it. Diagnosis is the key, not guess work. Before deciding on what products to use you need to ascertain what type of leather finish you have and wither the leather has a polyurethane covering, or is (un-coated) natural leather, as the cleaning / maintenance varies as to type; although they all require a water-based product to re-hydrate, a suede type leather like Nubuck is the exception.

Many of the newer vehicles do not use natural leather hides anymore Approximately 80% of vehicle manufacturers are using (thermoplastic) polyurethane covered pigmented leather for their interior upholstery. Pigmented leather simply means that the finished leather or polyurethane covering has been coloured (you’ve never seen grey cows have you?)

Automotive leather upholstery is made from natural chrome tanned hides, and some are then further sealed by a durable polyethylene covering to make it more viable for automotive seating protecting the hide from abrasion from clothing as well as the dust / dirt introduced by the vehicle’s AC system. It retains the softness of natural top-grain leather but resists fading in direct sunlight, which besides body oil is leathers worst enemy.

The complex tanning process of chromed tanned hide’s results in the fat liquoring and oils necessary to keep the hide soft and pliable being locked in and therefore there is no need to supplement them. Traditional type conditioner’s cannot penetrate the finished hide, but rather sit on the surface until they are removed by contact with clothing or evaporate. The same is true of most oil-based conditioners, but they will also have an adverse effect on polyurethane.

Water-based leather acre products will permeate the finished leather or the polyurethane covering as its molecules are much smaller; oil has larger molecules than water and are unable to penetrate

I had always advocated the oil-based leather care / conditioning products as the most advanced but after attending various seminar's and some intensive hands-on as well as theoretical training in leather care (inc tanning, care, restoration and preservation) I would like to share the knowledge / experience gained to help dispel the hype and myths surrounding automotive leather care / maintenance; we all need to continually learn, and share what we learn about products and changing processes. As things change; we need to change along with them.

Honest opinion or merely advertising? Commercialism brings with it concerns of honesty and true representation. In other words, it’s difficult to know what is true when someone is motivated by income, i.e. directly targeted at product sales, more so than an unbiased opinion

My best advise; research other options and products, test them and then make an objective decision based upon factual information not hype or brand loyalty. After all, how can you fully understand and properly use any product unless you have all the facts? I would also strongly suggest that you verify any information that I or anyone else shares with you.

I am neither a vendor, nor a salesperson pretending to be an educator, I'm a detailer / author, and therefore there is no reason for me to hype products to gain market share; just to provide a factual and honest source of information; These articles are written to help detailer’s make informed decisions when selecting leather care products for automobiles - http://www.detailuniversity.com/

a) Leather types used (Automotive Leather) - http://www.detailuniversity.com/foru...e-leather.html