Best leather cleaner / conditioner?

[tnord]

I knew I didn't have enough time, but it's rare that I have a full 24hr window where the X5 can be out of commission. I just needed to do something before this winter as the seats were getting in rough shape by my standards, we're about to take a long road trip and I like to have things in good shape if I'm going to be in the car for a long time.

The M3 took a long time because the rears were sooooooo dried out when I'd check on them 6 hours later there'd be another "dry" spot, so I'd slather on some more and keep going. I also had good temps for the first 12 hours, but it cooled off overnight and into the next day.

I actually thought the X5 (perforated) was harder to clean up than the M3 was. The X5 has had a tough run; being parked outside in the central KS sun without tinted windows for the first couple years, the negligence of my wife's care and kids abuse, and my lack of time to compensate.

[Obioban]

I thought I had missed my window of warm weather to leatherique the X5, but had one last shot yesterday with temps around 86 deg. However with work schedules I definitely didn't have as much time as I wanted. For the first leatherique application on the M3 I think I left the rejuvinator on for almost 2 full days, I only left it on the X5 for about 11 hours yesterday.

I don't have a sunny spot on my driveway, and I was in and out of the car because I was trying to decon the paint at the same time. I supplemented with a hair dryer on the leather for a minute, then shut it in the car for 5min. The cleaning was almost as good as normal with the only noticeable spot being the steering wheel having a little "splotchyness" when I put a light on it last night. Maybe it's the type of leather on the X5 vs the nappa on the M3, but it didn't come out as soft as the M3 did. The Esoteric video said the leather will continue to soften over a couple days, so maybe it'll keep getting better.

Anyway, pretty content with the results especially in the very limited window. I'll do it again in the spring when I have more time. But I might as well throw the lexol in the trash, maybe I can use it on shoes or something.

IMO the 11 hour window is why it didn't come out as well. It really needs the full 24 hour soak/absorption to get the best result. I've done a couple shorter cycles in the past, and it just never comes out nearly as well.

48 hours is also worse than 24, imo-- though not because the result is worse, but because cleaning it up becomes a PITA.

Try to hit the actual 24 hour window!

[tnord]

I thought I had missed my window of warm weather to leatherique the X5, but had one last shot yesterday with temps around 86 deg. However with work schedules I definitely didn't have as much time as I wanted. For the first leatherique application on the M3 I think I left the rejuvinator on for almost 2 full days, I only left it on the X5 for about 11 hours yesterday.

I don't have a sunny spot on my driveway, and I was in and out of the car because I was trying to decon the paint at the same time. I supplemented with a hair dryer on the leather for a minute, then shut it in the car for 5min. The cleaning was almost as good as normal with the only noticeable spot being the steering wheel having a little "splotchyness" when I put a light on it last night. Maybe it's the type of leather on the X5 vs the nappa on the M3, but it didn't come out as soft as the M3 did. The Esoteric video said the leather will continue to soften over a couple days, so maybe it'll keep getting better.

Anyway, pretty content with the results especially in the very limited window. I'll do it again in the spring when I have more time. But I might as well throw the lexol in the trash, maybe I can use it on shoes or something.

[Inizes]

To fix cracks you’ll need filler and dye. I saw a company called LeatherX that sells kits. I haven’t used any personally but results seem to be decent.

[Arith2]

Just remember folks, it's ok the be wrong. When presented with evidence, it's no be deal to say oops and just change your viewpoint according to what's proven. This whole thread was a rollercoaster so far.

I'll testing Chemical Guy's leather cleaner and conditioner. I do need a more potent cleaner than these leather cleaners though. How can I effectively but safely clean this? I don't care how natural the cleaner is. Those cracks will need some dye and I'm open to suggestions for that as well. I'm not ready to disassemble the seat for an overhaul. Performance>Cosmetics



I bet you condioner touches my leather directly on the cracked part. This is what happens when you don't detail your leather in FL.

[rbg]

Interesting. I wonder what leather this is, then.
Don't get me wrong, I have used Leatherique for years, but on full grain leather, and it does its job great.
I just never had much success with it on automotive leather - and yes, I know how to properly apply it.

Same here and I just did full seat restorations for my 335i and tried ALL products you can imagine.

[DropTopKingM3]

Leatherique is the best, but also the most work.

Lexol is crap-- worse than nothing IMO. Leaves the leather shiny.

Gliptone gives it a nice matte finish and good smell, but doesn't do much in the way of softening. I tried it fo one year, instead of leatherique (because it's a lot easier to apply), but quickly became unhappy with how much less soft my leather wise.

I use the Lexol but then I apply armor all matte to get rid of the gloss.

https://www.amazon.com/Armor-All-Interior-Detailer-ounces/dp/B0006302MM/ref=asc_df_B0006302MM/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=366384436706&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7192423570252894412&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9004257&hvtargid=pla-797259813589&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=84693892748&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=366384436706&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7192423570252894412&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9004257&hvtargid=pla-797259813589

[TexaZ3]

Good discussion Guys. Thanks. I've used leather conditioner on my Imola Red vert interior for the 10 years I've owned it. It sees a lot of windows up heat (SoFL), as well as top down road dirt and humidity, but has always been garage kept. Various good stuff, Meguiars, Lexol, Neat's Foot Oil, Grio's Garage, whatever. But I've never taken a brush to it with, e.g. Murphy's Oil Soap, which I have no concerns with on leather, especially diluted. My leather at 85Kish miles is definitely softer and definitely shinier than when I got it with 60K on the clock. Car rarely sees more than 1 occupant.

Thinking it "conditioned" enough, I think I'm interested in seeing what happens with "clean". Then I'd clean and condition instead of just conditioning the leather. Anyone use diluted dish detergent for cleaning prior to conditioning?

Cheers,

maw

Dish detergents work, they just not as powerful. They are good for "degreasing" your leather, as in, getting rid of all the other products you put on it. Use diluted and don't get the leather wet.

[skristedja]

I've been cleaning my seats with straight water for 11 years now and using basic leather conditioner probably twice a year. But based on how some of your seats are looking, I need to up my game because my seats have significantly more wrinkles!

[maw1124]

Good discussion Guys. Thanks. I've used leather conditioner on my Imola Red vert interior for the 10 years I've owned it. It sees a lot of windows up heat (SoFL), as well as top down road dirt and humidity, but has always been garage kept. Various good stuff, Meguiars, Lexol, Neat's Foot Oil, Grio's Garage, whatever. But I've never taken a brush to it with, e.g. Murphy's Oil Soap, which I have no concerns with on leather, especially diluted. My leather at 85Kish miles is definitely softer and definitely shinier than when I got it with 60K on the clock. Car rarely sees more than 1 occupant.

Thinking it "conditioned" enough, I think I'm interested in seeing what happens with "clean". Then I'd clean and condition instead of just conditioning the leather. Anyone use diluted dish detergent for cleaning prior to conditioning?

Cheers,

maw

[TexaZ3]

I think there's almost two conversations going on here. Some people want to just clean the leather, others want to clean and condition the leather. There's lots of ways to reasonably clean the leather-- including straight water. Simple green looks to do a good job cleaning it as well, but I wouldn't use it due to long term concerns. The resulting seat will look clean (unless you use Lexol, in which case it'll be a shiny mess).

Agreed. Simple green works great for cleaning, and there are no long term concerns.
But like you said, cleaning is one thing, conditioning is completely different, and that is why I said I use Le Tech after cleaning - it is leather conditioner.

[TexaZ3]

Zero staining.

I took it out, wiped off the big goops with a paper towel, and then used leatherique pristine clean wipe it down (which is what you use after using Leatherique rejuvenator in the car to remove it, as well):

Interesting. I wonder what leather this is, then.
Don't get me wrong, I have used Leatherique for years, but on full grain leather, and it does its job great.
I just never had much success with it on automotive leather - and yes, I know how to properly apply it.

[Obioban]

You've proven that after 24 or 72hrs, some proportion of the product gets into the leather but this speaks nothing to actually doing anything of benefit. We know from the MSDS the product is 80-90% water, and the remainder "animal fat". You'd likely have the same results pouring water on your seats with a stick of butter.

So we're switching the conversation (or as you pointed out, maybe two different conversations) from keeping the leather in brand new condition (which would be cleaning it) to making it softer and more "pliable". But I remember from picking these cars up in Europe with zero miles on the odometer, the E46 leather is relatively stiff, not anything I'd describe as soft or supple.

You can always tell a car that has been over-zealously conditioned, the seats appear slick, shiny and glossy, and probably that owner is proud of how "supple" the leather is, but that does not reflect how the car came from the factory.

Anyway, I think most viewpoints here have already been expressed, and like the audio cable debates, people want and will believe in different outcomes. I want my cars to be like day one from the manufacturer, nothing added or subtracted.

You picked up an e46 m3 with zero miles? Because it has different leather than the non M, and considerably softer. I bought two e46 M3s brand new (3 miles on teh clock each), and they come soft-- similarly to the softness after leatheriquing. Softer than the stiffness after cleaning. Soft and supple is eactly how the M3 was stock (not the non M e46s).

Shiny and glossy is the worst, agreed. That is not the result of leatherqiue if the directions are followed.

[bmw]

I don't know how you're still on that-- we've seen that it permeates to top coat and gets into the leather.

But, let's operate like that didn't happen-- even if what leatherique is doing is softening the top coat (and not the leather itself), it still results in softer leather (plus topcoat) than just cleaning it. So, perhaps it doesn't matter what's getting treated-- the result from leatherique is a softer, more pliable leather. This is not the result from cleaning alone, or from leather products I've tried (Lexol, Gliptone).

You've proven that after 24 or 72hrs, some proportion of the product gets into the leather but this speaks nothing to actually doing anything of benefit. We know from the MSDS the product is 80-90% water, and the remainder "animal fat". You'd likely have the same results pouring water on your seats with a stick of butter.

So we're switching the conversation (or as you pointed out, maybe two different conversations) from keeping the leather in brand new condition (which would be cleaning it) to making it softer and more "pliable". But I remember from picking these cars up in Europe with zero miles on the odometer, the E46 leather is relatively stiff, not anything I'd describe as soft or supple.

You can always tell a car that has been over-zealously conditioned, the seats appear slick, shiny and glossy, and probably that owner is proud of how "supple" the leather is, but that does not reflect how the car came from the factory.

Anyway, I think most viewpoints here have already been expressed, and like the audio cable debates, people want and will believe in different outcomes. I want my cars to be like day one from the manufacturer, nothing added or subtracted.

[Obioban]

Further thoughts on the rejuvenator permeating:

If it didn't, the application condition wouldn't matter nearly so much. As in, if you apply it and immediately remove it, it doesn't really do anything. If you apply it on a cold day, it really doesn't do anything. It actually needs full 24 hours on the surface, in the heat (car parked in the sun with the windows up) to properly function/get a good result.

If the only thing it was doing was cleaning the leather, why would that be the case?