Taking care of your leather...

**JTSRT6** · 03-09-2006, 07:40 AM

For those who have leather trim seats, what do you do on a regular basis to take care of it?... It says on the tag to just use a damp cloth and nothing else...

**formerice** · 03-09-2006, 09:25 AM

I like Liquid Glass Connoisseurs Choice Protectant with mink oil. I have 56,000 miles and they look great. Stuff smells good too!. BTW, nice car.

**Charged_Up** · 03-09-2006, 10:49 AM

I follow the instructions on the card that came with the leather. Everything looks good to me...

**His 'n' Hearse** · 03-09-2006, 12:03 PM

IIRC there's a thread which recommended MOPAR Total Clean ($5 at your local dealer).

**RKCRT0405** · 03-09-2006, 01:01 PM

Great product...
http://www.meguiars.com/?automotive-leather-care/Gold-Class-Rich-Leather-Wipes

**Drew's RT** · 03-09-2006, 01:06 PM

I've done nothing, 18k miles, lookin' good.

**SeadooSandi** · 03-09-2006, 02:35 PM

I've heard that Mr. Clean Eraser does a great job on leather. Wet the eraser, remove excess water and wipe over the seats then follow-up with a damp clean cloth and then dry.

**BigBadMagnum99** · 03-09-2006, 03:34 PM

I just use a leather conditioner that I use on my home furniture and my other vehicles that had leather seats. Can't remember the name of it...it was cheap like $15.00 CDN for a bottle.

**Grelf** · 04-03-2006, 11:36 AM

Mother Macguires leather conditioner.

**quarky42** · 04-03-2006, 12:27 PM

Be *very* careful about selecting a leather cleaner!!! Don't take just my word for it, do some searching on google if you want.

I agree that Meguiar's Gold Class Rich Leather Wipes are very good. I imagine there is better for your leather, but these have most of the qualities that you want in a leather conditioner.

Qualities you want:
Made of Natural Ingredients
pH Balanced
Provides protection against sunlight (UV)
Aloe
Provides some water/stain resistence
NO PETROLEUM CHEMICALS!
Must be absorbed by the leather quickly/easily. (Anything that isn't absorbed gets absorbed by your clothes!!!)

I've tried the microfiber cloth and the cream treatment and I've tried the leather wipes. I must say the leather wipes are faster, more convenient, seem to do a good job conditioning the leather, smell better, and clean the seats at the same time they are conditioned.

One of the sites that I found when I was researching how to care for my leather:
http://www.autogeek.net/leathercare.html

They have a lot of products that they recommend. Go to your local Mega Mart or Checker Auto and look through the ingredients and back label. The Meguiar's wipes seemed to be the best choice.. or their brand cream.

I have read that using the wrong products on your leather can cause more damage than not using anything at all!

**Simon Templar** · 04-03-2006, 04:05 PM

Yes, Tanners Preserve is good....as is Griots, and Meguiars, and the rest of the lot. I've tried nearly everything to be had. But, of the auto-specific products available, I prefer AutoGlym. It does have a different fragrance than most of the auto concoctions one finds, but it does a wonderful job. Myself, I rather like its' smell. It is also the recommended conditioner of Aston-Martin and a few others.....if it is good enough for them, that's all I need to know.

All of the above said, if you're looking for something on the cheap that will do as good or better at conditioning leather of any sort, you'd be hard-pressed indeed to do better than Saddle Soap to clean followed by a (equally as cheap) can of Mink Oil to condition. Both will run you about 4 or 5 dollars per can (less in many instances) and can be found at nearly any neighbourhood grocers. Not to mention that they'll last you through this car, your next car, and most of the life of the car after that.

I have used this pair on leather auto upholstery (and about anything else leather) for more than thirty years and have yet to find anything better.

....sT