elibutton

[IMG]GS430_Compressed[/IMG] Hi,

I'm a recent new owner of a 2001 Lexus GS 430 L-Tuned, purchased last October. My GS is silver with light gray interior.

Recently I noticed my leather seats (driver) seemed to garnish a "yellowish" color, I don't know why or how, I haven't driven it much and it's never gotten wet. Perhaps it was there, I cannot honestly recall.

I think the leather iterior needs a cleaning and coating. I have been reading a lot of threads on Lexus leather, everyone is suggesting everything from Woolite to soft scurb, and Lexol to Zaino. It seems like the consensus is Lexol, but just want to verify.

Can someone give me specific feedback as to how I can maintain my leather? 1st step is cleaning, next step would be polish / coating....right? What products seem to work the best? It would be great to hear from someone who's experienced this first hand, and not by hear-say. I really want my leather to shine and keep it as long as I can.

Also - looking to start modifying it slowly. Would like to start w/ a K&N filter. Are there any templates out there as to the steps I can take in sequence to modify my GS 430? I'm not looking to outrun a Viper, but add a little more pep.

Thanks,
Eli

UDel

Your GS looks very nice, I like those rims and silver combo. I think you should first explain a little more what is with that yellow garnish or color. Maybe post a pic of what the stain looks like. Does it look like a spill or something rubbed off maybe from your clothes. If it is paint or something harsh then normal cleaning may not remove it and you will have to take further steps. I have been reading good things about using soft scrub or fast orange without pumice and a soft brush for deeper cleanings and a woolite and water mixture for regular cleaning maintanance. I have used woolite and water and it works well but my leather is not that dirty so you may want to try the soft scrub. Once you have taken care of that yellow stain then you can start looking for specific leather cleaner/conditioners.

There are plenty of products out there in stores but unfortunately to get the better higher quality products you generally have to pay alot of money and order them direct from their manufacturers or from certain internet sites. Mequirs Gold Glass leather conditioner/cleaner is okay but does not seem to make my leather any softer. Zaino leather care products seem to do a better job and leave a strong leather smell if your into that. Leatherique seems to be very well rated and most people seem very happy in that it does soften leather up but it is very expensive and is not available in stores. Connelly leather hide food seems to get good reviews too but it has to be ordered off of web sites. Some other people seem to really like products like Griots, Soffener, Surflex, but I am not really familiar with any of these.

One thing you need to make sure you do is apply these cleaner/conditioners when it is hot out and make sure your car interior is hot so these products will soak into the leather instead of sit on top of it like they would when the car interior is not hot. Put your seat heaters on and crank the heat up if you are can't do it on a hot day. It will take a couple of applications to really start to work into the leather and for you to notice a difference. I am looking for the best treatment to make my black seats softer on my GS430 as they are kind of rough. Hope this helps and I am sure members who are more knowledgeble and experienced will answer your question a little better.

yESman

Lexol in my experience won't clean as well as the Zaino twins Z-9 and Z-10. Z-10 works especially well on Lexus leather based on my use in the ES. It has real leather oils so it really brings back the new leather smell as well which is nice.

elibutton

Thanks for the responses, I'll take a pic of those faded yellow stains. They seem to be imprints or shadows of the driver's legs. Maybe the person before me wore shorts and had a sweat gland problem?

Those rims are OZ Salinas, they don't make them anymore. They're pretty nice, 18", I'm very happy with it. One of the rims is slightly bent, I purchased it this way but got an additional discount. It's not that bad but I may rework it for $125.

Do you happen to know what tires would fit best in the front rims? The back rims are wider (9" I believe) and they have 265 35 18, the fronts are 8 or 8.5" and they have the same size tire. The car was this way when I got it, but people keep telling me the front tires shouldn't be more than 235 or 245 due to the rim size. So far so good, no rubbing, no issues. Is the wider the tire the better?

Thanks,
Eli

RON430

Getting it clean is obviously the first place, as I guess you know. And that depends on what is on there. As for conditioner, a bit of information passed on to me years ago by the best detailer I ever knew, the more die is in the leather, the more important treating it is. The leather color with the most die? Gray. So really keep up with it. I have used most everything that everyone has mentioned. I do like the Zaino products but my wife finds the smell of the conditioner somewhat offensive. I use Soffener and Griot's leather softener one after the other. This seems to give me the best feel of the leather. I think there are many good ones out there now but these work for me. I buy the Soffener by the gallon and try to do the leather at least every month or two. You don't need to get too wacky with the heat but it makes a big difference. In the summer, the conditioner almost goes in as fast as you can apply it, in winter it just sits there for a long time. I just try to figure how long it will be until I need to drive the car and put on as much as I think will soak in before I need to use the car. Leather is a skin and everything is conspiring to dry it out and then it cracks. Get the leather clean but be advised, some of the possible approaches, like the orange cleaners, are very agressive. Don't use them very often. I do use them but only if there is something there that really needs to be gotten out. I go to the health foods store and get a small natural (and soft) bristle brush to work the cleaner in.

There is nothing like leather that is in good shape. Good luck.