davebe

I'm buying a GX470 (Silver/Pine) and though I prefer the look of the ivory interior, I'm concerned about how much more harder it will be to keep the ivory leather looking clean compared to the charcoal interior. Never having owned leather car seats before, I don't know how susceptible the seats are to staining. I've heard reports that denim jeans will eventually leave a blue stain on light leather. Is there any truth to this, assuming you wash new jeans thoroughly before wearing them? I pretty much live in jeans...

Any comments from people with first-hand experience on the relative merits of light vs. dark leather appreciated.

Guitarman

Light leather will of course SHOW dirt more redily, and require more frequent cleaning, but that's not a bad thing really-your leather will last longer the more attention you give it. I prefer light leather because dark or black here in Florida will literally burn you in the summer after sitting in a parking lot. Not fun. Light colors also give the illusion of a more spacious interior compartment. Not that dark colors aren't nice, they also look great, but there are pro's and con's to each.

I have no firsthand experience with bluejeans transferring color, but i've only had a few gray leather interiors (Fords) one beige Caddy leather and now the beige leather in my GS4, and none of those colors show any color transfer from anything I've worn, and the light gray leather in my T-Bird SC has over 210k miles on some of it. (I've replaced some of the driver's seat panels, but there's one part that's original from 1989). FWIW, most all of today's automotive leather is clear coated (a vinyl clear is sprayed over it for durability and protection) anyway, so you're not actually rubbing up against the leather dye itself. (This is why when you clean today's leather interiors, you can simply use a vinyl cleaner instead of a leather cleaner, because that's what you're ostensibly cleaning).

My mother has an old '78 cadillac with white leather that also shows no color transfer from jeans, and that dosen't have a clear protective coating on it.

BTW, in my detailing work, I haven't observed this issue with bluejeans in any of the cars I do with light colored leather interiors. Not saying it's impossible, just that I've never seen it. Hope this helps. Dan H

Hope this helps.

Daddy-O

I've got ivory leather in my 2002 RX 300. I wear Levis blue jeans every day in the winter. No problem for me. I used Lexol cleaner and Lexol Conditioner for a few months, but I switched to Pinnacle Leather Cleaner and Pinnacle Leather Conditioner. I clean my seats every month and condition every two weeks.

The only problem I've had was a small ballpoint pen mark. I cleaned it with Anhydrous Isopropyl Alchohol and conditioned immediately thereafter.

I've had the car almost a year and I haul around my daughter and her friends. They wear jeans, too. We eat and drink in the car when we feel like it. We throw all kinds of stuff in the back seat. To put you at ease, other than a few normal stress marks in the leather, the seats look good as new.

Enjoy!

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davebe

Well, both your replies have helped alleviate my second thoughts about the lighter color. Thanks for the informative responses.

I doubt that I'll be as disciplined in conditioning the leather. Obviously it depends on many factors, but in general do you really think it's necessary to clean and condition the leather as frequently as every 2-4 weeks, or do you just do it out of love for your vehicle? I was thinking more like every 3-6 months, given no small children and moderately careful usage.

Daddy-O

C'mon, davebe...It only takes 10 minutes.