elvingomez

when i bought my gs, the leather is pretty much hardened up. is there any suggestions you guys have to soften it? ive tried some leather spray, but no results.

squarehat

There's a product called "Surflex Leather Soffner" that is applied, covered with plastic wrap, and left on overnight. I'm thinking of trying it out when the weather warms up, at least on my back seat.

elvingomez

where is it available?

LB Lex

I tried that stuff (Surflex) and it didn't work. I used that stuff for a month but it did not make my leather noticeably softer, it is still hard. I think that once leather is dried and hard, it pretty much stays that way. I wish I could find something to soften my car's leather.

Daddy-O

Take a look at Leatherique.

http://www.leatherique.com

RON430

Mixed emotions about Soffner. I have been using it since the first but it doesn't give the leather that very soft feel, particularly the puffy leather on the door panels which seems to be very stiff on my car. But I have followed up the Soffner with Griots Leather Care and that does give a pretty good feel and softness. I have noticed that relative to my wifes new GS, my GS's leather seems to have a greater flexibility, which might be due to the repeated applications of Soffner. One thing seems to be the need for repeated applications, especially dependent on the weather where you are. If the leather has cracked, I don't think any of these treatments will get the leather to "heal" itself. As soon as I use the current stocks up, I will give the Leatherique a try but I think I am of the opinion that when the weather is warm, treat the leather as often as you can stand if you are going to keep the car for any length of time. When it gets cold, I agree with Surflex, I think the treatment has a very hard time penetrating.

Gekko

I use this and it's AWESOME:


http://www.vistadirect.net/Catalog/l...are_319509.htm


get it in the Lexus Dealer parts dept.

elvingomez

but does this work if the leather is already hard, will it still work. i've seen plenty of products to maintain leather, but none to fix already hardened leather.

RON430

I just don't have any recent experience with really hardened stuff although I can raise an argument that the as delivered wasn't exactly buttery soft. I haven't read all the details on leatherique but Surflex advertises that Soffner does exactly what you want. I just haven't tried on something really hard; that is, dried out (which is what makes it hard). I guess you could try the Soffner with the Saran Wrap approach. The reason for the Saran Wrap is to force the treatment (whoever you get) into the leather rather than letting it evaporate. I wouldn't count on any quick fix and my guess is it will take multiple applications. I have had a lot of cars with leather and the Japanese use a particularly stiff version. Don't think I want to go back but thirty years ago, the Connoly in Jaguars was amazing and it never really got hard. The Soffner will force its way into the leather but it still didn't give a "soft" feel to my mind. When I follow up with the Griot's product, I finally get a soft feel, without fragrances which I admit, I am not a fan of. Leather either has an aroma or it doesn't. I am not a big fan of the synthetic leather smells.

I just don't have enough info on this. Let's hope Daddy-O has more input on the Leatherique products, especially on something that has gotten quite hard. Regardless of which way you go, I would recommend getting something on it quickly to try and rehydrate the leather. Once it cracks it is a whole different issue.

squarehat

Has anybody used the Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil? And will it even work properly on "coated" leathers? The cars mentioned on the website are all older cars with leather without a protective topcoat.

mcnelson

My leather is hard too