Fast Orange and Leatherique experience (Pics)
#16
Lexus Test Driver
Join Date: May 2004
Location: California
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Originally Posted by SGT
Very nice, just wondering how much this stuff costs.
#19
I, too, have used the all mighty Fast Orange on my 93 LS400....works like a champ!!
The rag I used was completely dirty when I got done using it...and I clean my leather sometimes twice a week with Meguiars and never saw such results...
Fast Orange works like a miracle
The rag I used was completely dirty when I got done using it...and I clean my leather sometimes twice a week with Meguiars and never saw such results...
Fast Orange works like a miracle
#21
Yeah, i'm thinking that Meguiars is pretty useless. it seems to do what cheap wax does, which is trap crap under the coating. The fast orange worked like a champ! I ordered the Leatherique so i'll post pics when its done.
#23
They're selling 16oz of the oil and 16oz of cleaner for 37 shipped. I noticed there's a coupon code for the site when you checkout, so there must be a discount code floating around. Anyone know it?
#25
Lexus Fanatic
I just got some fast orange tonight and wanted to try it on my black leather seats. I just cleaned the seats last night with woolite and water and scrubbed pretty hard but there was not much dirt on the rag and some of what was on there was a blackish blue color with what I assumed was maybe some dye. Tonight I tried some fast orange on the seats and after applying it and working it in a little and wiping it off I noticed the paper towel was pretty soiled especially with that blackish blue color which I think may be some die. When I looked at the portion I did up close I noticed that the shiny waxy top grain was gone and it looked the same color as in between the grain. On the rest of the area which I did not use fast orange on it had the unattractive shiny waxy top but in between the grain was a slightly lighter more matte black which matched the color of the portion where I had used fast orange. The portion where I used fast orange had a slightly softer feel and better look then the areas which I did not use it.
I think I may be on to something here because after using several products to try to get my leather softer like Leatherique, Griots, etc none seemed to work and the leather looked and felt the same after the treatments. I thought it might have to do with a layer of grime and gunk and maybe extra dye that has been sealed in from a inappropriate or cheap cleaner conditioner like armoral that is not letting the products I am using soak in and work. This fast orange may have been the only way of removing that layer. I know there are a few people who caution against using fast orange on a leather interior especially when it looks to be removing some of the dye as witnessed on the rag but I think I may go ahead with it anyway because I do not like that hard rough shiny waxy look/feel that is mainly on the front seats and the middle parts of the rears. I am only going to use fast orange maybe once or possibly twice to clean the seats before conditioning them with Leatherique so I don't think I will be causing too much harm even if the stuff is not that good to use on leather. Hopefully once that grimy shiny waxy coat is off then the Leatherique and other products with be able to soften up the seats better. I tried the Fast Orange on a small portion of my moms 99 Acura TL which has softer seats and the Fast Orange did clean some dirt off of the Leather but there did not appear to be any dye that came off on the rag even after some hard scrubbing so I am not quite sure why some dye would come off on my Lexus but not the Acura of that is what that blackish/blue stuff is on the paper towel and rag after applying it on my Lexus.
I think I may be on to something here because after using several products to try to get my leather softer like Leatherique, Griots, etc none seemed to work and the leather looked and felt the same after the treatments. I thought it might have to do with a layer of grime and gunk and maybe extra dye that has been sealed in from a inappropriate or cheap cleaner conditioner like armoral that is not letting the products I am using soak in and work. This fast orange may have been the only way of removing that layer. I know there are a few people who caution against using fast orange on a leather interior especially when it looks to be removing some of the dye as witnessed on the rag but I think I may go ahead with it anyway because I do not like that hard rough shiny waxy look/feel that is mainly on the front seats and the middle parts of the rears. I am only going to use fast orange maybe once or possibly twice to clean the seats before conditioning them with Leatherique so I don't think I will be causing too much harm even if the stuff is not that good to use on leather. Hopefully once that grimy shiny waxy coat is off then the Leatherique and other products with be able to soften up the seats better. I tried the Fast Orange on a small portion of my moms 99 Acura TL which has softer seats and the Fast Orange did clean some dirt off of the Leather but there did not appear to be any dye that came off on the rag even after some hard scrubbing so I am not quite sure why some dye would come off on my Lexus but not the Acura of that is what that blackish/blue stuff is on the paper towel and rag after applying it on my Lexus.
#27
A 'heads up' guys...
If you're seeing dye coming off on your towel/rag, that means the clear polycoat is no longer there. Be careful from that point on or you'll need to replace or redye the area(s).
Remember, anything abrasive or harshly solvent can and will remove the clear polyurethane coating put over the pigment( color) coat) of your leather by the manufacturer to protect the seats from sweat, sun, moisture, and stains.
This is always the "catch" with using anything outside of a dedicated leather cleaner; You can clean the leather AMAZINGLY well, but often at a cost. Once the clear is gone, it won't be long till the color is too. On old leather where you think the clear is already gone, you REALLY have to be careful what you use to clean.
If you're seeing dye coming off on your towel/rag, that means the clear polycoat is no longer there. Be careful from that point on or you'll need to replace or redye the area(s).
Remember, anything abrasive or harshly solvent can and will remove the clear polyurethane coating put over the pigment( color) coat) of your leather by the manufacturer to protect the seats from sweat, sun, moisture, and stains.
This is always the "catch" with using anything outside of a dedicated leather cleaner; You can clean the leather AMAZINGLY well, but often at a cost. Once the clear is gone, it won't be long till the color is too. On old leather where you think the clear is already gone, you REALLY have to be careful what you use to clean.
#28
Lexus Fanatic
A 'heads up' guys...
If you're seeing dye coming off on your towel/rag, that means the clear polycoat is no longer there. Be careful from that point on or you'll need to replace or redye the area(s).
Remember, anything abrasive or harshly solvent can and will remove the clear polyurethane coating put over the pigment( color) coat) of your leather by the manufacturer to protect the seats from sweat, sun, moisture, and stains.
This is always the "catch" with using anything outside of a dedicated leather cleaner; You can clean the leather AMAZINGLY well, but often at a cost. Once the clear is gone, it won't be long till the color is too. On old leather where you think the clear is already gone, you REALLY have to be careful what you use to clean.
If you're seeing dye coming off on your towel/rag, that means the clear polycoat is no longer there. Be careful from that point on or you'll need to replace or redye the area(s).
Remember, anything abrasive or harshly solvent can and will remove the clear polyurethane coating put over the pigment( color) coat) of your leather by the manufacturer to protect the seats from sweat, sun, moisture, and stains.
This is always the "catch" with using anything outside of a dedicated leather cleaner; You can clean the leather AMAZINGLY well, but often at a cost. Once the clear is gone, it won't be long till the color is too. On old leather where you think the clear is already gone, you REALLY have to be careful what you use to clean.
I know that there is that danger using stronger cleaning agents but I even saw what looked to be a little dye coming off on the rag when using woolite and water. My problem and what seems to be several others problem is there is a hard shiny waxy layer of dirt and grime on our leather that seems like it is stopping any kind of conditioning and softening even with Leatherique. Fast Orange or SoftScrub wo bleach seems to be one of the few products that can penetrate and lift this grime, melted hard dye, or whatever it is but unfortunately it seems to be lifting more dye up then leather cleaners as can be seen on the rags. From reading past threads it seems that older Lexus leather was more durable and higher quality and does not have this newer crappy sealant/protectant because people are able to use Fast Orange/Softscrub with good results and their leather gets softer where with the 98+ cars the dye treatment is too weak and comes off when using these cleaners even when scrubbing lightly and it seems impossible to condition or soften up your hard rough leather once it gets this way.
Do you recommend or hear of anything else that can be used to get this grime off? It seems like most leather cleaners are more or less made to be as easy and soft as they can for leather and do a poor job or are useless cleaning heavier soiled leathers and cannot penetrate this grime. I remember reading where Leatherique and some others have said to lightly wet sand really rough hard leather before treatments which I think would be worse then using a stronger cleaner. I think I saw a citrus based leather German cleaner called Wolfgang of something that may work better but I am not sure. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Last edited by UDel; 02-19-07 at 11:17 PM.
#30
I just started cleaning my seats today using this method.....
WOW.....
Major difference.Im talking about crazy results.Maybe its because my ES is a 95 and I dont think the previous owners ever cleaned the seats.They had tonsss of accumulated dirt on them.Too bad they didnt condition their seats either,I wouldnt have as many cracks.Either way the seats look 1,000,000 times better.I will post some pics later.Its dark right now.
WOW.....
Major difference.Im talking about crazy results.Maybe its because my ES is a 95 and I dont think the previous owners ever cleaned the seats.They had tonsss of accumulated dirt on them.Too bad they didnt condition their seats either,I wouldnt have as many cracks.Either way the seats look 1,000,000 times better.I will post some pics later.Its dark right now.