Leather seat longevity, wear and care
01-05-16, 05:33 PM
#16
Pole Position
The key thing about leather care is to always use the least aggressive method. Start soft and work your way up if you don't have satisfactory results. Never start off with harsh chemicals and tough brush.
Last edited by Unsober1; 01-05-16 at 07:50 PM. Reason: Spelling
01-06-16, 08:01 AM
#17
Advanced
+100 to dal
But I am going against the grain here and don't like Lexol at all. The soap is too drying and hard to get off while the conditioner is too oily and does not spread well.
Instead, I just use a soft cloth with warm water to clean, and if necessary (very rarely) to get hard stains out, I will use a diluted concentration of equestrian shampoo to clean stained areas (jeans suck on light leather). This is far better than any leather care product I've purchased in treating leather interiors, laminated or not. To condition, I use Leather Masters. It goes on and spreads well without leaving an oily/sticky residue like most products, and leaves the leather soft. Just be careful as some products use the oil to mask the accelerated drying that will occur due to the other chemicals present in the product. You will know because you will find yourself often reapplying these in a shorter and shorter time frame.
But I am going against the grain here and don't like Lexol at all. The soap is too drying and hard to get off while the conditioner is too oily and does not spread well.
Instead, I just use a soft cloth with warm water to clean, and if necessary (very rarely) to get hard stains out, I will use a diluted concentration of equestrian shampoo to clean stained areas (jeans suck on light leather). This is far better than any leather care product I've purchased in treating leather interiors, laminated or not. To condition, I use Leather Masters. It goes on and spreads well without leaving an oily/sticky residue like most products, and leaves the leather soft. Just be careful as some products use the oil to mask the accelerated drying that will occur due to the other chemicals present in the product. You will know because you will find yourself often reapplying these in a shorter and shorter time frame.
I will also suggest when using ANY cleaner for the first time "Experiment" on a "not easily seen" area of leather (EG: seat side) with a white towel to make sure the cleaner does not remove any of the dye..... If you see the white towel "lifting" the dye out of the leather stop immediately and go to a milder cleaner. Just because the bottle says "leather cleaner" does not mean it will not pull the dye from your leather. Leather Masters has quality products devoted to leather that are well tested and I also suggest to avoid the "one bottle does all leather, vinyl, plastic, rubber conditioners" on leather.
I have used Lexol and it also works well but jumped over to Leather Masters about 6 years ago.
01-06-16, 08:42 AM
#18
Can't speak to older vehicles but ALL new vehicles have leather that has an impermiable clear coat applied in the last stage of treatment. Supposedly for protection and longevity. I used to swear by Leatherique and truly believed it "conditioned and preserved" the leather in my cars. When I realized it was just sitting on top of this clear coat (and not soaking in and conditioning the leather), I stopped using it.
Given this information (you can find it on the RX300 forum) I now use a clean cloth soaked in warm soapy water and then wrung out to clean the leather - just like the owners manual states. Seems to work just as well as all those leather products I used to use.
Given this information (you can find it on the RX300 forum) I now use a clean cloth soaked in warm soapy water and then wrung out to clean the leather - just like the owners manual states. Seems to work just as well as all those leather products I used to use.
01-06-16, 10:39 PM
#19
Lexus Fanatic
Theres a great thread in the Detailing section of this site called "Everything you ever wanted to know about Lexus leather" I would recommend you check that out.
01-07-16, 09:29 AM
#20
Pole Position
Lexol has been my leather cleaning & treatment preference for years. I had a nice leather Motorcycle jacket that I had for 35 years that was recently ruined in a fire that destroyed everything...but until that day, the jacket looked as almost good as new. I never had problems with either the soap over-drying, or the conditioner being too oily whatsoever. In fact, my experience was quite the opposite- I questioned its effectiveness at first due to no residues whatsoever. But time showed Lexol to do the job, and do it well.
We also used it in our car's (non-Lexus) leather seats...and after 8 solid years of family use the light wheat-colored leather looked virtually new. NO cracks, tears, or anything.
I'm sure there are other great leather care products, I've just never had to go that direction.
We also used it in our car's (non-Lexus) leather seats...and after 8 solid years of family use the light wheat-colored leather looked virtually new. NO cracks, tears, or anything.
I'm sure there are other great leather care products, I've just never had to go that direction.
Last edited by 1BlinkGone; 01-07-16 at 09:34 AM.
01-07-16, 09:37 AM
#21
Lexus Fanatic
I never had problems with either the soap over-drying, or the conditioner being too oily whatsoever. In fact, my experience was quite the opposite- I questioned its effectiveness at first due to no residues whatsoever
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