Cleaning Ferrari Leather

I would like to know, from someone with experience, which products to use to clean the interior leather on a 2010 Cal, without changing the finish from flat to shiny. Thanks

 

I use Meguiar's Gold Class Rich Leather Cleaner/Conditioner (liquid). I also have their wipes, but those don't seem to work very well for me. I drive with the top down most of the time, and get carbon soot on the rear deck and rear seats along the top. I use 6" foam round applicators, and then use a soft microfiber cloth to wipe dry. I do this about every 3 months or so (mostly due to the soot). Ferrari San Diego uses the wipes when they service the car, also.

If you want to explore your options, go to autogeek.net's leather care page (Leather Cleaning and Care: clean and condition leather seats with premium leather care products. leather care, leather cleaner, auto leather cleaner, ) and you can find any number of products. The site is great for general info on taking care of your car (it's the "F-Chat" for detailers) so I'm sure you will find something you like if the Meguiar's doesn't suit you.

 

By coincidence, I just got my new FF back from my detailer of choice. I noticed how great the leather felt and looked: No shine or greasy surface, just soft and natural. I asked him what he used, and it turned out to be Einszett Leather Care. So I got some.
1Z Einszett Leather Care

 

I use Johnson's Baby Wipes. They work a treat.

 

Yeah, but what about for the leather in your car??

 

To clean and keep the OEM matte finish I recommend using Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil followed by Leatherique Prestine Clean. Winter months takes quite a bit more effort to heat up the leather during the Oil clean/bake process but worth the effort if it cannot wait.

 

I have used Lexol Conditioner and Lexol Cleaner on all three Ferrari's since 2009. The products seem to work well and add to the 'leather smell'. It removes the blue jeans stain from the Crema center of my seats in my FF.

Rick

 

That's what I recommend using, great results!

 

LTT ultrafoam. The best.

 

hahaha

 

Are you sure conditioners do something in actual waterproof leathers?

Do You Have Finished or Unfinished Leather Furniture? - YouTube

 

Leatherique Pristine Clean or 1z Einszett Cockpit. Then condition with either Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil or Leathermaster Vital.

 

I've tried a lot of different leather conditioners. Zymol is the best. It soaks in, does not streak and does not make the leather look shiny. It's expensive but worth it.

 

I have black leather with red stitching on my 360 - a friend has black with red stitching on his 458.
We are both investigating how to best clean / preserve the leather.

Do you need to cover the stitching with tape or something before applying these leather treatments. We don't want our stitching to become discolored.

 

always neutral ph (for leather) foam...

 

zymol is outstanding. I've tried Lexol and Macquires - zmol better.

 

After all of these answers, try one but stay the heck away from Armor All! I had a Porsche 928, sold it to a guy that had his Fiat totally Armor All'd and I warned him not to use it on Porsche leather (mine was perfect on this 928). A month or so later he called to ask if the dash leather was pealing on it ... I asked him if he ArmorAll'd it and I heard silence ... so I did a quiet Told You So. He destroyed its leather.

Rick

 

I have three cars with this leather my mondial t, my modena spider and my new 911 (with super premium upgrade). I learned that you need a water based leather cleaner for cleaning and a very light conditioner a couple of times a year specifically for this type of leather. This information comes from the people who process the leather whom I finally called because I was tired of having streaking and a film with other leather products. Leatherique is phenomenal for restoring very dry old leather (used it in my modial), but was overkill for supple new leather. So, leather masters makes a line of cleaners for this type of leather (as well as for many others) and I have the best results with their water based gentle cleaning solution and a biannual leather master protection cream. Additionally, foam applicators and not rags minimizes the amount of product applied and seems to improve the results. The products are made in Italy for those who care and are apparently non-toxic. I really like the fact that neither of them discolor the beautiful contrast stitching in the car. Yellow contrast stitching is easy to soil. Hope this helps.

 

Say it aint so! I hate hearing about a 928 being damaged. But yes, always stay away from Armor All.

 

I too have tried a bunch of stuff. For the normal sealed leathers in most cars meguiar's works fine. But, for the top grain aniline dyed in the Ferrari and upgraded premium leather in porsche's the leather masters is by far the best. Zymol is also descent. But leather masters is water based, can get out almost any grime, leaves the color and sheen unchanged and brings back some of the original leather smell. I use their standard cleaner whenever it gets dirty and the conditioner about every 6months since it's so hot in Texas. It worked well on my leatherique restored 1980's leather and my f430 as well.

 

Thanks for the input !

 

I've had pretty good results just using warm water to clean the leather on my 360, California and 458 spider.

The leather used in the 360 and older was more delicate and from a different supplier.

The leather in the Cali and 458 is sourced from Poltrona Frau, an Italian furniture company.

The Poltrona Frau is much more durable and better to my eye in all respects.

I don't like shiny looking leather which is what you tend to get using aftermarket products.

You can buy stuff specifically designed to use on Poltrona
Frau leather directly from PF or indirectly sold by Ferrari Imterior care which is sourced from PF.

BTW LDM is a major shareholder in PF

 

Anyone use griot garage leather care? Thinking about it for new 458...

 

I've used it on a daily driver years ago with OK results. I would not use it on Ferrari leather as there are better products available. As you know, it always best to clean the leather, even with mild soap and warm water, let it dry overnight, then apply the conditioner.

 

I got it recently based on a recommendation in another car forum. It was suggested for the arm rest that gets really dirty from hand marks. It works better than anything else I've tried on my Lexus, but I wouldn't use it on my 612. It doesn't get as dirty and I prefer Zaino leather care for conditioning, and I still use Zaino on the Lexus.