Leather cleaners - Lexol vs Leatherique

Yes I have used it to wax both my Ferrari and Porsche. Works great and easy to apply just put it on and wipe it right off. I bought the sample size to try out and I like it is a combination of caranuba and a nano wax (whatever that means)

 

A friend and trusted college Gary Nolan of Diamond trim in Aurora ( THE premier interior guy in Canada id say)told me a story of how guys bring their unused garage queens to him and say " I don't understand how this leather got this way??" i never park in the sun... all i do is I go to the garage once a month and condition it with ........!"
He then went on to say 90 percent or more of ALL leather cleaner/conditioners contain silicone ( Lexol and Leatherique don't Connolly hide food does!) Silicone plugs the pours of the leather and overtime stops the volatile oils used in the tanning process from doing their protective job and eventually the leathers hardens up and dries out thus the need for more product!!
He recommends a mild UV protectant spray ( silicone free of course ) is vital to the life cycle and to clean with mild soap and warm water when dirty enough .
I cant personally live with the water and soap thing so i use a UV protectant especially on the dash top and Lexol with great results .

Gary

71 Espada
8304
63 EtypeFHC
887465

 

I know leatherique has been around a while (just look at the packaging!) but a lot of these others haven't. This makes a lot of sense. Right after you use some of these newest products the seats probably look killer but sounds like you pay in the long run for 'ease of use'.

 

Anyone use the Ferrari leather care kit? Just wondering if the OEM kit from Ferrari is any good.

 

The Ferrari OEM kit is made by furniture maker Poltrona Frau. Very good quality.

 

Any updates here? I live close to Griots garage so locally it's a favorite but I've had a few negatives in the forum with regards to new ferrari leather and griots (my car is a 2014 458) so although I have some time I want to keep it up. Leathereque sounds great but more for old hard leather. I guess I could experiment in my Pani GTS which is a year old but don't really want to in that car either. Unfortunately my wife's MB is leather-tech fake.

 

I've used just about everything and for the last 8 yrs have used Leatherique almost exclusively. Leatherique has multi products ,but for leather conditioning and cleaning use the oil first, then after it has set for a day or so use the cleaner separately. This is prob. opposite than most products. Obviously if you are going to just clean the upholstery use the Leatherique cleaner . Have used Lexol in the past and found it a favorable product as is Zaino. For whatever reason however to me the Leatherique is just something special for your leather.

 

Leatherique trashed my interior so badly I had to have it redone. I use lexol.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/308-328/381369-leatherique-products-damaged-my-seats.html

 

In my Dino I used to use Connolly hide food (which i read a few posts above is actually bad) and never had any issues. On my 360 when I bought it there was a nice leather smell when I opened the door, during my first cleaning I found a piece of rough leather under each seat and also some "leather smell" packets. I of course removed them and now have NO leather smell in my car, none at all.

Because I was out of Connoly I tried Lexol and it brings the smell back but only for a day or 2, I am assuming my leather is sealed with some improper product from a previous owner and was thinking of trying leatherique to really clean it up.

Any suggestions ? Leather looks fine, no rips, no major wear, just no leather smell.

 

Based on some of the comments here, I bought the Griot's Garage leather cleaner (Advanced Auto in Illinois sells Griot's items). I'm very happy with it and it actually does smell like leather! I was just looking for a simple cleaner with a good leather scent and this was it.

 

I use gliptone on all my cars,I think it last longer and smells like leather.

 

The Ferrari OEM kit is made by Reuters SpA... which brand's their products as Leather Masters in the United States...

IMO, for day-to-day care of modern coated leathers, Leather Master-brand products are the best. Most high end detailers use Leather Masters and for good reason. All they do is make products for textile, vinyl and leather surfaces. They are the manufacturer of many of the high-end furniture and leather companies house brand products.

If you want the best in any category, by from the maker. There is a reason Ferrri sub's their brakes out to Brembo and their leather care to Leather Master.

 

I’m a fan of leatherique. It’s really not that difficult a process - apply the conditioner, leave a day, wipe with the cleaner and buff. Repeat for bad conditions. It leaves the leather like new, definitely cleans - see your rinse water - it’s filthy - and no matter if light or dark leather. The result is supple and like new. Just use the cleaner for touch up over time. Doing my f355 door cards and the 456m glove box...

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Zaino, leather cleaner and leather conditioner. 37 cars owned in my life so far, and this stuff is the best I’ve ever used on any leather

 

I've used Leatherique, lexol, hide food, and griot's. Leatherique has been my favorite. My understanding was that pristine clean was a cleaner and conditioner. I keep it in a spray bottle, and spray a microfiber with it, and do a quick wipe down when I wash/vacuum. I've used it that way for 15 years, and it's worked well. It's been a long time since I've used Lexol and hide food, but the griot's I tried recently, and felt it left the leather too greasy.

I do the rejuvinator as well, but not very often as it takes some time. It does a nice job on distressed leather.

 

Used to use Lexol a long while back, but switched to Leatherque approx. 2005 and have been very satisfied. It is a longer process, but the results are very satisfying with beautiful supple leather. My Modena a 2003 was treated with it and must say it looked as good as day one with beautiful dash , no shrinkage, supple seats, no bead chafe on the boosters. It is a 2 process job for the full treatment best done with it hot outside. Treat with oil 1st. then pull out in the heat for approx 7-8 hrs windows up. Allow it to stay on 24 hrs. Then you put the Prestine Cleaner on with a damp micro fiber cloth to remove dirt,soiled leather,excess of the initial Leathereque oil. Buff with clean microfiber. At shorter intervals 4-6 mo. just apply Prestine portion to clean or add moisture.
NB. Leather has changed on most cars as it now has a coating on it from the factory and if you note in your owners man. it says clean with Micro and water you prob. have this type of leather (coated), follow the direction & do not use these oil type products. Use product such as Leather Care ( Lederpfege). Too my knowledge Ferrari still uses non coated so oil products are ok.

 

I have been using Bickmore Bick 4 Leather conditioner for the last year or so and it is great. I like the Zaino stuff but they wont ship it to my house so it's less convenient. Amazon ships the Bickmore in a couple days. I am pretty fussy about products and this is good stuff. The leather smell is in tact! But to be honest I used the Zaino Z-10 for a couple years prior so maybe this is just keeping that scent going?

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So if the leather is coated to the point that you only clean it with water how is it really any different then sitting on a vinyl seat?

 

We use this stuff to clean some of my daughters tack for her horse. pretty reliable stuff

 

I bought lexol and when I was going to clean my leather (it's basically new leather, 2017) I realized that it will be absorbed in the white stiches.
Which made me worried.
Is it safe? I don't want the white stiches to get discolored or get ruined in the cleaning process


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app

 

Info how to care for your leather seats, dashboard and door panels.

The three most common types of automotive leather are:

Aniline: Leather that has been dyed and coated with a pigment (colored urethane paint) to yield uniform color and then clear coated. This type of leather does not reveal scars, pores and blemishes and has an artificial uniform grain pattern embossed. It is typically the only real leather in the seat and located only in the center inserts of the seat. The sides, bolsters, etc., are vinyl painted with the same colored urethane paint so it matches the leather inserts perfectly giving the entire seat a "leather" look. This is what 99% of cars have including Corvette, Escalade, newer Ferrari and Lamborghini. To demonstrate this just put a drop of water on your seat and see if it soaks in. It will not soak in as the leather has a painted on urethane coating on it. If water can't penetrate the coating how can "conditioners" and "protectants?" Read on.....

Semi-Aniline: Leather that has been dyed and coated with a semi-transparent pigment then clear coated This type of leather may reveal some of the underlying scars and blemishes of the hide as well as some color and grain changes. Almost never seen in the past twenty years.

Synthetic (aka vinyl): Much of the leather, and in some, all of the leather in many of today's vehicles is entirely synthetic or engineered leather. It looks like real leather but is really entirely synthetic. This is in use in some high ticket brands like Lexus, MB and Infinity for example. It is often difficult to tell what is real leather and what is engineered leather.

The bottom line is 99.9% of cars sold today have leather only on the middle insert of the seat bottom and back. The sides are completely 100% vinyl. The color and texture of the vinyl matches the leather inserts perfectly as they are all sprayed with a colored urethane coating. A perfect way to demonstrate they are vinyl is the water drop test outlined above. Another way is pull some of the seat siding out from underneath the seat. Notice there is a very thin foam or cloth backing? Real leather (from real cows) doesn't have foam backing on it.

Have you noticed the change in new car window stickers when referring to the seats? They now call the interior "leather lined," or "leather trim." Just take a look at a new C7 Corvette window sticker. They don't say "leather seats" like they used to. Now the C7 window sticker says, "Trim, Leather." This is because only the center inserts are actually leather! The remainder of the seat is vinyl. Remember, vinyl has a thin foam or cloth backing on it.

Everyone seems to like the term "conditioner," but just what is conditioning? When leather professionals speak of “conditioning leather” they are usually speaking about leather hydration. Properly hydrated leather will be soft, plump and flexible making it resistant to creasing and cracking. Most traditional conditioners are typically oily or contain silicone, wax or things like Aloe or Neat's-foot or Mink oil. No protected, urethane coated, leather needs or benefits from these things. Conditioning products were initially designed for a much different type of leather like car seat who were 100% uncoated leather back in the 60's and 70's. Remember, none of these conditioners can absorb through the urethane coating making them useless.

Most conditioners leave a film on protected leather that can hasten the accumulation of soil. Dirt is attracted to the oil as it sits on top of the urethane coating and in the stitching. Your butt rubbing back and forth across this dirt acts like sandpaper and actually buffs the colored urethane coating off. This is frequently the cause of early bolster wear!

Conditioners do not penetrate the urethane painted top coat to condition the leather. True, some of the H2o in these conditioners evaporates and raises the relative humidity in the car cockpit which is beneficial as the leather will pick up the molecular H2o through the process of transpiration. Transpiration is the process by which moisture is carried through humidity to small pores on the underside of the leather/vinyl, where it changes to vapor and is released to the atmosphere. The leather/vinyl can absorb this through the untreated, underside of the material. However, a damp wipe down with a towel will do this as well and not leave that soil grabbing film.

Keep in mind that the colored urethane topcoat was added to the leather for the purpose of preventing spills and liquids from getting to the leather, as well as hiding the leather’s underlying scars, and blemishes, while making the leather more abrasion resistant. The urethane topcoat is colored so all of the surfaces of the seat match the door panels, dashboard, etc. If they did not contain coloring, every single piece of "leather" in your car would not match.

Leather conditioners do nothing to prevent stains or dye transfer. If your leather has developed cracks, using an oily conditioner may further degrade the adhesion of the painted topcoat around the crack and make the damage worse. Doesn't wet paper tear much easier than dry paper?

So how does this painted on protective urethane coating work and still allow the leather to stay hydrated? Much the same way as a rain coat would protect you from a driving rain. At the same time the rain is being repelled, you will begin to notice that your clothing is becoming damp due to the 100% humidity level. That's basically how your leather stays hydrated, at the molecular level. If you want to test this put a drop of water on your protected leather in an inconspicuous place and leave for 15-20 minutes and you will see that it does not soak in. That is the urethane top coat preventing the absorption of the liquid as it was designed to do. H2o is a small molecule when compared to an oily conditioner so if water is not being absorbed by the leather, the larger molecules of a conditioner certainly are not.

Ok, so for those who insist that their leather feels softer after using a conditioner I can suggest three reasons for this. The first is that the conditioner has left an oily film on the leather and it altered the "hand" or feel of the leather. It has not really done anything to the leather, as it can't get to the leather, but it makes the hand feel nice for a short time until it is rubbed off or evaporates.

The other reason is that the conditioner likely contains a good deal of water and that it is raising the humidity level in the proximity of the leather. If this happens, the leather may absorb the water molecules and plump up and feel softer. The thing about this is that a wipe down with a wrung out watered cotton towel would accomplish the exact same thing.

Leather is made soft in the tanning process and then sealed. You cannot add oils back through the urethane topcoat of protected leather. Leather becomes hard if it loses its needed hydration. Dry leather shrinks and feels hard. Much the same way a chamois gets hard when it is dry. Rehydrate the chamois and it becomes soft again. Rehydrate unprotected leather seats and they should soften to the degree designed in the original tanning process. Think about it.

I never use products that contain neat's-foot, mink, or other oils, silicone, aloe, or any other odd, useless item, but often the labels doesn't tell you what is in the bottle. This includes Leatherique, Lexol, 303 Protectant, Armor All, Zaino, etc., etc. In my experience, these products do nothing but sit on top of the urethane top coating until your clothing wipes them off. In the meantime, they collect dust and dirt which is then ground into your seats and stitching as you slide across the seat getting in and out much like sandpaper. 90% of your seat damage comes from this!

I vacuum the leather in my C6, Ferrari 360 and Lambo Gallardo and wipe it down with a wrung out watered (damp) towel weekly. This includes dashboard, door inserts, etc. When they get dirty, I clean them with delicate soap like Woolite (20 to 1 ratio) or a highly diluted all-purpose cleaner, A very nice, gentle product is Leathermasters Foam Cleaner. You can buy it at AutoGeek, Amazon, EBay, etc. Leather Master Foam Cleaner is suitable for all leather types including Aniline, Protected, Synthetic (vinyl), Nubuck and Suede Leather.

After cleaning, and before the seats dry, get the cleaning product out/off the seats with a wet towel. Not a damp towel, a wet, but not dripping wet, towel. Finish by wiping off and sucking up the moisture from the wet towel with a dry towel. Use several dry towels if necessary. The key is to absorb as much of the cleaner as possible. This ensures all of the cleaner was removed. Just a damp towel for normal maintenance and cleaning. That is it! Your leather will look like brand new for many years to come! My C6 is ten years old and the seats still look like brand new!

You are going to read a lot of people who make comments disagreeing with me. Just conduct the two above tests and make your own decisions. Does a drop of water soak into the seat or just sit on top until it evaporates? Does the backing of your seat material on the side pieces (bolster) have foam or cloth on the back? Remember, your seats may feel softer after applying a "conditioner," but go back in a day or two and see if they still feel that way. Once the conditioner dries on the seats and on your hands, this softness is gone!

Last example how leather needs nothing more than a simple wipe with a damp cloth. You know that fine leather and recliner couch you own? When was the last time you conditioned it with Lexol, Leatherique, Zaino, etc.? Never! And I bet it still looks like brand new. How could this be if you need to smear leather conditioner and cleaners all over it all the time? Truth be known....do nothing and it will last forever!!!! Enuf said!

 

Lexol is alright, it does the job. I stick with Griot's or Adams though, a little higher end. I have a friend who uses Leatherique with good results though. You can use a magic eraser to remove stains on tan leather without hurting it. Just follow up with a conditioner.

 

I use Connolly Hide Care on my 328 and will use it in the future on my newly acquired 355. I apply lightly once a year with my bare hands and I lightly buff the leather the following day with a microfiber cloth. In my case, my cars have Connolly leather, so I choose to use this product. Also, it applies nicely from the warmth of bare hands. Lastly, worth noting, my cars are not drivers, they are show cars. Other products may be better for cars that get much more wear.

 

Jeff - that product licenses the name. It's not made by Connolly (I have no experience with the product aside from looking into it many years ago)

BTW, the new company is: http://www.connollybros.co.uk/index.html

I've exchanged some emails with them and have beige 4208 and nero 8500 leather samples on my desk.

 

Yes, I know it’s origins. The original recipe was acquired by the current manufacturer after the demise of Connolly. It’s the same product that was originally produced. I’m very happy with it. It applies nicely and has an excellent scent (though it doesn’t linger). It also is relatively easy it lightly buff off the excess.