Leather dash protection of 360

If this dash is made of aniline leather (I don't know when they went to semi-aniline), you should protect it a certain way.

First thing to realize that there are two primary enemies of the dash...heat and sun. Period. Using a sunshade will be a really good idea.

How do you tell if the leather is pure aniline? Do a water drop test. First, clean an area of the dash with a leather-safe all purpose cleaner, like diluted Meguair's APC or HD Total. You could also use Leather Master Strong cleaner. This step is done to remove all prior products from the leather as much as possible.

Then, drip several drops of water onto the dash leather and let it sit. If the water soaks into the leather within 15 minutes, then it is partially or uncoated leather and only certain products should be used.

I would use one of two lines of product: Leather Master products or Leatherique products.

I have used them both, and each one has supporters and detractors. I find Leather Master to be easier products to apply as far as messiness and time. But you won't go wrong with either one.

If the water beads and stays beaded on the leather, then it is likely coated leather and you should focus on products that decrease abrasion damage, such as any number of the leather "potions" on the market. Products like the above two do not significantly "soak" into coated leathers. Nothing much really does.

 

I think the bigger issue is the frequency of care. Attached is a snap shot from your owners manual. "At least" 3-4 times per year. It's a lot of work! I used leatherique once a year for the first two years with other products periodically but I use Zaino Z-10 every few months now. I think if you stick with a leather only product that is a cream and do it every couple of months during your ownership you should be OK. I suspect that cars with messed up leather were owned by persons who did not have the time to spend caring for the interior because it is a lot of work.
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Hi Kevin, Hi Pete... Thank you for your informative replies. If I may interject an additional question - do you add a leather cleaner to your conditioner regimen? For example, in addition you something like Z-10, do you also use the Z-9 cleaner? If so, how frequently?
Thank you, in advance...T

 

I have the Z-9 and use it infrequently on the steering wheel and floormats (mine are leather), some times on the door arms but I keep my car in a constant concourse show ready state so I do not have any real dirt to contend with.

 

Thank you!
T

 

I've always used Leatherique on my 2003 Modena 360 and my dash is like new with no issues. Just follow the directions using cleaner and restorer. Only issue was the stickies on the Vents which was easy to resolve. When parking in the bright sun in heat always use a sun shield. The 360 is not a coated leather like todays new cars. Also the leather is surface dyed, not Vat dyed.

 

Did you use the cleaner first ?

 

Whichever product you go with make sure it has a UV protectant. The better leather conditioners have it built into the product.

 

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