Those that have used leatherique....can you share directions and tips? Do I need dye

did not see any pictures. but here is how I understand ( and do my self ) with Leathique products:

1. use pristine clean in spray bottle and rub in using a soft cloth - i use micro fiber ... then keep turning until the seat is getting cleaner.

2. then apply rejuvinator oil liberaly - rub in well, using moderate pressure - depending on how supple your leather is. work it in until its absorbed. for hard leather park the car in direct sun after the initial application - and let set for hour or more.

3. after an hour - you will either see - a white gunk kind of coming up out of the seats, or a whitish film. this is all the silicone stuff coming out. use more pristine clean to get the white stuff out - and rub vigorously to work it in the pores of the leather. apply as much as it takes to get all the crappy gunk out.

4. once the seats are clean - no more white stuff, or grit. then I put more rejuvinator oil on and let sit over night - and then do a final buff with pristine clean - once its dry - then buff with micro fiber cloth - leather is soft, and should have a smooth med gloss shine.

beware - if you use rejuvinator oil on a dash - your widshield will have a film on it after it gets hot in the sun...

 

I haven't really tried the prestine clean yet, just use the oil so far but will try it this summer when it's hot enough. According to my detail guy, the trick to prestine clean is to sweat the surfaces. Spray or wipe it on liberally and then cover the services with trash bags with the car parked in direct sun middle of summer and shut the doors. Come back hours later with a cool, wet cloth and wipe down the surfaces. This is what I've been told to do, so hearsay only, but from a guy who does it for a living.

 

I don't think any of that is according to the directions. It may work well for you, but what I read is: Oil before any pristine clean. Clean with pristine clean to remove the results. You are done No second application of oil after that.

 

How many hours are in a "hot sunny day for a day"? There's your hours right there.

 

I believe your supposed to massage it in by hand. I remember it being very messy. But the results were pretty amazing. Start it in the morning before it gets really hot and leave your car out in the sun. That's supposed to help the leather sweat out any contaminants.

 

I'm hesitant to jump in here because I've never used this product and certainly have no intention of disparaging it. That said, I was told by a leather detailer specializing in very expensive corporate jet aircraft to never use leather oils, treatments, or cleaners on really fine upholstery quality leather if your goal is to keep it clean and like new condition. (Repairing damaged leather is another subject). His recommendation was to use Ivory bar soap rubbed on a damp white cotton wash cloth to gently clean the leather. Once done, allow leather to dry and go back over with a clean dry cloth which leaves the leather soft and supple. This leaves just the right amount of oil in the leather to keep it soft and doesn't attract or hold dirt the way oil treatments may. FWIW, I have followed this recommendation for years with very good results.

 

I bought it years ago, wasn't really a fan. Still have most of it.

I've heard rave reviews, but it wasn't my experience.

And it annoys me the way they spell 'prestine'. But it's trademarked, so I guess that makes the misspelling ok.

 

Been using Leatherique products for years with great results. The Leather Rejuvenator and Prestine Clean work well with leather that is in reasonably good condition and hasn't dried out to the point where the leather is faded or is severely cracking or tearing. Your seats appear to be in good condition and should benefit from them. I apply the Rejuvenator oil generously by hand, rubbing it into the leather and then cover the seats with a clear plastic. I use plastic seat covers like what a car dealer/oil change shop might use to cover your seats when your car is being serviced. I let the Rejuvenator oil soak overnight and occasionally will heat it with a hair dryer on a low setting. I follow up by removing the Rejuvenator Oil with Prestine Clean using a cotton towel(s). Found the oil tends to soften the leather and the cleaner does a good job keeping the seats looking nice.

 

I've been on/off looking for a good leather care product, and the first time I noticed Piper mentioned Leatherique, I started reading up about it.

Since then I spent lots of time reading up about the different kinds of leathers and various topcoats and found that Leatherique is mostly meant for non-coated leathers, like you find on older cars. Newer cars have topcoated leather, think of it as a clearcoat on your seats. Some say conditioners can't even penetrate the topcoat, some say it is absorbed through the pores, stitching or microscopic tears. Opinions don't matter to me, but in some cases Leatherique HAS damaged the topcoat.

Lately I've been seeing good reviews about Gliptone, a water based cleaner and conditioner that seems to be safer than Leatherique. It's a milder formula which reads as safer to me.

If anyone feels like reading through 60-some online pages of feedback, reviews and information, let me know and I'll try to dig it up again.

 

Also, one thing to consider is modern topcoated leather will not fade/dry/crack like the leather from a few decades ago.

So Leatherique might be preserving an interior, but at the same time it might just be sitting on top of an already soft and self-preserved surface.

 

Used in in 360 and 430 with great results. Very easy to use as follows...

1. Apply a ton of oil on the seats. I just pour on the seat the slather with gloved hands.
2. Let the oil sit for days to a week in a hot garage. I've covered with a Glad trash bag as well but not sure if it was any better. Just let it sit until it get tacky.
3. Use Prestine clean with wipe it away. You can use a brush on extra dirty area but I can get almost everything out just using a yet microfiber towel.
4. Buff with clean towel.

Very easy to use and I like it because the leather feels clean without being shiny or slippery. It also gets the leather super soft and supple.

 

Talking about new car leather. Looked at 2015 Honda with leather seats. Could of fooled me. Didn't even look like the leather I'm used to seeing. Maybe its made from fish.

 

I corrected an 04 Accord that had been an Arizona car until last year. Amazing results. Has maintained my exotics well also but they had never been in bad shape.

Oil first. I like to use thick surgical gloves and massage it in. No hurry. Dont miss any spots. Can get tacky - just keep going and add more where the leather drinks it up.

Best to remove head rests and do them out of the car imho.

Let sit.

For areas that appear cracked (often they are not, it is really very dirty wrinkles) i use a very soft horse hair brush. Or if something is dirty i hit it with the brush but otherwise the oil will draw the dirt out.

I get a couple $10 microfiber packs from home depot for the wipe-off.

I put Clean in a spray bottle and slowly start to rub it with gloves and towel. This is where you may see a lot of dirt and can be time consuming for a car that had never been cleaned.

After you are done look for spots you missed the next day where it looks more oily or feels tacky.

Leather will be more grippy after treatment - will go away in couple days to give you more "slide" in the seat.

Good to keep ferrari dash hydrated too!

 

Use of Gliptone is mentioned in the Sales thread, http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/ferraris/482505-1986-ferrari-328-gts-yellow-brown.html along with some discussion of leather shrinkage and dye removal. (Correlation doesn't necessarily imply cause and effect though.)

Leatherique has worked well for my 328 using the procedures described by others here - liberally rub the oil in by hand, allow to set, then apply the cleaner and wipe with damp cloth, followed by light buffing with soft cloth. The seats are original with no re-dying having been applied.

 

Hot summer day means the interior of the car is above 90dF for at least 5 hours.

 

Thank you for the link. I wonder if the seat leather was original or had been dyed at some point?

Not defending Gliptone, as I don't even own the product, but I'm trying to learn everything about every premium brand before applying anything to my leather.

Let me ask this then, has anyone here seen any firsthand detriment or damage by using Leatherique?

 

I've only used it on my cayenne tts, my 612 and my 599, and only the oil. I've been extremely, extremely pleased with the results in all cases, but that's very limited experience obviously.

 

In my experience it has the effect of lightening black leather (at least black Ferrari leather).

 

Mine are tan and cuoio

 

To the OP: Did you buy the kit that comes with the brush? I would treat the leather with the oil as has been discussed above and see how the seat turns out. When removing the oil with the pristine clean you can use the brush to gently agitate the surface of that bolster but you do not want to dig in vigorously and damage the leather. My guess is you will be amazed with the results. I have used this on my 360 as well as full grain leather furniture all with great results. I was nervous with the full grain leather but it worked great and there are very few things I would use on those surfaces.

Do it and post the results.

 

The stuff is a pain in the butt to use (you have to apply it, leave it out in the sun, it looks crappy (first time I used it I was worried) and then ideally after a few hours in the warm/summer/hot sun, you need to go and wipe it off, clean up everything- don't worry it will come off and look great). It does work quite well and it helps moisturize the leather- even brings out the leather smell! It's one of the car cleaning chores I hate doing, but I used it in my 360 1x each year (my 360 had great condition leather), and will use it for the first time in my new to me 355 which also has great condition leather. I don't bother with rubber gloves- the stuff actually makes your hands very soft using it (weird side effect) but then I mow the lawn or go to the gym and get man hands back again- ha!

I normally never leave my car sitting in the sun like that for hours due to all the leather/leather dash the 360 had and the 355 has, but with this stuff once you rub it in, it helps it bake into the leather and is recommended as part of the process before you clean it all up.

One more note, my 360 had a driver's side seat bolster that was re-dyed by the dealer I purchased the car from. After using this stuff for several years I never noticed any of the dye coming off, so it seems to be safe to use on re-dyed parts if anyone is concerned...

This stuff doesn't leave a cheezy armor all shine or feel, which is exactly what I wanted- natural leather feel, look, smell (I never understood that wet look some people get with the armor all...I will admit I used to use armor all but it was in the 80's when there was lots of cheezy stuff in general- ha!)

 

You guys are all using this on new cars with modern leather. On the older stuff it can behave differently. There are some threads already on here about this when it comes to vintage cars.

Glad to hear it works well on the new leather though.

 

I have been using it on my two 328s for seven years now and I am very satisfied with the results, but it didn't come in a flash: it took some time and repeated applications of the whole treatment process before the effects began to be seen or felt. I now do it twice a years on both cars, three times on the GTS if I have had the chance of some top-off motoring (not always guaranteed where I live).

I then tried it on other pieces of leather furniture, among these notably:
- a big leather couch I have, padded "chersterfield" like as we often say here which is now about 30 years old and loved it, and still loves it;
- on a padded leather door in the family house, which leather is now 240 years old (house build in 1774): it gave me the shakes when I tried it, but it worked very well.
- the only piece of leather on which I have experienced discoloration is a big leather armchair I have, which is also about 30 years old, and was originally tinted to look "weathered": new leather looking "patined" if you like: reddish-brown in color with some lighter spots; the Leatherique treatment equalised all this in a single unoiform color, so now the armchair, thirty years after having being prepared to look old, looks brand new...

Rgds