I have a jag xjs 86 ...I need to bring the leather seat back to life there in great shape .. they need a massage I guess.. what kind of product do you recommend, Thanks for your time

 

Renovo do some really great products for Leather and also for Soft Tops.

This is just an example: Have a look on ebay.

Make sure you get the right colour though, this ones for Black Leather.

RENOVO BLACK LEATHER REVIVER - CLEANER & PROTECTOR - *RE-COLOUR BLACK LEATHER* | eBay

 

There are dozens of archives threads on leather conditioning. Everybody has their own favorites.

Leatherique is popular (and pricey) but it usually well regarded for softening dry leather....if that's the problem your having.

I've also used Lexol, Gliptone, and a couple others and not unhappy with any of them.

If the leather is dry *it takes time* to soften it no matter what you use and, frankly, sometimes it's just too far gone

A mixture of neatsfoot oil and anhydrous lanolin also soften leather...but it's a bit messy

Others will chime in

Cheers
DD

 

I ditched all famous brands (hard to get here anyway), and treat my Vanden Plas Connery leather with Nivea skin cream.

Massaging it in with bare hand, let it sit for 24 hours, clean up the remains (most is normally gone) with some soft linen, and re-do the whole process a second time.
Finish it off with Zaino leather conditioner (which I love for the smell).
Using about a tin for the whole interior.

Well, the result is normaly terrible, but my hands are soft forever, and the wifes loves it .

Seriously, it works extremely well, and I repeat this process every spring.
But need to say the leather was far from beyond recovery, so it all depends on your seats.

 

I often wondered about using skin cream. After all, leather is skin, isn't it?

Cheers
DD

 

Leather is skin, but skin is not usually painted....
There appears to be a lot of debate about just how much any leather treatment is actually going to soak into the leather. In many cases, it seems, the treatment will just sit on the surface rather than soaking in. You need something formulated for the right leather - dyed vs. painted. One site I read put the cutoff as around 1990.

In my case, I am currently using Autoglym, as (a) there's not a huge variety here either, and (b) if it's good enough for Her Royal Majesty's bottom to sit on, it's good enough for mine. I hope....

Actually, I do wonder about something - just how soft should the leather be? Mine is certainly flexible and doesn't feel dried out, but I certainly wouldn't call it buttery-soft or anything. At any rate, I'm using Autoglym Leather Balm as often as I remember/get the chance to see if I can't make them softer - and I'm suspicious about how often they got treated by the PO....

 

Jags used many grades over leather over the years.

My 80's vintage Jags have all had a (seemingly) rather thick leather that never had that soft 'glove leather' feel. My 1995 XJR came closer to that feel, but still not as soft feeling as some others.

The 'Autolux' leather Jaguar used in the upper line models (until Connolly went under) had a bit of that buttery feel.

The 50s-60s models had the "Vaulmol" leather by Connolly. It was thinner, to my estimation, and softer...and had that pungent olde world leathery smell.

Cheers
DD

 

Mine being a V12 XJS from 1992, it should have Autolux, I hope. At least where they use leather, which isn't everywhere. I suspect my car feels closest to your 1980s cars, but perhaps should be more buttery if it is Autolux.
Once the Autoglym's used up, I'm going to try other brands. Maybe even see about ordering some Leatherique or something from the UK.

 

I'm not aware that any XJS used Autolux. I might be wrong. But I think it was reserved for the DD6s and certain VDPs....as well as Aston Martin, RR etc.

Leather content varied by year and market. My '88 XJS (USA car) truly had a 'full leather' interior. The entire seats (not just the faces) front and rear, door trim panels, console, side trim panels for the rear seat.

Cheers
DD

 

I believe the 1990 "LeMans Celebration" in the UK and the North American "Classic Collection" models featured Autolux.

I also think some of later facelift versions also featured Autolux.

Cheers

 

I was under the impression that the XJS (V12 at least) was a top-line model....
Hmm. Further searching suggests that the XJS only used Autolux on the very last Celebration models.
EDIT: Plus a few other special limited editions as Mac notes.

In my case, the seat rears are covered in a sort of plastic thing, with screws. The side trim panels are also vinyl I think. The front and rear seats and central console are definitely leather. I'm not entirely sure about the door panels - they feel leather, but the 1992 brochure (which is NOT for my car so may vary) lists "leather seat facings" "leather trimmed console" and "leather trimmed door armrests" as standard for the V12. If the door is vinyl, however, it's definitely a better grade than the other vinyl used in the interior, which has a definitely different feel to the leather.

Interestingly, the brochure also states that the 4.0 litre coupe has a "walnut-grain mask" for the instruments, while the V12 is referred to as having "analogue dials set in burr walnut-grain veneer." This suggests that the V12 at least has real wood there, but the word "grain" is suspicious: the fascia and door wood is referred to as simply "inlaid burr walnut veneers" without the "grain" - so that might just mean "walnut-patterned." It certainly looks fake enough.

 

It was. But not always THE highest offering, at least not by price. It depends on the era and what else was in the line-up

For the 1995 USA market for example, I think order of the line-up, by price, was XJ6,VDP, XJS, XJR, and XJ12.

The XJ12 may have had Autolux as well, as they were trimmed as DD6s for all intents and purposes. Not sure, though

Yes, the V12 XJSs were timed to a higher spec than 6 cylinder cars, at least for certain years

VDPs in the USA market had a higher grade leather, not sure if it was Autolux. "VDP" meant different things in different markets

Cheers
DD

 

The leather in my Vanden Plas definitely looks and feels different than the leather in my XJ-S.
The Connery leather is stiffer if you push a finger in it (thicker?), it has a semi-matt surface, and feels and smells like real leather.
It absorbs everything you throw at it.

The XJ-S leather is more flexible, and looks more like there is a (vinyl) layer on top of it (which is probably true).
It wrinkles a million folds if you push a finger in it, but is supple enough to recover immediately.
It also absorbs much less.
However, as the underlying padding in the seats is much softer, it feels good though, very classy.

 

As far as I know, the VDP was the name given to the Daimler in the US market to avoid some sort of trademark clash. I don't think Jag used it elsewhere. Maybe Canada...?
Surprised the XJ12 was above the XJS.
Okay, I've done some research for the Japan market for 1992. The 4.0 coupe was the same price as the Sovereign, while the V12 coupe was about $10,000 cheaper than either the XJ12 or the DD6 (in X305 form: the SIII version for 1992 was about $25,000 more). In fact the I6 convt. was more expensive than the V12 coupe.
The most expensive of all was the XJR-S at a hair under $150,000 (all at 100 yen to the USD), followed by the Daimler Centenary about $5,000 cheaper (and these must be the all-time bargain-bin cars for ever and always of all time now).

 

Interesting. Mine seems to be a combo. It's stiff to push a finger in and semi-matte. Not sure how "leathery" the smell is. Not as much as I would like, but there's a nice whiff when you open the doors. Doesn't wrinkle that much when you push a finger in (must double-check) but does appear to have a layer on top (the paint, I assume). I guess I just need to rub my butt against more Jag leather to compare....

 

Right, "Daimler" couldn't be used



Yes, it was used on Canadian models. In some years a Canadian VDP was always a 12 cylinder....although trim level on those varied as the years went by. Some were trimmed to Sovereign level, the last few years to DD6 level.

I *thought* the Vanden Plas name was also used on some Daimlers at various times?

Cheers
DD

 

To clarify, it was always Connolly leather in Jags....right up to the point when Connolly went under. I think that was 1997 or so.

Autolux and Vaulmol were simply the specific type of Connolly leather. There were probably other variants as well

Cheers
DD

 

I believe the "Daimler Vanden Plas" name was attached to some early seventies models. It was also used at one time to refer to the DS420.

According to Jag-Lover's buyer's guide, the Vanden Plas was also the name used in the US for the Sovereign cars. Perhaps as Americans didn't want to drive a reminder of their treasonous rebellion...?

 

It gets complicated....and we've only scratched the surface of that various Jaguar models offered over the years. Speaking in broad terms the USA always had a very abbreviated line-up of models....with even the 'base' models having a lot of equipment as standard issue that was optional in other markets

I think an XJ40 Sovereign model was offered in the USA for a period of time but I can't swear to it.

Cheers
DD

 

Off course you are right.
I just tend to think as Connolly (stupid auto-fill) as the top of the art leather ... it sounds sooo much better than Autolux .