Leather is an elegant material and has always been used to give the feeling of luxury. Tons of leather cleaner products are available to choose from, but its a daunting task to pick the best one. I am interested to hear what kind of cleaners other people use on their leather interior and how often to use the products. Well, I am looking at Mothers leather cleaner spray from Autobarn.

 

Believe it or not, WD40 is a great leather cleaner!!

 

THis is funny I was going to post a thread. I just got the Swissvax stuff which is expensive, but my new XK is full leather and I want to make sure I take care of it. My question is, I want to keep these seats looking new, no cracks, and etc. How often do you guys clean the leather and stuff? I don't want to clean and condition it too much and have it be counter-productive.

I should mention my car is not a daily driver and it won't sit in the sun for extended periods of time very often. In fact, it's in a storage garage with no light when the door is closed hehe

Thoughts?

 

Storage shed with no light = bad (in my opinion). For much the same reason that you wouldn't let your house sit without heat or cooling or walking around, etc., you don't want to let that Jag just sit there. You want to make sure and drive it at LEAST every weekend so stuff doesn't start wanting to freeze up. For the interior, condition the leather once a month (double check the directions on your expensive stuff...lol). Also, letting your car just sit there, and not get some of the benefits of the sunshine on the leather can be equally as bad. Dust does terrible things to leather (just as it does terrible things to paint jobs.

 

If you haven't read my thread on Connoly hide care: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=26363

I highly recommend the product. Available through ken@britishparts.com

 

Don't worry I have it out once or twice a week. Also, the unit doesn't stir that much, so the dust is really minimal actually. I was thinking the other day how there is literally no dust, it's weird.

I'll probably do it once a month like you said, maybe once every two months since I don't drive much.

 

Lexol I recomend by far! It has served me well with my cars and, has even improved the softness of neglected leather on a few cars of mine. It's around 10$ for the spray cleaner and then another $10 for the conditioner. Stuff is amazing.....

BTW, leather will eventually crack there is no two ways about it. Better not to be OCD with it (trust me been there). Either have the leather re-sprayed after it becomes extremely worn or, sell it before you see any signs of wear!!!

 

LEXOL

Been around for decades, all the pros swear by it. The newer , more expensive stuff just uses more of your wallet.

 

Meguiar's #G10916 16-OZ Spray.....best bang for the buck! and or Lexol

 

My car gets Leatherique only!

 

I've had my Leatherique order for a week now and hope to get the seats done this week if I can find the time. The front seats need touch up and if it works as expected I may end up ordering some dye to fix the pocket on the drivers door - the edge has been worn thru.

I'll take some before and after pics and post them when done.

 

I like Zaino products. I have used their exterior products for awhile now. Just used their leather cleaner and leather conditioner over the weekend. Came out good and the car smells new.

Joe
98VDP

 

I have been using Meguiars for about 2 months now and I really like it.

 

I've tried leatherique products, then switched back to Lexol and 303 vinyl treatment for a couple of reasons. I won't badrap a product/service, but only say, I've switched products.

Something that is important to know, there is VERY LITTLE actual hide leather in a Jaguar interior. This might come as a surprise to some, but most of the material is actually vinyl. You want to BE CAREFUL what you put on vinyl. The other thing is - the color for the hides and vinyl used in Jaguar interiors is basically a paint/dye that lays on top of the leather/vinyl, you can destroy this coating using an aggressive material, and some of the products mentioned in this thread are too aggressive for a Jaguar interior, IMO.

Another thing - you'll find that "some" of the products mentioned here will eventually leave a foul, motor oil type of odor in the interior when it gets old that will NEVER go away.

 

I also recomend Lexol Leather cleaner and conditioner. WIth a terry towel apply the cleaner and do a section at a time. Once you finish with the cleaner apply the conditioner with a clean terry towel and leave the conditioner on for a while then wipe it off.

I have also used baby lotion on my Nissan Altima and It worked great! I used to take the lotion and apply it on the leather with a clean terry towel and rub it on gently in a circular motion just like if you were waxing a car. Leave it for a good 15-20 mins and then wipe it off with a clean microfiber cloth.

It used to work great with me. I hope this helps!


Ralph!

 

I've used various products. To list a few:

Armorall Gel
Meguiars wipes
Lexol
and
Leatherique

Honestly, I've just found Leatherique to be the most consistent, and do what it said it would do. It lived up to my high standards, after having them built up from people recommending Leatherique. It is a bit pricey, and it does take some time to use (you'll want to set aside the better part of a day), but IMHO, I'd have to say it's simply the best. I don't think I'd trust another leather company with my fine Connolly Hides. However, that being said, if I ever need to do a quick touch up, I'll go for Meguiars wipes because they are fast, and good for the time and money but not a sufficient cleaner.

Leatherique all the way.

 

I checked out most of these and was concerned they might be too harsh. The label on the Lexol says to avoid use on "soft leather."

Leather Master makes a gentle cleaner for use on soft leather. Used it on both my 2000 XJ (pretty hard leather) and my wife's 2008 Range Rover (very soft leather). Both interiors are ivory and it worked great.