What part of my 2010 XK Dash is leather and what part if any is vinyl? I have a 2010 XK Portfolio and want to treat the leather with lexol and any vinyl with plexus. Same question for door panels. Thanks all.

 

The dash, as well as the rest of the interior of my 2009 XKR Portfolio including the seats and door panels, is all leather - no vinyl anywhere, to the best of my knowledge. I'm not sure if that's the same for the 2010 XK Portfolio. I'd be surprised if the 2010 XK Portfolio interior wasn't all leather, like the 2009.

For 2009 XKR Portfolio details, including the unique interior, see: http://www.zercustoms.com/news/2009-...o-Details.html

 

Boca:

I am 100% sure that your entire dash is leather. Consider the Lexol brand of leather products for cleaning and conditioning. Spending just $25.00 gets you the cleaner and conditioner (2 separate products). There are tons of auto parts stores in Florida that will carry the Lexol product. I just saw some Lexol products 3 days ago in Ft. Lauderdale at an Advanced Auto Parts store in their detail/wax section, while in Florida vacationing.

I guarentee you will never be happier once you see the results. Use as directed. Use frequently. I know your car is garage kept with limited mileage, so I am also sure that your dash sees little sunshine on a daily basis.

 

I've been using the lexol conditioner for as long as I can remember on every car I've owned. I get it at the local shoe repair shop. I can tell that my car has never had anything ever applied to the leather surface. It looks like the cars do at the showroom, no shine, just that new car smell. I'm not big on any kind of shine, so I will try a small area first while the car is in a cool area out of the sun. Leather needs conditioning as the sun is brutal here. Plexus is great on the plastic kick sill areas and Jaguar nameplate. Also great on glass. Expensive but works well.

 

To confirm: the early (new) XK with the Luxury interior wasa ll leather, including the dash; the standard interior dash looked almost identical, but was vinyl - the difference is that the leather dash has a very fine, almost imperceptible grain. The later cars all have the leather dash. Lexol is the right product to use here (and on the seats, and on the doors and...) - it does not give an artificial shine; it should be left to penetrate (overnight or several hours is best) and then buffed to remove dirt and excess. And the best thing for both leather and wood is to keep it protected from the sun (as has been said before) - sun shades at least, if no garage is available. And on the wood, a good carnauba wax.

 

Don't know what you are referring to as "the standard interior dash". I don't know of any option for the interior on a base XK in 2010. They are all Portfolios. Would that still make the dash and door panels all leather? I see plenty of stitching and assumed it was leather.

 

Hm, I believe the sun visor over the instruments is plastic ... but I am not near my car right now to check.

 

I'm curious as well. I've got a 2007 w/the Luxury Interior, so presumably its mostly leather, but I'm a little skeptical of a few spots as some parts are much harder than others. For example, are the following leather?

• Small strip between windshield and vents on dash - pepple finish
• Cowl over instrument cluster - Looks like the dash, but is much harder
• Top section of door panel - Harder than stiched area
• Area around fog/trunk/gas lights (and equivalent on right of wheel) - Feels a little like vinyl
• Door of glovebox - Again, feels a little like vinyl
• Pockets in back of seats - Really seems like vinyl
• Side panels (and their top) of rear seats - Very hard

I'm concerned that if there's any plastic in these I'm hurting them w/the leather conditioner. Also, in particular, the strip between the windshield and defog vents is a pain to get to w/out smearing the windshield...but if that's leather, I really want to condition it.

Does anyone know for sure?

Thanks, all.

CT

 

The black trim piece is plastic. My advice to treat is to put a small plastic or cardboard sheet jammed between the windshield & trim; then apply the treatment. No smears.

Also, (nothing to do with this thread). I have been using a squeegee to clean the inside windshield with a light dish soap and water mixture. It comes out so clear and streak free, I can't stop telling people about it. Most clean windows I have ever seen. Not much water drips off the windshield onto dash. I usually leave towel over the dash. The most interesting piece is that the windshield stays clean much, much longer.

 

Lexol seems to be a very popular product choice here, but it isn't truly a water based conditioner. Rather, it is emulsion based which means oil phase dispersed in water. When applied, the water evaporates faster than the oils, giving the appearance that the leather is actually absorbing the conditioner. It's not. When you later wipe down your leather, you're simply removing most of the oils. The rest comes off on your clothes or evaporates. Having said this. I suspect Lexol has far less oils than some other conditioners, but in my opinion, on treated leather, you're far better off using a truly water based product which contains no oils.

 

If you haven't used the Lexol product, I suggest that you give it a try before any speculation. Lexol would not distribute the product if it was inferior to leather. I am not sure the cost in Canada, but for a $20.00 bill USD, you can buy both a small bottle of cleaner and conditioner.

Don't over the complicate the leather issue. Buy the Lexol, then write a review for us. I already know what the review will read before you even write it.

Most likely you will say...the end result was "GREAT".

I personally use the Lexol cleaner and conditioner regularly on our 4 vehicles that have leather interiors. I have never had a disappointment. A small bottle of each (cleaner and conditioner) will last a long time.

 

1) the 2010 car indeed has an all-leather dash (not the black pieces at the windscreen and the gauge cowl, obviously) - the "standard" interior (leather with vinyl) was dropped earlier 2) the earlier cars with the "Luxury" interior have the same all-leather interior as the later cars 3) the parts that have stitching are leather 4) my qualifications for commenting: I have used Lexol and other conditioners, including Leatherique in 21 Jaguar concours-winning restorations and over a period of more than 20 years. Lexol works, and it does penetrate the leather - I have experimented with NEW Jaguar leather; portions left untreated and portions treated with Lexol - the latter being noticeably softer - and as new after several years; Leatherique also works well and it does penetrate the leather (including the newer types); it is the oil that softens the leather! In fact the reason these conditioners are desirable and effective is their oil content - Leatherique, for example is ALL oil with no water and no emulsifiers (and of course, no silicones (nor does Lexol). When you buff the leather after leaving the conditioner to penetrate for several hours it is NOT oil you are removing - it is the dirt that has been brought to the surface - this is why the surface will feel "tacky" and sticky until the dirt has been buffed away. Water and leather? no thanks. That is a sure way of ruining the leather. You can remove light surface dirt with a damp, not wet, cloth (as per the Jaguar instruction tag) , but that does nothing to preserve the leather.

 

To clarify: the top and front of the dash, including the glove box and the part in front of the driver is leather on the "Luxury" interiors (and all the 2010 onward) interiors; the seats are ALL leather: front, sides, and rear, including the map pocket, as are the stitched portions of the door panels - in short, all the padded portions. The cowl over the gauges feels harder that the rest of the dash for the simple reason that it is not padded - but it is leather.

 

Thanks, that's what I hoped for....now I'll just gently clean off the Lexol I've used there previously w/ a damp cloth. Probably not much left after cleaning the smears on the window last time. I like your suggestions for both treating the pastic and using a squeegee. I'll give that a shot. I usually wipe the windows with Invisible Glass, then a water dampened cloth, then a dry cloth. Seems to last a while, but not long enough.

CT

 

Thank you for the clarification, it helps. I'll stop conditioning the strip under the windshield, and the top of the door panel....other than that, I think I was good.

CT

 

the key to knowing 100% whether all these parts are leather is to see the backside.

The easy one is the map pocket behind the seats. It's looks like vinyl but a quick look inside the pocket reveals the backside. 100% leather. Suprising because this is an traditional place to cut corners, but I suppose not on a $90k car.

 

I used Lexol (including my current XKR) for years then was turned onto Leatherique. I'll never go back its incredible. The first stage just leave on overnight it really doesn't need steam but a warm day helps(its 85 here). The next day I just wiped off all the crud it pulled out of the leather with the cleaner and you have some of the softest clean seats you will ever see. Soon as you buff them they will look brand new, and the smell is that of very fine leather. The stuff in incredible, and I use the second cleaner as a touch up weekly. You will not believe the crud it pulls out of the leather, blue jean dye grease, oils anything you can think of. The best part its not the surface that its cleaning but the entire hide inside out. I swear by this stuff for new or old. One thing to keep in mind about anyone scared to use it on new leather is that leather is skin. you need to take care of it from day one with the conditioning products. Just as your own skin you cant reverse aging but you can slow it down by proper cleaning and moisturizing. With leather seats its even more important as it cant regenerate, so keep out all the impurities and conditioning the entire hide will go a long way to keeping your leather looking new for years to come.

 

[*]Small strip between windshield and vents on dash - pepple finish

Is this part really leather I need to know

I believe everything else you listed is Leather, at least it is on my 2013. If you look closely at the edges you will see stitching. That is usually a sign of leather as no one stitches vinyl and plastic except maybe BMW ugh

 

The black strip between the dash and the windscreen is NOT leather. The rest of the dash cover is all leather. Lexol will not harm this plastic piece in any way. And let's not talk about BMWs. I am a recovering BMW owner.

 

Thats what I thought but wanted to make sure.. Now I wont force Leatherque on it.