The leather seats in my 15 year old XKR still looks very good, but the leather feels hard as cardboard and the surface is so slippery that I almost slides around in the seat when I drive the car .
I have applied Gliptone liquid leather conditioner several times without any improvement.
Any advice on how to make the leather soft, supple and matte again? ( if it ever were )

All the best
Carsten

 

I have used Leatherique products and think they help, but nothing works like new leather. I replaced the covers in my 97 with new covers from topsonline. This may not be an option for you due to import duty, but the leather was better than the original.

 

Unlike the old aniline dyed hides which Hide Food would rejuvenate, the leather in the XK8 is coloured by spraying the surface and protected with a clear sealant.

The best way to maintain it is by regular cleaning with a non abrasive, non solvent based leather cleaner but it's impossible to regain the 'as new' softness or colour if it has been neglected.

Cleaning and recolouring kits from e.g. Leatherique will almost certainly improve your leather but they won't work miracles. As RJ says, replacement covers is the solution.

Graham

 

 

The front seat covers on my 98 have been replaced with vinyl covers that look great and I'm sure will be more durable than the terrible painted leather Jaguar uses. There seems to be no way to keep the leather from going to hell. My 928 Porche had 100K and the seats still looked good. I have used the repair kits and although they look pretty good at the time but do not last long and then look even worse.

 

Try saddle soap. Properts had a very good soap but I think they sold to Kiwi.

 

here is a technique that works. do not ever use anything that contains silicone as it will seal the pores of the leather and the conditioners will not penetrate. if you made this mistake, saddle soap can remove it, but subsequently you must neutralize the surface with water and something mildly acidic such as a very small amount of white vinegar or lemon juice. then you apply a generous amount of Connolly hide food or the Leatherique nourishing product. the trick now is to get some very clean, soft white terry cloth towels. dampen them in hot water and wring them out until they are just damp. cover the seats with them and leave the car in the sun on a hot day. some have used a steam machine or steam iron on the towels while they are on the leather interior pieces. after a day in the sun remove the towels and apply the hide conditioner the following day and then weekly. the leather on our seats is not sealed and it will absorb the product even when the coating is new. after you achieve the suppleness, the Leatherique products for restoring the surface work very well.

 

if you are interested, Paul's Jaguar in Florida USA has the original hides and can make you replacement covers exactly to original patterns. my driver's seat had a bad tear and it was not fixable. these replacements were a perfect match. they can also recover other pieces.

 

When did that change? My understanding is that Connolly went down in the mad cow debacle in 2002. Is that close?

 

there is a point after 2001 where the hides are no longer Connolly. part of their failure as a company had to do with them going public during the heady times of the tech boom.

the hides from Connolly are not clear coated or have the pores sealed like is often the case with other leather car seats. if you put moisture or a conditioner on them even when new, it absorbs. as for the hides that Jaguar used after Connolly, you would have to inquire of others whether they are sealed. a simple test is to see if the absorbtion occurs.

 

Do you have a link for topsonline , thanks.

 

Connolly Brothers went out of business as a result of the traditional leather tanning processes being prohibited, growth in foreign competition and the market for leather interiors diminishing. Any connection with mad cows is purely co-incidental!

Their only serious competitor in the UK (Bridge of Weir) adapted and survived. Connolly didn't.

Graham

 

Here's the link, but I was saddened to see they only cater to XJS and XK seat covers. No love for the XJ.

https://www.topsonline.com/departmen..._Covers/Jaguar

 

Thank you all
I believe my 2003 seats still have an intact coating on them. They are not absorbing any of the cleaner I used.
Guess I just have to accept that there is no easy quick fix for this.
The topsonline covers looks nice and could be the way to go later on.

 

a simple test is to get something like Zymol and flood the seat. see if it disappears by the next day. a lot of coated leather has open pores. it is a misunderstanding that the coatings seal the pores or are intended to do so. Japanese cars this is often the case, others you have to check.