Thread: Leatherique Question

As per everyone's recomendation, I purchased some Leatherique to replace my Lexol products.

I have been doing some research online re: how to use it, and have a couple questions:

(1) Heat - I have three cars with leather. Two of them have seat heaters on the front seats, so I figure I can use that for heat for those seats. How long should I run the seat heaters? How hot are we talking (the Volvo's seat heaters get HOT)?

I plan to unbolt the seats from the S2000 (easy to do) and take them inside the house, so I can place a space heater near them and keep them toasty.

But, what about the back seats of the other two cars? What is the best way to apply heat to them? How much heat are we talking? 70 degrees? 80 degrees? 90 degrees?

I have a garage that stay mild through the winter, but it wont get warmer than 65 or so. I also have a heat gun and a hair dryer. Any thoughts?

(2) Time - How long do the seats need to soak, and do they need to be warm the entire time?

Thanks in advance

Ill answer time first.

Time- 24 hours for best results. Cover the seats in garbage bags so you can even drive the car in and out of the garage or if you just need to move it.

Heat- Ive seen great sucess with just a hair drier, but you dont need to keep heating them for 24 hours. Cover the seats in the garbage bag and it will act like a sauna. Even leave your car running for a bit with the heater on.

Hopefully someone can answer in more detail. I have a hard time getting my thoughts out to people. I just know how to do it, not write about it

Todd Cooperider
Here is Leatherique Leather Care How-To – Detailed Image

George at Leatherique told me that time is just as effective as heat. If you can take advantage of summertime heat when using the product, great - it will work faster. I keep my 560SL put away in winter, and I put on an application of the rejuv. oil as the last step. My garage stays around 60 with the garage heater off. George also said that many customers with collector/concours cars will leave the oil on the leather during storage and then use Prestine Clean when it's time to display the car again.

So you can actually leave the oil in the seats for a very long time? Wow they must look great when its time to display the car again.

I pulled the seats on my S2000, brought them inside and treated them inside overnight with a space heater blowing on them (that room was WARM the next day).

The seats have been cared for pretty well for a 9 year old car that spent about 6 of those years as a daily driver. However, they did show a little wear on the bolsters and the leather has gotten pretty hard.

The next day, I cleaned them with leatherique pristine clean, and bolted them back into the car (after vacuuming the carpets under the seats).

The result: The leather on the sides of the seat is REMARKABLY softer. Literally "new Lexus" soft. The actual seating surface is a little more compliant, although I wouldnt call it a miraculous change. Im guessing the difference has to do with the amount of direct sunlight the actual seating surfaces have been exposed to (black convertible seats take a UV beating). They could probably use another treatment.

I do like the nice, matte look that the Pristine Clean leaves as compared to the Lexol products. It looks like leather is supposed to look... dry and smooth, not oily or shiny. Think, brand new baseball glove.

I am excited about trying Leatherique on my wife's GTI, but that will have to wait until warmer months since I dont feel like taking power/airbag seats out of a brand new car.

The most important consideration in leather care is to identify the finished leather used. Once you’ve correctly identified the leather and / or the applied finish applicable to your vehicle's upholstery, it’s easier to select suitable products / methods (one size fits all is just a vendor's marketing myth)

First you need to identify the material and finishes used; Nubuck / Alcantara®, Aniline and Protected or Coated

Different types of leather require specific cleaning and care and therefore require a slightly different process. Check your 'leather type' before attempting to clean or apply any products to its surface.

For more information on identifying your leather type, consult the following link Leather Upholstery Type Surface Identification”

Originally Posted by TOGWT

The most important consideration in leather care is to identify the finished leather used. Once you’ve correctly identified the leather and / or the applied finish applicable to your vehicle's upholstery, it’s easier to select suitable products / methods (one size fits all is just a vendor's marketing myth)

First you need to identify the material and finishes used; Nubuck / Alcantara®, Aniline and Protected or Coated

Different types of leather require specific cleaning and care and therefore require a slightly different process. Check your 'leather type' before attempting to clean or apply any products to its surface.

For more information on identifying your leather type, consult the following link Leather Upholstery Type Surface Identification”

I read the article and still have no idea what leather is in any of my cars.

I used the leatherique on this Range Rover... I prefer to use a heatgun on low setting to pre-warm and then bake in the product.

Street Dreams: 50hour Range Rover correction/detail

Envious is going to give my new(to me) C230 the leatherique treatment in a few weeks. Really interested to see what the results are going to be. Seats are in great condition, they look brand new, but they seemed dried out and dull.

-Markus-

Originally Posted by TJ

I read the article and still have no idea what leather is in any of my cars.

When you tried the 'water drop test' what was the result?