Best leather softener and preservative?

[Littlestown Mike]

I have used Leatherique--both the cleaner and the oil.  Cleaning is the most important.  Heat helps.  They recommend applying the cleaner and then wrapping the seats with plastic trash bags and parking the car in the sun.
Has anyone had a bad personal experience with Leatherique?

[TAKerry]

On 2/3/2023 at 3:57 PM, Bloo said:

A shop owner I worked for said don't put anything on it. He said the stiffness is caused by dirt and all the crap people put on trying to soften it up. It works at first, and then the "softeners" dry out inside the leather and make matters worse. "It's skin, treat it like skin. Just clean it" he said. Here is what he taught me to do.

 

Go after small areas at a time with a nail brush and a bar of glycerin soap, and as little water as possible to dip the brush in to get the soap wet. This is easiest with the type of nail brush that clips around your fingers. Wipe with a clean damp cloth to remove the soap and grime. Keep water to a dead minimum. Redo until the cloth wipes clean, and then move on to a new spot. I do about a 6 inch square at a time, but you'll need to play that by ear. I did this every month or two to a 69 Cadillac with original black leather. Over a period of about 3 years, the leather, which looked good but was hard as a rock in places softened up considerably. The more crud you can get out the better it gets. The leather was really nice by the time I sold the car. I have cleaned up a lot of cars this way, and they seem to improve, although none of them started out as hard as that Cadillac.

 

A year or 2 later a trimmer from the UK told me essentially the same thing. The only thing he recommended after cleaning was "a tiny bit of luggage wax on a damp cloth if you need a little bit of shine". Now, apparently that is a UK product because "luggage wax" gets you plenty of blank stares in the US. I was able to deduce later on that it is apparently beeswax softened with water.

 

Of course if the leather has turned into the consistency cardboard that you can poke your finger through this won't help. Your mileage may vary.

 

I understand the principle of doing nothing and yes its skin, but skin is a living organ. Once it has been 'tanned' or whatever is done to leather I would imagine that it will dry out and crack and need some kind of treatment to keep it supple. 

 

Interesting all of the different choices given. I only have one car that I care about the leather and its a relatively new vehicle. I have yet to do anything to it but I think its time to do something. I was at a concours show a few years ago talking to a lady with a beautiful 190SL. She pretty much said the same as the above statement. He conclusion was to clean sparingly with water. She said that Lexol was the worst thing she ever used as it dried 'on top of the leather' and only made a coating.

 

So many conflicting opinions?

[TAKerry]

On 2/3/2023 at 3:57 PM, Bloo said:

A shop owner I worked for said don't put anything on it. He said the stiffness is caused by dirt and all the crap people put on trying to soften it up. It works at first, and then the "softeners" dry out inside the leather and make matters worse. "It's skin, treat it like skin. Just clean it" he said. Here is what he taught me to do.

 

Go after small areas at a time with a nail brush and a bar of glycerin soap, and as little water as possible to dip the brush in to get the soap wet. This is easiest with the type of nail brush that clips around your fingers. Wipe with a clean damp cloth to remove the soap and grime. Keep water to a dead minimum. Redo until the cloth wipes clean, and then move on to a new spot. I do about a 6 inch square at a time, but you'll need to play that by ear. I did this every month or two to a 69 Cadillac with original black leather. Over a period of about 3 years, the leather, which looked good but was hard as a rock in places softened up considerably. The more crud you can get out the better it gets. The leather was really nice by the time I sold the car. I have cleaned up a lot of cars this way, and they seem to improve, although none of them started out as hard as that Cadillac.

 

A year or 2 later a trimmer from the UK told me essentially the same thing. The only thing he recommended after cleaning was "a tiny bit of luggage wax on a damp cloth if you need a little bit of shine". Now, apparently that is a UK product because "luggage wax" gets you plenty of blank stares in the US. I was able to deduce later on that it is apparently beeswax softened with water.

 

Of course if the leather has turned into the consistency cardboard that you can poke your finger through this won't help. Your mileage may vary.

 

I understand the principle of doing nothing and yes its skin, but skin is a living organ. Once it has been 'tanned' or whatever is done to leather I would imagine that it will dry out and crack and need some kind of treatment to keep it supple. 

 

Interesting all of the different choices given. I only have one car that I care about the leather and its a relatively new vehicle. I have yet to do anything to it but I think its time to do something. I was at a concours show a few years ago talking to a lady with a beautiful 190SL. She pretty much said the same as the above statement. He conclusion was to clean sparingly with water. She said that Lexol was the worst thing she ever used as it dried 'on top of the leather' and only made a coating.

 

So many conflicting opinions?

[StylishOne]

Guys most leather is surface painted , some are in fact drum dyed.  I used to deal in leather.. so here is what I think I know (in here there’s always someone who thinks, or in fact may know differently, possibly more than I . But I enjoy learning too) .. there are several types of leather  and some have a different hand (a fabric term for how it feels and drapes which dictates uses). For example. 1955/56 Imperials originally had a very soft subtle hand almost like a thick kid glove type leather and feels wonderful in their stuffed pleating. While a 53 Skylark or 60 Lincoln would have a stiffer more “board like” hand. These leathers were all surface painted and they held shapes better than softer leathers. So while you can try to make a 53 Eldorado interior out of a softer leather it will never look right for this type of leather is wrong for the style of that interior. In fact, back in the day often the seat edge piping had a wire core to keep the shape of the seat edges and some pleating t heat  had cardboard inner pieces (between the leather and foam backing) to keep pleating looking crisp n correct. It’s often easy to spot a redone interior for these reasons n others.  Additionally, some leathers are embossed with grain like a 58 Limited or Eldorado Biarritz using a more pronounced graining like Cape Buffalo or 61 Eldo with Ostrich embossed graining, Cadillac crests or LeBaron Eagle motif. Painted leathers the colors can wear off but can be resprayed where that becomes a more difficult chore with softer leathers like gathered looks n pleats in newer cars. Of course those leathers a thinner to crest that type of design.  Bridge of Weir leather I think was Mark 11 maybe some other cars is a bit between soft n stiffer leathers it’s thicker but has a slightly softer hand. 
And this story about stuff leather is just dirty?? Really? Was the car in the Outback??  When your hands get dirty after cleaning them n moisturizing them are they softer?  To me leather that has sun, water, or age issues gets dried out .. period! Yes, a little moisture and oils can help soften it ..if it’s not too far gone! 

[bryankazmer]

Good post, stylish.

Whether the leather was vat-dyed or spray-dyed, at least on modern upholstery leather there is normally a clear surface coating to control gloss and improve wear.

[alsancle]

Last night I soaked the interior in Lexol conditioner as I try to do once a year with all the cars.   I California mopped it and then spray detailed it.   Thats all the good news,  the bad news is it won't start which is going to be a bit more work.

[SC38dls]

If it becomes too much work send it to Ed and tell him it’s his problem to fix. He fixes them but you get the fun of driving them. I think that’s a perfect solution. 
dave s 

Edited February 9, 2023 by SC38dls (see edit history)

[alsancle]

2 hours ago, SC38dls said:

If it becomes too much work send it to Ed and tell him it’s his problem to fix. He fixes them but you get the fun of driving them. I think that’s a perfect solution. 
dave s 

I may pull the distributor out and send it to him.

[SC38dls]

6 minutes ago, alsancle said:

I may pull the distributor out and send it to him.

He did a great job on mine. Fixed it in 15 minutes which was much faster than he and Phil could finish the bottle of Woodford Reserve I sent with it! Maybe he did it so quick so they could get to the refreshment sooner. Either way it worked for better gas mileage and lower temp, runs very well. I highly recommend his work. 
dave s 

 

PS - He’s also a decent guy but we can’t let him know that’s how we feel about him right AJ? 

[oldcarfudd]

Better mileage and cooler running with Woodford Reserve - I'll keep that in mind.