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Old 26th April 2017, 08:39   #11
7T5
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I use Autoglym leather cleaner. I don't use any other creams and stuff. Car leather is coated so all the creams do is sit on the surface of the leather.
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Old 26th April 2017, 08:46   #12
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Car leather is coated so all the creams do is sit on the surface of the leather.
If someone has cleaned the leather with a cleaner that has stripped the surface then the coating won't be there. I liberally apply the leather conditioner to the car seats and it soaks in quite quickly (within a few minutes.) In places it's not even worth buffing because there's nothing to buff, it all having been soaked in.

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Old 26th April 2017, 14:10   #13
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If someone has cleaned the leather with a cleaner that has stripped the surface then the coating won't be there. I liberally apply the leather conditioner to the car seats and it soaks in quite quickly (within a few minutes.) In places it's not even worth buffing because there's nothing to buff, it all having been soaked in.

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Each to there own, i find the conditioner pointless.
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Old 26th April 2017, 18:34   #14
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As has been mentioned, try and avoid these magic erasers.

Yes they clean brilliantly but they WILL cause damage to the lacquer that is on top of the leather colour paint (pigment). It might not damage it straight away (unless they are really worn) but it will definitely remove the lacquer - over time or quickly. The problem is you can't see it causing the damage. Then you also have the problem of dirt sitting IN the colour paint as opposed to sitting on top of the lacquer. At this point restoration would be needed as it can't really be cleaned out.

We only use these erasers when we want to clean quickly - in preparation for colour restoration as it doesn't matter if we remove some lacquer as we apply more when we re-colour. Cowboy leather cleaners also use them as they get their money quicker and go - leaving a susceptible leather behind, which they don't care about of course.

Conditioner is for sure pointless as it can't penetrate the lacquer to do anything. Leather suppliers love to sell it though as people love to buy it thinking it does something. Conditioner is meant for high grade aniline leathers, where they do dry out and need 'feeding' or 'nourishing'. If you apply it on our car seats - it doesn't soak in, it just dries! (unless the lacquer is non existent).

Your far better off using a leather cleaner with a brush and towel off. Then use a leather aroma spray - as the smell lasts longer.

Happy cleaning!
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Old 26th April 2017, 18:53   #15
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Conditioner is for sure pointless as it can't penetrate the lacquer to do anything.
Yes but with second hand cars one can't assume that. If the lacquer is there, I agree. However (sadly) previous owners have used goodness knows what to clean my car seats, so the conditioner readily soaks in. Also soaks into my sofa, so for me, not at all pointless. Even if our car seat leather doesn't dry out I don't see the conditioner doing any damage, if anything it can only help.

Interestingly, the conditioner doesn't soak into the backs of the front seats, which would make sense as the lacquer probably hasn't been scrubbed off from there. Needless to say I don't bother conditioning the backs of the seats because, as you say, it's pointless as it doesn't soak in, it just stays on top.

I also don't condition the rear seat centre armrest. I did it once and it just turned sticky, so my guess is that's not leather, probably some plastic pleather or whatever?

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Old 26th April 2017, 20:29   #16
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I find that Autoglym leather cleaner hopeless. I was put on to it, and it doesn't clean the seats, whereas the sponge did. I will use the autoglym again as a preserver, as I believe it contains leather conditioner or preserver of some sort.?
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Old 26th April 2017, 22:05   #17
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I find that Autoglym leather cleaner hopeless. I was put on to it, and it doesn't clean the seats, whereas the sponge did. I will use the autoglym again as a preserver, as I believe it contains leather conditioner or preserver of some sort.?
Gliptone Cleaner for well, cleaning lol. Along with the brush. It does need to wiped off, but it is very effective on mine. Cleaning 3 year old police leathers dye (previous owner was a motorbike cop). Cleaned the seats incredibly well with little effort, although I did have to wipe/lightly buff the residue. But doesnt soak in as already mentioned. But it is safe to use. My seats are ash grey, so perhaps that ingrained dirt on sandstone may be a little more stubborn with it.

Then the leather conditioner, whilst technically useless for its purpose on our seats, it does seem to give a suppleness (placebo? ). It definitely adds suppleness to my wheel handbrake handle, gear selector and gaiters (all recovered). Also has that all important smell too.
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Old 29th April 2017, 08:52   #18
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If people are happy using conditioner then I don't have a problem with that at all

However it is still useless as mentioned. Yes it can give a nice smell etc but it quickly gets removed from using the seats. When it soaks in then yes the all important lacquer would have been removed.

Just a little tip - use a brush when using leather cleaner as it cleans into the grain far better and give a superior finish. The problem with just throwing conditioner onto un-protected (non lacquer) finish is that eventually the colour will start to wear off - then it's a case of restoration. Personally I would clean using a brush until dirt free and towel off, then if the colour is good use a spray lacquer (if it needs it) to seal it in and prolong the finish. Finally use a good leather aroma spray to give a true leather smell.

Only all in my opinion of course
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New leather & walnut steering wheel, headlight restore, new badges to rear & engine, walnut facia trims, full size spare wheel, timing belts, Plenum spy hole, DD head unit.



• This vehicle was the 67,855th 75 to run off the production line, out of 112,381
• This vehicle was the 2,457th 75 2.5 V6 Connoisseur SE to be made out of 3,671

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