Cleaning Nissan Interior Leather

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Bing999

New member
I'm not sure if this is supposed to go in the University section or not, so I'm posting it here in the hopes that it clears up some issues regarding leather interior.



I've done the search and found all kinds of information on leather cleaner/conditioners and have decided to go with Lexol. My problem is finding out if my seats are coated or not. ('97 Maxima)



Many threads here state that most Japanese leather has sprayed on color, not dyed and that it is top coated with some type of sealant. I called Nissan Canada and they can only quote to me information from the owners manual, which I have so Nissan is quite useless on this one. My local dealer did tell me that the seats are not coated in any way, but that was just some salesman.



The owners manual says to use saddle soap to care for the leather. My understanding is that saddle soap would only work on uncoated leather, does that mean that these seats are not coated and can accept a conditioner like Lexol?



No matter what the result, no saddle soap for these seats, but I don't want to go out and buy the Lexol if the seats cannot absorb the conditioner.



I hope there is someone else out there that has gone through this and can offer some help.



Thanks in advance



Darcy :nixweiss
 
From my Nissan EXp (owned a Max and a Pathfinder) you cant go wrong, I used all kinds of leather cleaners with no problems including Lexol



I only wish my new BMW had leather as good as my Nissans, yea, surprised me too
 
Well, trial and error. If it was me, I'd try the Lexol in a inconspicuous area.....If you get dye on your applicator, their dyed. Most leather is coated with, believe it or not, clear vinyl. This makes it nearly impermeable, and most conditioners do very little for it, I have even heard of using vinyl protectant for such seats....Cleaners will work, maybe go with a Woolite solution, 20:1 for cleaning.
 
What i suggest is use a meg's medallion leather cleaner. I then use a product to recondition the leather and give the leather back its oils. works great and protects for a long time.

nyd
 
I also second the Medallion leather cleaner as working well, I've never used it on a Nissan, but have on the Lexus and its also japanese.
 
Patrick said:
Well, trial and error. If it was me, I'd try the Lexol in a inconspicuous area.....If you get dye on your applicator, their dyed. Most leather is coated with, believe it or not, clear vinyl. This makes it nearly impermeable, and most conditioners do very little for it, I have even heard of using vinyl protectant for such seats....Cleaners will work, maybe go with a Woolite solution, 20:1 for cleaning.
Click to expand...





I just read my bottle of 303 Protectant and it says for leather and vinyl. Hmmmm?
 
Hey guys, thanks for all of the replies. I guess I can now use the cleaner with a pretty good level of comfort, but has anyone used the conditioner on Japanese leather seats and noticed a difference? I know NYD said he uses a conditioner afterwards so I'm assuming that I wouldn't be wasting my time (or money) if I bought the Lexol Conditioner and applied it?



Darcy
 
I got it and use it. It works well, but there's a temporary pungent odor that you'll have to deal with. Only lasts a day though.
 
Well I don't think this might mean much, but leather conditioner works on my '92 Maxima and seems to soak in mildly and not simply sit on the surface if that's what your worry is.



I would get something nicer smelling than Lexol though. That way it actually smells nice for a little while. :)
 
okay, sounds like I'm "safe" to go out and pick up the conditioner. The seats are pretty stiff so I'm hoping they take some of the conditioner and soften up the creases in them.



Thanks for everything, forum members here have been a huge help in improving the condition of our vehicles.



Have a good day everyone.



Darcy
 
FordGUY said:
I'm not sure if this is supposed to go in the University section or not, so I'm posting it here in the hopes that it clears up some issues regarding leather interior.



I've done the search and found all kinds of information on leather cleaner/conditioners and have decided to go with Lexol. My problem is finding out if my seats are coated or not. ('97 Maxima)



Many threads here state that most Japanese leather has sprayed on color, not dyed and that it is top coated with some type of sealant. I called Nissan Canada and they can only quote to me information from the owners manual, which I have so Nissan is quite useless on this one. My local dealer did tell me that the seats are not coated in any way, but that was just some salesman.



The owners manual says to use saddle soap to care for the leather. My understanding is that saddle soap would only work on uncoated leather, does that mean that these seats are not coated and can accept a conditioner like Lexol?



No matter what the result, no saddle soap for these seats, but I don't want to go out and buy the Lexol if the seats cannot absorb the conditioner.



I hope there is someone else out there that has gone through this and can offer some help.



Thanks in advance



Darcy :nixweiss
Click to expand...



If I am not mistaken, the Maxima's leather is clear coated but does take well to cleaners like Lexol.
 
I've used lexol cleaner and conditioner for about 2 years now and it works great on my 93 maxima. leather feels smoother and softer afterwards and I've never seen the back from my leather on the seats



I usually let the conditioner sit on the seats for ~1hr or longer and in the sun fore a while. that may help some more.
 
Has anyone tried lexol leather conditioner on Crysler or GM Leather i have a jeep grand cherokee and it has leather i wanna use some lexol on it to give it back the flexibility etc or does the leather have a vinial coating on it
 
You can safely use Lexol's cleaner on both types of leather, it will do no harm and works really well.



Top coated leather still has some pores in it and some conditioning is possible but a common mistake is overconditioning and it will cause the leather to become sticky feeling, it will also become unnaturally shiny looking. I would suggest to do it no more than 2-3 times a year.

Lexol's conditioner is not my product of choice anymore simply because it was more prone to leaving that sticky feeling and I buffed it after application. Zaino's Z-10 left the surface natural looking and feeling. It seems to maintain the leather feeling soft even though Lexol made it softer initially. Those are the observations from both my Lexus and a BMW.

I helped my co-worker condition his leather with Lexol in his Pathfinder and we had a hard time removing it from the pores in his perforated seats.



You can use protectants like 303 on your leather on regular basis and I highly recommend it.
 
Fr0zen, I recently used Lexol on my Buick Regal. Worked just fine, even helped to slightly reduce (temporarily) the appearance of my "character lines" on the leather. It was the first time in a long long time that I had done the full clean+condition on it, and I was pleased with the results.



One of these days I'm going to give Leatherique a try. I want to get rid of those lines... :(
 
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