leather or "pleather"?
- Thread starter bbquer
- Start date
imported_Intermezzo
New member
I don't mean to one-up you Scott, but I like to keep my canvas top waterproof with 303 High-Tech Fabric Guard. Using this product, I am able to keep the top very clean by just spraying water on it weekly. The water beads very well and then I just blot it dry with a water bandit. I haven't had to shampoo it once yet (it's only a few months old though).
If Meguiar's endurance contains any silicone oils, it will attract dust like a magnet.
If Meguiar's endurance contains any silicone oils, it will attract dust like a magnet.
imported_detailchick
New member
I had a BMW recently that had melted crayons on the seats .
I was at the bank parking lot and someone approached me with this problem . Honestly I wanted to run the other way
when he told me the problem LOL
But after I told him I was skeptical of getting crayons off leather he informed me they were pleather, fake leather .......so i had a look and actually did the job right there in the parking lot . Cleaned up amazingly well with just lexol soap and stiff brush.
But I could not tell the difference between the leather and pleather and only knew because he told me .
Does anyone know how to tell the difference?Thanks!
I was at the bank parking lot and someone approached me with this problem . Honestly I wanted to run the other way
when he told me the problem LOLBut after I told him I was skeptical of getting crayons off leather he informed me they were pleather, fake leather .......so i had a look and actually did the job right there in the parking lot . Cleaned up amazingly well with just lexol soap and stiff brush.
But I could not tell the difference between the leather and pleather and only knew because he told me .
Does anyone know how to tell the difference?Thanks!
imported_Flash Gordon
New member
I can tell by looking/feeling the material. Pleather has a plastic feel to it. IMO Pleather is a much easier material to work with. Lots of manufactures are replacing leather with pleather :wizard:
imported_detailchick
New member
Yeah Flash the pleather cleaned up so easily , i could tell it wasnt leather when I was cleaning it. But I couldnt tell beforehand . It felt t like leather to me !:redface:
imported_richy
New member
I wonder if they'll start making pleather clothes soon??:devil::wink:
imported_detailchick
New member
Dont know Richy but I already have plenty of fake leather shoes and boots . I prefer them.
And considering how easy the cleanup was with the pleather I prefer that too now ! :smile::thumbup:
And considering how easy the cleanup was with the pleather I prefer that too now ! :smile::thumbup:
Todd@RUPES
Just a regular guy
99.9 percent of the leather found into day's car's is coated. While it is important to know what is under the coating for maintenance, it can be very difficult to distingish two (since you are dealing with the coating and not the material itself.
imported_Flash Gordon
New member
Yes, the King Ranch has uncoated leather. Best thing you can do for it is to wipe with a damp (water) MF towel, then come back over it with a dry MF towel :-B
Its really not hard at all to distinguish between coated and uncoated leather IMO. Wipe with a damp MF, if it trys to penetrate, then you have uncoated leather. If if glides across the surfice, then you have coated leather. Me personally, I can tell just by looking :spy:
Todd, I've never seen uncoated Pleather. Maybe you could give us an example with your vast knowledge :-?
imported_detailchick
New member
So what would be the proper treatment of pleather? A vinyl protectant?
I wondre how many pleather seats Ive conditioned with leather conditioner now
I wondre how many pleather seats Ive conditioned with leather conditioner now
Todd@RUPES
Just a regular guy
Flash, after reading my post, I realized just how well I failed to say what I was trying to say! I'm going to slice your post up a little to make better sense of what I was trying to say
I'm not saying that pleather is or isn't coated, I am saying that the coating material used on leather is similar to pleather. When we sit, feel, slide across, lick, or kiss car leather we are not really fondling the leather itself, we are feeling the synthetic coating.
Most leather in cars uses a pigmented coating, that is the leather isn't dyed a color underneather, it is a raw, dark grayish kind of color. The color of the interior comes from the coating itself. There is a huge difference in the quality of coating from different leather manufacturers, some use a very high quality coating that is durable and very thin, so that much of the leather feel is retained. However some cheaper car's (and expensive ones) use a very cheaper, pleather like coating that make's them almost indistinguishable from pleather/vinyl surfaces.
My wife's old Sonata is a perfect example of the latter. If you where to feel it and inspect it you would be convinced it was fake leather (or at least I thought so) until it started to wear in certain areas.. Then the leather under the coating was visible. I have felt some pleather (like BMW's Leatherette) that felt more leather like then her leather. So while it is 'real' leather this is done as much as a marketing term as it not really functional.
Most leather has a pretty high quality coating, and is easy to tell apart from fake leather, but as with anything, this isn't always the case. If you where to coat pleather with the same high quality coating as a top grain leather, then it would be almost impossible to tell the difference (and vice-a-versa) but the increase in manufacturing cost would make for an expensive product that is hard to sell.
It is easier to sell high quality leather then it is to sell high quality fake leather for near the same cost.
I agree, it is often easy to tell the difference because pleather is used to save costs. I would only add that in my experience that high quality pleather is very hard to distingish from leather and that low quality leather is hard to distingush from pleather.
Pleather is used to save money and it is quality difference you can often feel. But again, BMW's Leatherette feels much more leather like then my wife's old car, so there are no hard rules.
Todd@RUPES
Just a regular guy
So what would be the proper treatment of pleather? A vinyl protectant?
I wondre how many pleather seats Ive conditioned with leather conditioner now
Pleather, vinyl, and leather should all be cleaned (and conditioned) in the same relative way, since in each case the material you are cleaning and conditioning is a synthetic material.
With real leather, I like to use Leatherique at least on a annual basis, because as the coating wears, some of the leather becomes exposed, and can be treated. However for regular cleaning and maintenance there is very little difference in how you should approach them.
imported_detailchick
New member
Thanks Todd for explaining pleather/leather care .
I always use lexol for cleaning and conditioning and am happy with it except sometimes it streaks a little .
I always use lexol for cleaning and conditioning and am happy with it except sometimes it streaks a little .
imported_Flash Gordon
New member
Are you saying pleather is not able to be stitched together
As far as BMW's go, that is how I was taught to spot leatherette. BMW leather has an overlapping stitched seam.
Todd@RUPES
Just a regular guy
Pleather can be stitched, but again, that will raise the cost. Pleather is often coated with a cheaper material and manufactured in a way that reduces cost. If it were to be coated with similar material to leather and stitched, the cost difference between the material (as well as the feel) would be almost indistinguishable.
"Hey dude that's nice leather in your car....."
"Thanks but its actually really nice pleather, I paid as much for it as I did leather.."
"Why didn't you get just get leather?"