Leather vs. Vinyl?

B

Boongie

New member
I need to clean the interior of my wife's 2011 Toyota Sienna. It has leather seating, but I know that there is plenty of vinyl in there as well. I think I can determine which parts are leather and which parts are vinyl based on appearance...but am I right? I think the bottom cushion and back cushions are leather and that the sides and backs of the seat are vinyl. I believe that the armrests are vinyl. I think the steering wheel is covered with leather.



Is there any specific way to determine which parts are leather and which parts are vinyl on the interior of a car?



As to cleaning/conditioning products, I was thinking of using the Leather Master line on the leather areas. As for the vinyl, I was just going to pick up some Meguiars QID to start with. Not sure what I should use for deeper cleaning or protecting of the vinyl surfaces...any suggestions?



Thanks!
 
Boongie- I determine which it is by looks and feel, but it took me a while to get it figured out, so I guess I don't have any good suggestion there.... :nixweiss Heh heh, there was a vinyl piece on my Jag that I mistook for leather for ages! Didn't really matter though.



General assumption- on the seats, only the panels you actually sit on are likely to be leather. I'd just treat those surfaces and the steering wheel with the LeatherMasters stuff. Note you won't be doing much real "conditioning" but rather just cleaning and applying their protectant ("grabby feel" or the other one, called maybe "buttery feel", depending on what you want it to feel like).



Note that on a two-year old vehicle, you probably don't need to do much of anything except clean these surfaces and keep 'em that way.



IMO, just using the QID on the vinyl will be fine. I can't remember the last time I actually "treated" interior vinyl...it's been years.



Today's interior materials are pretty tough. Just keeping them clean is the most important thing.
 
Do not.....under any circumstance, put any type of leather conditioner on your seats....period! The leather parts of your seat are coated with urethane. No conditioner can get through this coating and to the leather!!!! Once you put conditioner on the seats, dirt will accumulate and wear the seats out much, much faster!



Wipe your seats down occasionally with a clean, wet towel. That is it! If they get dirty, use Leather Masters Mousse cleaner to clean them. This product leaves no oily residue. Keep your seats like new if you put nothing on them! Period!



Do a search on this website from others who learned, the hard way, not to put anything on urethance coated leather!
 
Rob4092xx said:
Do not.....under any circumstance, put any type of leather conditioner on your seats....period! The leather parts of your seat are coated with urethane. No conditioner can get through this coating and to the leather!!!! Once you put conditioner on the seats, dirt will accumulate and wear the seats out much, much faster!



Wipe your seats down occasionally with a clean, wet towel. That is it! If they get dirty, use Leather Masters Mousse cleaner to clean them. This product leaves no oily residue. Keep your seats like new if you put nothing on them! Period!



Do a search on this website from others who learned, the hard way, not to put anything on urethance coated leather!
Click to expand...



Interesting...I spoke to Leather Master about treating the Toyota Sienna leather seating areas and they recommended three products: Soft Cleaner, Vital Conditioner, and Leather Protection Cream. I am aware that the leater is a coated material. I also did a search on Autopia and have NOT come up with any discussions about NOT using anything beyond a cleaning product on leather. I would be interested to hear comments about not using leather conditioning or treatment products.



Also, as a side note, this Sienna is only two years old and I recently noted two cracks in the driver side leather bottom seat cushion. My Toyota dealer replace the cushion at no charge, under warranty. I don't know what caused these cracks to develop in the cushion, but I had not conditioned or treated the leather at any time. I am wondering if these cracks could have been avoided if I had conditioned or treated the leather?!
 
Boongie- The cracks might've just been the natural result of how repetetive stress was applied to the seats. Where they "serious" cracks" or merely deep creases?



With the coated leather, sometimes a conditioner will penetrate through pores/micro-fissures/etc. and do some good...BTDT with good results...but be sure to use a "clean" product like the stuff from LeatherMasters.



Again, leather and other interior materials will usually hold up just fine; the leather seats in my '93 Audi were *never* treated or even properly cleaned before I got it and they're still fine despite some cracks and ceases that've probably been there since the '90s. The seemingly trashed leather seats in my Tahoe, so bad I figured I'd have to replace them when I first saw them, are cracked and [you-name-it] but after treating with the LeatherMasters stuff I seem to have arrested the deterioration and while they don't look all that swell they're doing OK despite lots of hard use. There's "cosmetic damage" and then there's "functional damage" and the two don't always go hand-in-hand as much as one might think...at least not if you keep on top of things.
 
Boongie said:
I need to clean the interior of my wife's 2011 Toyota Sienna. It has leather seating, but I know that there is plenty of vinyl in there as well. I think I can determine which parts are leather and which parts are vinyl based on appearance...but am I right? I think the bottom cushion and back cushions are leather and that the sides and backs of the seat are vinyl. I believe that the armrests are vinyl. I think the steering wheel is covered with leather.



Is there any specific way to determine which parts are leather and which parts are vinyl on the interior of a car?



As to cleaning/conditioning products, I was thinking of using the Leather Master line on the leather areas. As for the vinyl, I was just going to pick up some Meguiars QID to start with. Not sure what I should use for deeper cleaning or protecting of the vinyl surfaces...any suggestions?



Thanks!
Click to expand...



I do pretty much what you planning to do now and it's what I recommend for my clients as well...though I tend to like 1Z Premium Cockpit Cleaner a little more than the Megs QID. I don't really use the Leather Vital much though, just Strong Cleaner followed by Protection Cream.
 
Everything you’ll ever want to know about automotive leather upholstery care – but were too afraid to ask.





How important is the correct identification of finished lather?



Automobile model ranges use different materials for their vehicles interiors; leather upholstery like Aniline Immersion Dyed, Aniline Micro Pigmented, (Urethane) Finished, Artificial leather such as MB-Tex and unfinished materials like Synthetics and Alcantara, and sometimes combinations of products (Alcantara seat inserts on leather seating) as well as various grades of leather hide, full-grain, top-grain and split –grain (which is protected with urethane) all of which require different products and applications methods



The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) is a reference guide for Professional Upholstery Cleaning (IICRC S300) it’s a five day leather training course, which devotes two days of the course to the correct identification of leather finishes



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) 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.



TOGWT® Autopia Detailing Wiki – “Leather Upholstery Type Surface Identificationâ€� - http://www.autopia.org/forum/autopi...ther-upholstery;-surface-identification.html#





TOGWT® Autopia Detailing Wiki – “Leather Articles Hyperlinksâ€� -http://www.autopia.org/forum/autopia-detailing-wiki/141973-leather-articles-hyperlinks.html
 
For a good interior cleaner, try Griot's interior all surface (about the only Griots products I really like, even though it's $30ish/gal). I use this plus a 3" brush attached to my griot's 3" electric DA for my basic cleanings and Leather Masters mousse for heavier cleaning, plus their protectant cream.
 
dfoxengr said:
For a good interior cleaner, try Griot's interior ...
Click to expand...



Ya know how I'm usually so pro-Griot's, saying that I like their stuff? Well get this- I've used their Interior Cleaner since forever, really liked it especially for jobs that don't call for the strongest stuff available. BUT, the more I use the HD "green" APC the less I use the Griot's!



Oh, and something that suprised me (since I think of the GG as being so mild)- somebody here had the GG Interior Cleaner remove the white lettering on some interior controls (I think it was on a Benz). Never happened to me, but it's worth noting.
 
I use Griot's Interior Cleaner on my 2012 ML350, although not on the dash or dials where there is lettering. I use it on the seats mostly where the MBTex material gets rubbed on by blue jeans. I have not noticed much "blue" but I clean the seats with Griot just to be safe and so far no blue tint has appeared (the seats are light almond color). I squirt a little of the cleaner on a sponge and rub gently.



It is true what you are hearing about not using leather balm conditioner on treated leather car seats. Unless you have an exotic European car you can bet your leather is treated and not natural. If the vinyl "treatment" is doing the protection job it is suppose to do, nothing penetrates it to get to the leather. It is meant to keep out liquids and materials that might damage the leather. Unfortunately, this includes leather balms that could help it such as Leatherique and Lexol. These balms and conditioners are great on natural, untreated leather like purses and jackets because it "feeds" the leather and by doing so makes it softer and avoids cracks, especially on around stitching. If the product can't "feed" the leather because it can't get to it it becomes virtually worthless (although it won't do any harm either).



Protectant 303 is what I use on vinyl, MBTex and treated "leather" seats and upholstery. Unlike leather conditioners which have virtually no UV protection, 303 has one of the highest rated UV figures on the planet. Yet another reason why it is so highly recommended by Spa and Hot Tub dealers for their covers. Here in Texas that UV protection is crucial but I would think it would be important almost anywhere. As a bonus, 303 looks nice on dash and seats although I admit it can be a bit slippery the first couple times you get in your car (don't put it on your steering wheel or pedals).



Keep in mind there is a difference between what some manufactures call a leather "balm" and a leather conditioner. Lexol and Leatherique are called leather conditioners but are true "balms" which means they must reach the leather to "feed" it to be effective. Blackfire also has a product it calls a leather conditioner but it acts differently from a balm in that its main strength again is in its great UV protection, which as I said before, a true "conditioner" or "balm" does not have. I like the Blackfire also because it protects the seats by laying down a moisture barrier with its satin finish which is important on the more exposed portions such as the stitching. I do notice a little more softness at first but I think it is working on the vinyl material rather than the leather itself. In any event, either the 303 or Blackfire on your "leather" should serve your purpose very well.
 
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