Roger Koh said:
Describe what particular product you used to soften coated leathers..
On this thread I was referring to Sonus Leather Conditioner and LeatherMaster's Leather Protection Cream. (I need to go edit my earlier reply, I only used Sonus with success on the BMW and my Blazer.) But I've also included comments about the different products that I've used on my other two Audis.
...and what you have observed during the application?
Did the product penetrate the "FINISH"?
I had to check my detailing log as much of this has slipped my mind (most of this work was at least a year or more ago) and I might've given all the Blazer-related info to the new owner as I don't seem to have that. My notes were minimal at best anyhow, and I didn't take any real care to note how things went when I did these jobs. So, apologies for the scant info but I'll try to recall as best I can...
Sonus- On the Yukon the product seemed to mainly just sit on the leather, with minimal penetration/absorption. It seemed to leave a sticky residue that I had to really rub to get off. There *was* a minor softening effect, enough that I could tell a diff between areas I'd done/not. This struck me as a classic case of "wrong product for coated leather", but it did make things noticeably better.
On the Blazer, all I can say is that it penetrated better (or at least I don't recall the same lack as with the Yukon) and *definitely* did soften the leather quite a bit; it had been "old onionskin typing paper"-dry if you know what I mean and it was much more supple afterwards, enough that nobody would think it on its last legs.
The M3 hadn't been treated since maybe the '90s and had sat "mothballed" in my garage for years. Its leather was also *very* dried out, so much so that I was a little nervous about applying pressure to it. The Sonus again softened it up and did seem to penetrate; again, very different from with the Yukon.
As best I can recall or find in my records, those are the only times I've used the Sonus. I only used it on the M3 and the Blazer as the deals were sealed with the new owners and I didn't really care how they turned out...pleasant surprise that both turned out well.
LM- On the old Audi (never treated since new...over 15 years!) the LM stuff did seem to soak in/absorb. It simply behaved as I would have expected on
non-coated leather and the leather softened right up, section-by-section, as I did it. No, it didn't immediately soak into the leather as it would have on non-coated, but it sure didn't merely sit there either. There was minimal excess to buff off. The resulting finish was quite dry to the touch; it was so satisfactory that I thought "gee, this could be a LM ad!" and considered it a perfect example of a leather product doing what was intended. Given that result, I tried it on the Yukon's leather.
On the Yukon, I was prepared for an unsatisfactory experience as with the Sonus. Much to my surprise the LM soaked in *dramatically* better and again left a quite "dry" finish, though it took a little while longer to feel that way than with the Audi and a bit more excess was buffed away. Zero sticky/tacky effect as I had experienced with the Sonus. Roughly a year later, I redid the sections of the front seats that get the most wear. Again, it worked just the way such products are "supposed" to work. I did the driver's seat and a while later went back out to the shop; it felt so much "better conditioned" that I went ahead and did the passenger seat too. The diff between how it is now and how it was when I bought it three years ago is dramatic by any standard.
Other coated-leather experiences that come to mind (since I'm running this stuff past an expert anyhow..) would be my Audi A8 and S8, but I hardly ever treat their leather. I have *not* treated any of the coated leather in any of my other vehicles as I never considered it necessary.
'01 S8- This was years ago (garage-queen, I hardly ever do anything to the interior), but IIRC I used Pinnacle's Leather Conditioner on it. I can't say that I recall anything about it other than not liking the "luggage store" smell. Most of the product seemed to wipe right back off, with minimal penetration. I haven't treated it since, though I plan to use the LM on it in the future.
'00 A8- Again, this was last treated a few years ago and I can't find any notes about it. I've treated its leather with the Pinnacle with similarly minimal results. I seem to recall getting somewhat better results (penetration, softening) with Griot's Leather Care (old, unscented version). My last conditioning was with some thick stuff labeled "Jaguar", no idea who made it...smells like very strong Ivory Soap to me. So thick that "cream" seems inaccurate. That one also surprised me as I was able to work it in to the leather (much like working shoe polish into dress shoes) and when I buffed off the excess it had definitely made the leather more supple. Any unbuffed excess left a white residue that took a lot of buffing to remove. That last treatment was several years ago, and again, I plan to treat it with LM before too long.
Sorry the above explanations aren't better, but I look forward to your comments; I'm pretty much flying blind here, with nothing to go by other than what I experience first-hand. I wish I had a good leather expert in my vicinity to help with the Yukon's leather and/or advise me on this stuff in general. Any suggestion would be appreciated as I'll need to buy more LM eventually and I'm open to other (unscented) product suggestions. Though I'll be right up-front about how I'm not gonna bend over backwards over this stuff as my leather seems to hold up OK no matter what I do/don't to it.
