takes all kinds!

A

airjames

New member
Some ppl, lemme tell ya



When we purchased our new 2002 Grand Prix GT as the family ride, the dealer gave us some advice how to take care of it, yea right!!!!:mad: Car salesmen tells us to you only need to use a polymer polish once very couple of yrs to help keep the paint looking like new, I didn't actually witness him saying this but first off, once every couple of yrs??????? I don't think so, more like, couple times a yr!!! ALong with a claybar and A PC 7424 DA polisher!!!



We've had the car now for about a couple of months now, it's already been blackfired but not clayed just YET!. Get this, the car salesmen tells us that You don't need to condition your leather seats, because the leather of today you don't need to maintain them, just clean them with a rag and some warm water and a mild detergent dish soap. Now this is wrong, what do you guys think?!??!?!?!



91
 
If your leather is not real leather, than that may be the case. But if it is real leather, you have to condition it.



The salesperson was just trying to sell you the car. He obviously doesn't know what he is talking about.
 
ok I'm gonna sound like an idiot!!



The paperwork said it is a leather interior but I swear it;s not!!! It looks almost like vinyl but then again I could be wrong there too, I wish I had a pic too show you the interior, but, I did find this one took after it's first wash:cool:



1323-3654-52903.jpg
 
Maybe it's like this "pleather" stuff I've heard about. :p



There are 2 schools of thought regarding modern leather upholstery. Supposedly new leather is "clear coated" and one side of the debate says you only need a rubber/vinyl protectant dressing on them. The other camp still keeps using leather conditioner. I have the feeling that neither will hurt at all and just do whichever you like better. I prefer conditioner because it smells nicer than dressing.



Just like the paint, you still DO have to protect it with something though. Dealers (especially the salesmen) are poor places to ask advice. I'd only do it for the fun of it to see what they say! :D
 
I bought a huge leather chair for my living room a few years ago. The dealer where I bought it (Arhaus) said I don't need to put any conditioner on it, just clean it with water (!). I thought that sounded kind of freaky...



Anyway one of my cats left a nice barf spot on the seat. I immediately cleaned it with water, but even though the leather is a nice chocolate brown you can still see the darker (and shiny) spot where the incident occured! :confused:
 
TurboCat said:
Anyway one of my cats left a nice barf spot on the seat. I immediately cleaned it with water, but even though the leather is a nice chocolate brown you can still see the darker (and shiny) spot where the incident occured! :confused:
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This is just a guess, but if the offending cat "barf" is anything like the human equivalent, then it is slightly acidic. If left there long enough, it could have damaged or altered the coating on the leather a little, thus the darker spot.



Again, just a guess.



Michael
 
I believe the industry plan is for you to buy another car in 2-3 years. This lack of care ( per dealership) will hasten this apparent aging because the car even though not mechanically worn out but will appear dated because of the worn/stained interior and fading and swirled exterior paint 9 washed but not clayed, polished or waxed). JMO:wavey
 
The salesman don't know much about detailing, there are like the average person even though they work around cars. When I mentioned to my lexus salesman that I didn't want the car washed or prepared because I wanted to do it myself, he mentioned that the GC wax was amazing on my car and that AA is amazing on the dash. Actually not terrible products. Because he went out of his way for me and provided great customer service I showed up with a few goodies for him. I gave him some GEPC, S100, and Vinylex. He has the same car as me and a week later he called me up and said he could not believe the difference in these products especially after he thought he had his winning combination.
 
mpauly said:
This is just a guess, but if the offending cat "barf" is anything like the human equivalent, then it is slightly acidic. If left there long enough, it could have damaged or altered the coating on the leather a little, thus the darker spot.



Again, just a guess.



Michael
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Thanks Michael for the post! I guess it just adds to the "natural look" of real leather! LOL :rolleyes:
 
What I found is one side of the drivers seat where you rest your butt on:p the part closest to the door is starting to crack:( :eek: It may not be real leather but I still think you should treat it and keep it clean, make me sleep better @ night??? LOL



We plan on having the car around for another good 10 yrs +. We want the best for it, I think I speak for everyone on this forum when I say that??? BTW, what's GEPC???? Lemme see If I can try and get that pic posted again, hope it works??? Tks everyone,,,,91



pictureview.cfm
 
I remember reading somewhere that the leather seats in most modern cars come with a clear vynil coat. This coat seals up any pores that untreated leather may have, and thus makes conditioner unnecessary.
 
F-150_91 said:
What I found is one side of the drivers seat where you rest your butt on:p the part closest to the door is starting to crack:( :eek: It may not be real leather but I still think you should treat it and keep it clean, make me sleep better @ night??? LOL



We plan on having the car around for another good 10 yrs +. We want the best for it, I think I speak for everyone on this forum when I say that??? BTW, what's GEPC???? Lemme see If I can try and get that pic posted again, hope it works??? Tks everyone,,,,91



pictureview.cfm
Click to expand...



On my 98 4Runner, the same place on the drivers seat is starting to crack.



Anyway to stop this from further cracking?



What's a good conditioner?

Thanks
 
Most domestic car makers put out a "clear coated" leather now and it is said that this will cause the lether seats to last longer.



Imports are mainly still delivering vehicles with good ol leather seats.



The difference is that the clear coated leather needs only a mild cleaner applied plus a vinly/leather conditioner combo. The draw back is that if one uses a conditioner made for non-clear coated leather, it will degrade the clear coat and thus cause premature aging and cracking.



Old school leather needs to be feed, feed and feed some more of a lanolin based conditioner, even the threads.



How does one tell the difference?? Well most leather seats are only leather "faced", meaning that only the front facing parts have leather on them and the rest is vinyl impressed with a leather look. This would include the sides, rear and usually the head rests. Only in some of the finer autos do you find larger amounts of leather in the doors, seats and dash.



You can take some interior cleaner, a strong cleaner, and rub it on the leather in a hidden area and if the rag comes up with color then you have no clear coat. Much like testing the paint for a clear coat. Or contact your dealer, thats the safe way.



To hinder the wear and tear on your seats side bolsters make sure you have nothing in back pockets, like pens and make sure cell phones are not worn in such a way that they rub the seat when you enter and exit the car. Also, before you get out of the car move the seat back so when you get out there is less stress put on the side bolster. Then when you get back in the car the seat is all the way back witch helps again not to place too much friction on the seats when entering.



Anthony
 
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