What does everyone use to protect leather ?

[acuRAS82]

Well...all you members who are being so on-board with me here oughta remember that I don`t mind creases/etc. in my leathers...shoes, interiors, any of it. If somebody wants their leather to keep looking like a freshly-ironed dress shirt, then I have no idea what to do.

FWIW, I`ve never had that creasing be a problem...and some of my dress shoes have been all creased up for >30 years with no problems and *IMO* still look fine with a good spitshine. But I gather some people don`t like it...

Just thought I`d better post that....hey, my skin has some creases in it too, goes with Father Time and beats the alternative IMO.

Coincidentally, creases don’t bother me much either. And if I knew how to prevent them easily I suppose I would, but I don’t know an easy way and have never looked into it. Because they aren’t a big deal in my eyes. Kind of like experience marks.

 

[Fishing]

I`v used Griots 3in1 Leather on my personal vehicles. Cleans the seats good but they are usually not that dirty. I do like the smell of it, a leather type smell but the smell only last a couple of days. Doesn`t get on to the sitters ( a real word ??) clothes and doesn`t make the seat slippery.

 

[E-Jag]

Accumulator, I`m all kinds of on board with still wearing 30 year old shoes - largely because I avoid places/situations where I need them like the plague...or pandemic. I still enjoy spitshining also. Tried it once on the car and nearly died but I did gain a new appreciation for Dos Equi. A damp mf has always worked well for me, along with the infrequent conditioner.

 

[Accumulator]

acuRAS82- Every time I tried like crazy to prevent the creases in my footwear, they happened anyhow..eventually. I agree with you, just the nature of things.

E-Jag- Well, I won`t say that I *enjoy* spit-shining (anything ) but since the local Shine Parlor closed down I can`t rely on Willie to do it for me. That guy was sooo good, really something how every time his work simply wowed me. He really *worked* for that $, earned it in every conceivable way.

Heh heh, no avoiding that kind of footwear for Yours Truly, 99% of the time I`m wearing something like that, never leave the property in athletic shoes/etc. although I do have a few pairs of casual ones that I don`t try to get like mirrors.

 

[Britsdaddy]

I will "steal" (more correctly hi-jack. What else is new, Captain Obvious!...) this thread and ask if anyone has used any of the leather-care products form Colourlock recently offered by Detailed Image? Just curious... seems like English-made products that mirror Leather Masters.

I`ve used the Colourlock Mild kit on my truck and wife`s car. My truck was brand new, wife`s was about a year old when I used them. The cleaner is pretty good. I was surprised how much came out of her steering wheel. The Leather shield goes on pretty easy and seems to hold up. I think I`ll have to do another treatment in the next month or so. The brush they have is great. I`d recommend that kit.
Matt from Obsessed did a video with the Colourlock guys. It`s really informative and really goes into detail on types of leather, materials in your car, and care and treatment.

 

[Astouffer512]

A few weekends ago I coated the interior of our Ford Fusion was it’s the Adam’s interior coating kit. It was very easy to works with and really restored the deep rich color of our dark interior


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[The Guz]

I`d love to know just how chemical resistant LeatherShield really is. In my experience there wasn`t a trace of it left after cleaning with a different brand leather cleaner. (Gyeon`s are meh).

I enjoyed using it and it held up close to a year.

It does hold up to their leather cleaner without any issues. Gyeon even gives the option to use their leather coat as part of their maintenance.

Guilty

Perhaps worth noting that when we picked up wife`s car after having PPF and coatings done I mentioned grabbing some Leather Shield for interior/seats. They said not to bother but rather to just give it an occasional hit with Sonax Leather Foam.

The concept has always been clean and protect. The confusing part for people is the term leather conditioner as it is a broad term. No need for all that mink oil or lanolin on modern leather.

Leather coatings can be fun but then again I’m not eating or drinking in my car to really need one.

I`ve used the Colourlock Mild kit on my truck and wife`s car. My truck was brand new, wife`s was about a year old when I used them. The cleaner is pretty good. I was surprised how much came out of her steering wheel. The Leather shield goes on pretty easy and seems to hold up. I think I`ll have to do another treatment in the next month or so. The brush they have is great. I`d recommend that kit.
Matt from Obsessed did a video with the Colourlock guys. It`s really informative and really goes into detail on types of leather, materials in your car, and care and treatment.

I just got done using the colourlock system myself on both of mine.

It is a bit of extra work for those older leathers as colourlock recommends protector on leathers older than 3 years and then waiting 24 hours to apply leather shield.

The end result seems nice. Will see how it holds on the daily driver.

 

[Old Pirate]

Wow, finally I found someone ( The Guz ) using ColourLock! Use it on my Mini Cooper leather seats. As far as I can say that it holds up pretty well with this heat in Florida.

 

[Striker]

Used sonax leather cleaner and conditioner. Not sure if I could tell a difference. But the car is brand new so maybe I’m not a good measuring stick.


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[bcgreen]

I use my old (v2.0) ONR on some household leathers, and it works just fine. So surprise to me that the Forever Rinseless works well too!



My guess is that there are sufficiently micro-fissures, or just porosity in the coating, or something else compromising it enough that the Conditioners penetrate.

What I found weird was that the results were so nice and uniform rather than "here`s where it soaked in, there`s where it didn`t".

The way my final e36 M3, the `93 Audi, and the Tahoe all softened up...and stayed that way...sure surprised me too. Pleasantly

I`ve been think of getting a e46 M3, how do you like yours?

 

[bcgreen]

I use Leatherique. If it is good enough for RR then it`s good enough for me.

 

[Accumulator]

I`ve been think of getting a e46 M3, how do you like yours?

Sorry, mine were e30 (wonderful thing built by Korman, loved it, rear-ended by pickup..) or e36 (eh, didn`t like those as much but they were what we knew from Skip Barber). No idea what the e46 ones are like...

EDIT: Heh heh, had to come back and add that I`d sure be surprised if you *didn`t* like the e46 M3, everybody seems to think they`re great.

 

[Accumulator]

I use Leatherique. If it is good enough for RR then it`s good enough for me.

The whole process seemed to labor/time-intensive that I couldn`t bring myself to bother (so I gave it to a fellow Autopian). But like you, plenty of folks sure like it.

This is the second time in a few days that somebody here has said "good enough for RR, then.." and/but I don`t get that. My vehicles have virtually nothing in common with RR cars, and the way I use/care for them is almost certainly very different from what`s done with most Rollers. Eh, not flaming and don`t mean to come across like a [jerk], I just don`t see why that influences people who drive something different.

 

[bcgreen]

Sorry, mine were e30 (wonderful thing built by Korman, loved it, rear-ended by pickup..) or e36 (eh, didn`t like those as much but they were what we knew from Skip Barber). No idea what the e46 ones are like...

EDIT: Heh heh, had to come back and add that I`d sure be surprised if you *didn`t* like the e46 M3, everybody seems to think they`re great.

I just asked knowing that your e30 is pretty close to e46 and thought you might have some experience. Just trying to decide what to keep in AZ during the winter mos. and the bmw was one of my choices. Its going to be difficult as all my detailing equip. is up north and I don`t want to duplicate supplies and detailing tools.

 

[Stokdgs]

I just asked knowing that your e30 is pretty close to e46 and thought you might have some experience. Just trying to decide what to keep in AZ during the winter mos. and the bmw was one of my choices. Its going to be difficult as all my detailing equip. is up north and I don`t want to duplicate supplies and detailing tools.

bcgreen --
Hope you guys are safe and well !

I have had a few Bimmers, including a new E46 3 Series, and a new, 2002 E36/8 M Coupe (Z3 M Coupe) that had the S54 M3 engine in it...
Totally a rocket !!! The 155mph limiter was removed, it would just keep going faster..

Also had a couple of new E39`s.. (the 5 Series)

This S54 engine is a detuned racing engine and requires ALL the required maintenance on time, as any racing engine should have.. It has 6 individual throttle bodies, just beautiful !

If you have a really great BMW Dealership or Indy Shop With the required BMW computers to talk to it, that will be a great source of help and repair..

The last versions of this engine (this was also the engine in the M3`s of that era), came with some rod bearing issues and the Factory recalled them all to change them.. My Z3 M Coupe did not have the defective rod bearings, so that was good..

The people I eventually sold the M Coupe to, drove it non-stop from Bellevue, Washington, to Minneapolis, Minnesota in less than 24 hours, never going below 100+ mph..
They told me the car absolutely tracked straight and safe all the way home..Never broke, no issues.

They sent me a picture of the speedometer at 160mph..

When they got it to Minneapolis, they sent me another picture of it - absolutely Covered in a million bugs!!!! All that driving at night!

They said they needed another 24 hours after they got home, to come down from the adrenalin rush..

Of course, I never drove my baby that fast that long, so I can only imagine how that drive must have been..

What do you want to know about the E46 platform ? I`ve detailed a couple of hundred Bimmers easy.. BMWCCA Membership for 18 years..

Dan F

 

[bcgreen]

bcgreen --
Hope you guys are safe and well !

I have had a few Bimmers, including a new E46 3 Series, and a new, 2002 E36/8 M Coupe (Z3 M Coupe) that had the S54 M3 engine in it...
Totally a rocket !!! The 155mph limiter was removed, it would just keep going faster..

Also had a couple of new E39`s.. (the 5 Series)

This S54 engine is a detuned racing engine and requires ALL the required maintenance on time, as any racing engine should have.. It has 6 individual throttle bodies, just beautiful !

If you have a really great BMW Dealership or Indy Shop With the required BMW computers to talk to it, that will be a great source of help and repair..

The last versions of this engine (this was also the engine in the M3`s of that era), came with some rod bearing issues and the Factory recalled them all to change them.. My Z3 M Coupe did not have the defective rod bearings, so that was good..

The people I eventually sold the M Coupe to, drove it non-stop from Bellevue, Washington, to Minneapolis, Minnesota in less than 24 hours, never going below 100+ mph..
They told me the car absolutely tracked straight and safe all the way home..Never broke, no issues.

They sent me a picture of the speedometer at 160mph..

When they got it to Minneapolis, they sent me another picture of it - absolutely Covered in a million bugs!!!! All that driving at night!

They said they needed another 24 hours after they got home, to come down from the adrenalin rush..

Of course, I never drove my baby that fast that long, so I can only imagine how that drive must have been..

What do you want to know about the E46 platform ? I`ve detailed a couple of hundred Bimmers easy.. BMWCCA Membership for 18 years..

Dan F

I am thinking of purchasing a e46 m3 and wanted to know about reliability and how comfortable is it for long drives. We have a 2004 MC40 and it is our daily driver. We were thinking of using it down at our winter home in AZ. but I told the wife she might not like it for some of the long drives.
So we have a few choices I have narrowed it down to Cad. CTSV, Cayman/Boxster, or the BMW.

 

[mobiledynamics]

BCG -

WWW. Weekend Warrior Wrencher ? Not for the faint of heart, unless one wrenches beyond the 4 year warranty period. Parts and Labor will run you. Some things.......are just labor intensive. I would not recommend getting into the chassis unless one was a WWW or just had deep pockets for a Indy. When I say parts, some OE, some OEM from FCP or the like. Even on what I would consider a fairly recent chassis for us, I was looking at what I paid prior and what I paid for the same part now (this was like 2 months ago). Same OE part seems to have almost doubled in price.


Back on the Original topic. Water is all I use to clean primarily and -protect-. The more clean the surface is, even on surface dirt embedded in the grain of the leather, the less it will rub.
However, I am a big fan of coatings on light colored stuff and mitigating jean dyes and use of strong cleaners to remove them
Coatings do shift the sheen if not color of it, so I would treat it so it`s consistents (don`t do one part but not the other)

 

[John U]

BCG -

WWW. Weekend Warrior Wrencher ?
)

I cannot find that? Right up my alley.

FYI. Dealerships markup over OEM list prices typically around 30%.

 

[mobiledynamics]

John. - OE- parts are usually from Morristown, Fairfax BMW, etc. Lot`s of -typical- places to order OE parts for less than list.
FCP sometimes may match but more often than not, the best prices are from said dealer discount parts mailorder. For OEM, than FCP for sure. It kinda depends on the part but there some that are OE only and many others which can be found at OEM equivalent.

The post was for BCG or just anyone getting into the chassis plastform post warranty. Kinda how you see these things on the used market. 2nd owner might have did some maintenance. Then he found it expensive . So it got sold to a 3rd owner who did nil to none maintenance. So the 4th owner is selling it now at 1/10 price, which may seem like a great price for any prospective buyer not aware of the costs of -proactive or reactive- maintenance. Luckily, the E46 does not have any many modules as even current cars, which can get costly....

 

[Stokdgs]

I am thinking of purchasing a e46 m3 and wanted to know about reliability and how comfortable is it for long drives. We have a 2004 MC40 and it is our daily driver. We were thinking of using it down at our winter home in AZ. but I told the wife she might not like it for some of the long drives.
So we have a few choices I have narrowed it down to Cad. CTSV, Cayman/Boxster, or the BMW.

bcgreen -- Love that Mini !!!

The E46 is long gone, since 2006. It was for me, a very nice, well sorted out, almost perfect balance 51%/49%, and absolutely a dream on long drives..

I like to drive the first stint Sacramento to Tucson, AZ, around 13-14 hours straight, and in my new 2001 E46 3 Series, I was not even tired, when I rolled into Tucson.. The car is quiet, tracks straight, has great halogen headlights, the Sport Seats are very nice, adjustable, the rest of the car has room for luggage, and all just fine.. A perfect highway car in any weather condition..

If you decide to go with the E46 M3, again, it requires a lot more maintenance because of the engine.. If you ignore it, it will not be happy..
If you can find a good, well maintained - WITH verifiable records, it will be great !

My M car had the 6-speed.. Some M3`s I believe came with the SMG transmission, and I do not know much about them personally, but have heard that they are of course, more complicated, and of course require maintenance.. My 6-speed - never had an issue one..

If you can find a nice one, and can find a great Indy repair place, then you and your vehicle will most happy every time you get in there and fire it it up.

I don`t know if you can access the BMWCCA website or not, but if you can, they have a Classifieds section and lots of members put their vehicles for sale there..
Because most Bimmer owners are pretty fanatical about the marque And their vehicle/s, they mostly take pretty darn good care of them..
The ones I have seen in the past at this website have been just beautiful, well maintained, and always make me wish I had that great job again, and could just go out and buy one!

The interior of the E46 vehicles if it was an M or even with just the Sport Package non-M`s, had beautiful leather, carpets, a nice, thick, leather covered steering wheel, and nothing cheap or dumb inside.. As with perhaps most of the German vehicles, they are probably somewhat spartan, not full of little shiny things, just the right things, the correct placement, the correct touch and feel..

The only other thing I can tell you regarding the E46 M3 and variants of it, with the Sports Package in those model years, is that the wheel alignment is factory set to be very "aggressive" = the best traction, handling, etc.. This also means this wheel alignment will also wear out all 4 tires faster, because it is more aggressive, so you have to be ok with that, or perhaps, if you have a really good Bimmer mechanic, he can change the alignment specs a little to take out that setting a bit and your tires will last longer... Yes, it will not be as nimble, but it IS still a BMW, a Driver`s Car, in any model, etc...

Please be careful, if you pursue one from a private seller, and if they have no Verifiable Service Records, I would really be thinking of walking away.. Of course, if it has very, very, low mileage and that is also verifiable, then perhaps it is one of those unicorns..

And it makes sense to me, if I were in the market again, to already have found a reliable, trusted, lots of positive clients, Shop/Dealership that would be able to perform a very good pre-purchase inspection for you before you purchase..

BMW also sells Pre-Owned Bimmers that of course are inspected, etc., parts replaced, etc., so that might also be another avenue to explore...

Dan F