are the leather seats real or fake

I've used Lexol (cleaner, and conditioner) on my cars for as long as I can remember, with great results.

This is actually the first car I've had with coated leather, but in the past, I've cleaned & conditioned once a year (OK, twice a year--years ago when I was a lot more anal about my cars ).

My recollection is the owners manual does mention cleaning periodically with Woolite (doesn't mention it by name, but many people swear by a diluted Woolite solution), so I'd say clean it once or twice a year (unless you have young kids, dogs, etc.--then more frequently). I'm not going to use conditioner on mine, for the reasons given above.

 

The problem I've seen on furniture with coated leather is that the plasticky coating will wear in spots, causing the gloss of the leather to become uneven.

Woolite obviously will not restore the eveness of the gloss. I wonder if there's anything that will.

 

Yes...1998. Go into a BMW showroom and look at a new 3 series or 5 series, you will find leatherette seating areas. Some X5s have them too as well as the X3. Mercedes vehicles back in the 90's had leather seats also, the MB-Tex being as pervasive in the model line didn't start until this decade. I drove a $60,000 Benz E350 two weeks ago with MB-Tex seats, the salesman said he had never even seen one with real leather.

I am not right all the time, but I am right about this. I've been detailing cars and conditioning leather seats for a long time, and the instructions I gave the poster above for caring for his coated leather are straight from the manufacturer of those particular leather seats. Having confidence is not a sign of an "incredible ego", calling what someone says "total BS" because you disagree is.

I have detailed many Porsches and BMWs (never an airplane, but who knows what kind of leather is in an airplane, I'm sure it depends on the airplane) and those vehicles do have uncoated leather so you are correct, they will benefit from and do need regular conditioning with a high wuality non-silicone leather conditioner. However, coated leather in a Toyota Prius is a different thing entirely.

I accept your apology, just in the future when you disagree with me or anybody else try discussing the topic with me instead of just attacking me.

You would be surprised actually. Give it a try, if you do it regularly (once per quarter or so) it will maintain the even, matte finish of the leather. You can then add whatever protectant that would be appropriate to Vinyl (because thats what the coating is), 303 Aerospace (although its a little glossy). I use Ultima Interior Guard.

I use two buckets, one with the woolite mixture, and one with clean water. I then work the woolite mixture into the seats, rinse with the clean water, and then buff dry. Remember not to saturate the seats, just use a damp terry applicator sponge, or even a washcloth. Works very well on all the interior vinyl too, dashboard, even the headliner and carpeting.

 

OK, just out of curiosity, what is the point of having real leather if you're going to cover it with vinyl anyway? Is it that it is thicker and more supple, even with the vinyl coating?

 

How about Meguiar's Gold Glass leather conditioner for the Prius?

My brother swears by the stuff.

 

Its purely for durability and stain resistance. You sacrifice some softness and suppleness, but it holds up much better to zero care which is what most owners will give it, and it is MUCH harder to stain. When people say "I love leather becaise you can just wipe it off" what they love is COATED leather. Uncoated leather is actually fairly high maintenance.

The fact that it is only dyed on the surface is purely a cost-saving measure.

Ever see a certified pre-owned Lexus or something and marvel at how perfect the leather is inside? Wonder why? They actually spray on another coat of dyed vinyl coating before they put the car on the lot.

I don't like the MB-Tex either, and I don't think I've seen the Artico upholstery...

 

Hey, did I mention something false? Did I ever mentione the word conditioning in my post? Chill out dude...

 

I'm perfectly chilled...did I direct my post to you at all?

"Hydration" is not conditioning? What is it? If you weren't talking about conditioning coated leather...then what was the purpose of your post and in what way do you disagree with me?

One thing you did say that wasn't exactly correct is that the coating on coated leather fades away with time and requires proper "hydration" (which is apparently not conditioning...does it drink Gatorade?). When the coating fades away...the leather is ruined. What you need to concentrate on is protecting that coating...as you would any other vinyl in the car.

 

They call it "semi-analine" because the entire seat is not made of leather, only the seating surfaces are but the surfaces that are leather are dyed all the way through.

 

Well...not exactly.

Semi-aniline refers to the dying & pigmentation process. It starts the same as aniline (both are drum dyed), but then color pigments are applied to the surface, followed by a clear coat.

OK--I think we've probed deep enough into the wonderful world of leather...

 

I always wondered what animal naugahyde comes from. I thought the little naugas were cute and everything. Boy was I wrong! They aint little or cute. Looks like you only need one to cover a regular sized recliner, though....

 

I'm not even too young to remember when people could smoke on TV...

 

...or advertise cigarettes on TV.

Tom

 

When I saw this thread, the first thing that came to mind was my friends BMW that had "leatherette". I bet people bought those cars thinking they had leather.

I am kinda weird I guess, but I just think its kinda weird to have animal carcass in your car. When I think of leather, I try to tell myself its just another type of fabric!

 

I had always thought that naugas were cute little things about the size of tribbles,


but now that you mention it, naugahyde upholstery would have had a lot more seams if naugas were that small.

 

You'll have to have some years on you to get this reference.

The current recession has hit Corinthia very hard. Ricardo reports there is a world wide shortage of Rich Corinthian Leather.

 

I had lunch in Corinthia a few years ago in a small restaurant by the Corinth canal. There was a small shop selling leather goods by the canal. I regret not asking the proprietor if the good were made of Corinthian leather. There were no pictures of Ricardo in the shop, so is probably wasn't Corinthian leather.

http://www.cordobaclubusa.com/images/mantalban.swf