Lexol treatment for leather

[paddlenbike]

My wife has a 2012 Acura with a very light colored tan leather interior that I noticed was looking dirty with areas of the seats starting to show signs of aging. I read some reviews and it seems like people really like Lexol, Leatherique and Zymol for cleaning and treating leather. I found Lexol cleaner and Lexol Leather Conditioner at my local Autozone and decided to give it a try.

I started with this, dirty and creased leather:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-U_GsQbey_UI/VdkQpC7r4HI/AAAAAAAAz-8/m4qWNCBLqVI/s800-Ic42/upload_-1.jpg

My wife hates cleaning car interiors and thus she doesn't give it much attention; and since I rarely drive the car I have never touched it. The driver's seat, leather armrests and center console armrest were pretty dirty. I used a soft cotton towel and went over the leather surfaces with the Lexol cleaner. This removed 100% of the dirt.

While I was cleaning I hit the plastic upper door panels and dashboard with 303 interior UV protectant. Cleaned the wood center console with warm water and cleaned 3 years of spilled soda out of the cupholders.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VoanTSUvTnc/VdkKsAuv4lI/AAAAAAAAz-8/7cjbgRLFOXY/s800-Ic42/DSC_0242.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PHSOnBil5Gg/VdkKlZpqzlI/AAAAAAAAz-8/ZM6b-5nITpc/s800-Ic42/DSC_0237.JPG

I used Lexol Leather Conditioner on a soft microfiber towel and wiped down all of the leather surfaces. The result was pretty amazing. The stretch marks that were showing on the seats are nearly gone. I will hit it again in a month or so and that should remove the marks entirely. The seats feel really soft now--you can tell this product will protect the seats from hardening, which leads to cracked and split seats.

Driver's seat that was creased:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ipYRG_czygU/VdkKZuQPvrI/AAAAAAAAz-8/HiNUGVHtmjo/s800-Ic42/DSC_0230.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2cydCNwTj6I/VdkLADx1IcI/AAAAAAAAz-8/a0Q3m4a0jm8/s800-Ic42/DSC_0231.jpg

I know many of you have leather interiors. Even if you think it's too late, it's probably worth a try. Unless of course your seats are already torn.

[Seanz0rz]

Thanks!

After our car was at the body shop, the interior is looking a little dingy. I will actually go out today and try to remove some of the dirt from the headliner and seats.

Did the conditioner (not cleaner) make the seats slippery? I remember using a product years ago that turned the seats into slip n slides.

It has been a long time since I cared about a clean interior!!!

[malteserunner]

We sell several leather care products at work. I always recommend Lexol, solely from customer feedback, and reviews like this.

I guess it's time I clean up my own leather...


Thanks for posting!

[paddlenbike]

Thanks!

After our car was at the body shop, the interior is looking a little dingy. I will actually go out today and try to remove some of the dirt from the headliner and seats.

Did the conditioner (not cleaner) make the seats slippery? I remember using a product years ago that turned the seats into slip n slides.

It has been a long time since I cared about a clean interior!!!

Bob gave me some Leatherique to try on my POS Volvo and had good results with it as well. Those seats were 18 years old and one treatment softened them up quite a bit. But they were just a little too far gone to completely save them. I think if a person were to do these treatments every 2-3 years that these interiors would last a really long time.

I seem to remember the Leatherique was a paste, much like the consistency of car wax. I think the paste might get trapped in the perforated leather like our Acura has, but the Lexol I used was a spray and didn't leave any residue. As far as the seats feeling slippery, it's hard to say. I'll report back in a few days when Hanna drives the car.

This is our first new car and it's time I start paying a little more attention to it. I always drive our other cars because this one is an automatic, which I don't like.

[Seanz0rz]

We used some Meguiar's Leather and Vinyl cleaner. http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/products/g18516-gold-class-leather-vinyl-cleaner/

We had some blackish marks on the very light tan interior left over from the body shop. This stuff took it right off. I am happy with it, but I will try the Lexol next time on the recommendations here. I will use up the Meguiar's on the vinyl RTT cover, then follow up with 303, which we used to clean and protect the hard plastics in the Ford. The marks on the headliner we used a Scotchguard cleaner that worked really well. Can't tell that any of the stains were there!

[paddlenbike]

Nice! Now let's remind each other every couple of years to keep on this!

[04 Rocko Taco]

Too little too late for our 1997 LX450.
But once we we get the seats re done, this will hopefully be in the front of my mind every couple of years.

[Seanz0rz]

I'm in search of some seat covers. Not sure where to start though.

[paddlenbike]

I'm in search of some seat covers. Not sure where to start though.

For the Ford? Just be careful about what material you choose. The seat protector (similar to a seat cover) that goes between our infant car seat and the bottom cushion discolored the leather and took me a while to repair. That seat protector has been there under a year and only has 20 pounds resting on it, so it possible to do more harm than good with seat covers on leather.

[Seanz0rz]

Yeah that's why I really want to do the research to find the right one. Might wait until next year.

[04 Rocko Taco]

Wet Okoles are hard to beat...

[Seanz0rz]

Sent away for some swatches for both the ford and 4runner. No Mossy Oak for me. Except maybe the pink...

[04 Rocko Taco]

No Mossy Oak for me. Except maybe the pink...

Always knew it was your favorite color.

[Good Times]

Wow Ken that looks great! Want to work on my cars too? :) I'm gonna have to give that a whirl.

[Bob98SR5]

Bob gave me some Leatherique to try on my POS Volvo and had good results with it as well. Those seats were 18 years old and one treatment softened them up quite a bit. But they were just a little too far gone to completely save them. I think if a person were to do these treatments every 2-3 years that these interiors would last a really long time.

I seem to remember the Leatherique was a paste, much like the consistency of car wax. I think the paste might get trapped in the perforated leather like our Acura has, but the Lexol I used was a spray and didn't leave any residue. As far as the seats feeling slippery, it's hard to say. I'll report back in a few days when Hanna drives the car.

This is our first new car and it's time I start paying a little more attention to it. I always drive our other cars because this one is an automatic, which I don't like.

Leatherique is not cheap and the only reason why I went with it was because I did some homework on dying leather seats and their leather dyes were purported to be the best. So along with the dye, I bought their cleaning, conditioning, and dye prep products. The process to clean and restore leather was very labor intensive---its meant for seats that weren't taken care of very well. As I recall, you had do some serious scrubbing w/ the cleaner using a lot of paper towels to get the dirt off. I recall taking about 3-4 days for each seat! But man you could tell---night and day. The seats looked like I bought them new (sans a few hard to reach places). Then it was time for the conditioning. So you spread the conditioner on, wrap it up in some kind of plastic bag to keep the heat and moisture from the conditioner in, and let it sit in the hot sun for a few days. Then you remove all of it and then do another cleaning.

Was it worth it? YES. Those seats were so supple I couldn't believe it myself. But I must've botched something on the leather dying---it stuck well in some places, not so well in others. Oh, this was on my BMW 2002 ('76)

The thing that I learned in all this is leather can be saved. As I did a lot of research on leather dying, all writers seemed to say over and over again that "leather is a living, breathing material" and it can be successfully restored with the right products, technique, and patience. Most people when they buy leather and don't take care of it, expect something from Pep Boys to restore it after 1 session of cleaning and conditioning. I fell into that category a while back too :)

[YotaGuy]

Lexol is great product. i've been using it for a quite a long time. i would recommend it too.