What is the best product for leather care

BertBeagle · 04-23-2006, 01:52 PM

What is the best product for leather care in an older 911 (70's)?

Thanks!

tonypeoni · 04-23-2006, 02:01 PM

Ive tried everything hide food, conditioner ect. The best Ive found is meguiars with aloe.

Wil Ferch · 04-23-2006, 02:18 PM

Without a doubt.... Lexol ...

-->http://www.lexol.com/

- Wil

unclenick · 04-23-2006, 02:20 PM

I have used both Lexol and Meguires, I like the Lexol line better.

jac1976 · 04-23-2006, 02:29 PM

Lexol. Vinylex, also from the Lexol line, on the vinyl (obviously). 303 Aerospace Protectant is also great as a UV protectant on all trim, especially black pieces.

Steve 82SC · 04-23-2006, 03:14 PM

I used Lexol for the first time just recently....pretty good. But, IMO, products from Leatherique do about the best job in addressing all leather issues.

Steve

jerhic · 04-23-2006, 03:23 PM

Hide Food, its what Rolls Royce Recomends for leather care,

cegerer · cegerer's Garage

If you're trying to clean and recondition the seats, I HIGHLY recommend Solutions leather products from the UK.

http://solutionsleathercare.co.uk/

I used this stuff on a 15 year old leather chair that my kids had spilled glue, marker, paint, glitter, etc. on over the years and I was going to throw it out. I was skeptical, but this stuff made the chair look new! There's a cleaner and a 'Finish'.

Miguel Antonett · 04-24-2006, 04:42 AM

For old leather, there is nothing better and safer than Hide Food.

wcc · 04-24-2006, 04:50 AM

Where do you get this "Hide Food" at? I've never heard of it before this thread. I've used Armor All Leather wipes and a couple times a year I use the stuff that came with our leather couch for cleaning and softening. So far it's been ok, but you guys got me interested in this Hide Food.

jac1976 · 04-24-2006, 04:54 AM

Google "Hide Food"or "Connolly Hide Care," which it is now marketed as since the FDA didn't like the inclusion of "food" in the original name.

Miguel Antonett · 04-24-2006, 04:55 AM

I get it from Performance Products and/or Car Care Specialties.

chuckr · 04-24-2006, 05:16 AM

leatherique or leathermaster tends to work best on Porsche leather.
I'd go with the Leatherique on the older/worn leather and the
Leathermaster for the newer leather.
www.leatherique.com and www.topoftheline.com

AvonGil · 04-24-2006, 05:34 AM

Leatherique is the best product I have ever used.

KCPSG · KCPSG's Garage

I use the Connolly...and love it.

carreraken · carreraken's Garage

Griots leather rejuvinator... worked great on my old dry leather...

DB_NC_95C2 · 04-24-2006, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by AvonGil
Leatherique is the best product I have ever used.

ditto that, especially on old thicker leather

BertBeagle · 04-24-2006, 07:21 PM

Thanks, everyone, for the responses.

I posted this same question on the 356 Registry talk list. About the same sort of responses except for one.

One interesting reply from a guy who is an interior decorator. He says that most manufacturers of leather goods recommend only mild soap and water. He uses a little saddle soap and water on nice old leather furniture.

Come to think of it I have seen the same recommendations on leather products. I still have my Little League baseball glove (very old!) and play catch with it now. All it has ever seen is saddle soap and neatsfoot oil.

Probably a lot of stuff out there is snake oil. Could be that the most descriptive labels hyping essential oils yada yada could be from the deadliest snake.

The Lexol and Hide Care are probalby good as they are widely used.

I have an older 911 with a very nice original interior and I want to keep it that way. So this is not so much a restoration as a maintenance project.

I am leaning towards Hide Care and / or saddle soap and water.

Thanks again for all the posts!

randywebb · 04-24-2006, 09:25 PM

a guy who is an interior decorator...

w/o making any jokes, I'd guess it really depends on what shape the leather is in...

- anywhere on a spectrum for saddle soap to Leatherique...

nhromyak · nhromyak's Garage

Interesting that I came across this, as I am looking to dye my leather steering wheel and finish my seats. Initially I tried Lexol on my original '85 leather sport seats. There was one rip in the seat bolster on the driver's side. It was about 1 1/2" long.

These seats (apparently) have the original lacquer dye with the color cashmere. This gives the seats a hard shell coating and is known as a top coat leather.

These seats leather were so hard and stiff I thought they were vinyl. I tried Lexol and it made the top-coat nice and clean, but you could still tell the leather was stiff. Next I tried Connolly Hide Food. This was interesting, it seemed to work well. But ohhhh the smell, especially after a few days (if you leave too much on). It had more of a horse than a leather smell (to me). But it definately brought out the leather smell after I cleaned it up some more. The leather condition was softer, but my seats were still tough and dry.

I then tried Leatherique. Primarily, because of the tear and the fact I would need to dye them again. I got their kit (this was over two years ago now). I have used their oil and I still need to add more oil to the seats to get that soft leather feel. It is getting better with every application though.

This year, I have removed the original dye (lacquer paint really) from one of the seats. I have done one coat of Leatherique's oil and this seat feels a bit softer than the original "painted seat".

I will be getting one more 32 oz oil from Leatherique to finish both seats up before this summer.

Basically, after removing the original top-coat, the leather seems to absorb the oils and conditioners better. I wonder if Lexol or Connolly's Hide Food would do the same thing...

BTW: I am also looking at leathermagic, but I am leary of a product that does NOT list their product's main ingredient. As I have found silicon based conditioners and cleaners are the WORSTE thing for your leather. It may feel and seem good at first, but these tend to dry-out the leather quicker.

Good luck.