How to restore old interiors from glossy to the original matte finish?

[jaldeguer]

Hi,

You know how over the years, the leather and vinyl interiors end up with a glossy finish? what type of cleaner or application brings the interiors back to a more matte and original finish?

Thanks for your help.

Jay

[keynsham1]

In the UK there is a product called Armor All Protectant Semi-Matt:



It does exactly what you want. I am not a great fan of the gloss look either. It is very good on vinyl, but not suitable for leather. I usually find leather gets shiny because of grease and oils from hands etc. A good cleaning product will remove the oils and grease and return the original look. Use a proper saddle soap as this will ensure that the leather will be clean but will not dry out.

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by keynsham1

In the UK there is a product called Armor All Protectant Semi-Matt:



It does exactly what you want. I am not a great fan of the gloss look either. It is very good on vinyl, but not suitable for leather. I usually find leather gets shiny because of grease and oils from hands etc. A good cleaning product will remove the oils and grease and return the original look. Use a proper saddle soap as this will ensure that the leather will be clean but will not dry out.

Please don't use that, Armor All is a terrible product.

Leatherique is a solid option and will return the leather/vinyl to a matte finish. Their website is awful but the product is spectacular. Be prepared to do a bit of work though, which is to be expected for anything that works.

[keynsham1]

Armor all is a fantastic product. I have been using it for years and won many concours events with other vehicles I own. I strongly recommend it. Nothing is better in my opinion.

[SilberUrS6]

For all that's good and holy, do not use Armor-All products on your Porsche, and especially that product on leather. Leatherique is the best stuff. I have used it on all my leather interiors for the past 15 years, and it works great. Zymol might also work well, but on a per-ounce basis, it's more expensive. I have also heard of Zaino, but that's even more expensive than Zymol.

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by keynsham1

Armor all is a fantastic product. I have been using it for years and won many concours events with other vehicles I own. I strongly recommend it. Nothing is better in my opinion.

That's great, you're still wrong. Armor All is the laughing stock of leather/vinyl care products.

[Josh D]

I've used Mother's VLR with good results. Leaves a matt finish.

[304065]

Einszett Cockpit. Try it and you'll see.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by 304065

Einszett Cockpit. Try it and you'll see.

I saw that the other day when I was browsing detailing supplies.

Can you share your experiences?

[jaldeguer]

Thank you for all the advice. Will look all of them up. Ive used leatherique dye but never their cleaning products. Which particular leathrique product is suggested here?

[jaldeguer]

Originally Posted by 304065

Einszett Cockpit. Try it and you'll see.

Just found that Amazon carries this. Thanks.

[tobluforu]

Sonus Leather Conditioner
Porsche smell in a bottle, even has a pic of a Porsche on the bottle. I mean what more can you ask for?
But seriously, this is what you want. Yes, I have an opinion.

[BR-549]

I've had good results with Einszett Cockpit, altho only on vinyl. It's not for leather. If you like matte finish, you'll love Einszett.

[304065]

Originally Posted by SilberUrS6

I saw that the other day when I was browsing detailing supplies.

Can you share your experiences?

Well there was this lady in Philadelphia who . . .

. . . oh you mean with the 1Z? Great stuff. Spray it on, let it sit, wipe it off with a microfiber towel. Restores the factory matte finish, leaves a unique smell for a bit. I actually spray this stuff right over the radio (in the Squadron Hack, I wouldn't spray it on the x-code Blaupunkt in '065), right over the gauge faces, on the steering binnacle, in the vents, everywhere. Then hit it with a Chemical Guys "Sasquatch Maximus" microfiber, the fat hairy kind-- removes the product which does NOT stain the plastic or gum things up.

Worked great at Parade.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by 304065

Well there was this lady in Philadelphia who . . .

. . . oh you mean with the 1Z? Great stuff. Spray it on, let it sit, wipe it off with a microfiber towel. Restores the factory matte finish, leaves a unique smell for a bit. I actually spray this stuff right over the radio (in the Squadron Hack, I wouldn't spray it on the x-code Blaupunkt in '065), right over the gauge faces, on the steering binnacle, in the vents, everywhere. Then hit it with a Chemical Guys "Sasquatch Maximus" microfiber, the fat hairy kind-- removes the product which does NOT stain the plastic or gum things up.

Worked great at Parade.

Ohh, now I see it's vinyl-only. My driver's seat is a little shiny, and I need to unshinify it.

So, what about this gal in Philly???

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by jaldeguer

Thank you for all the advice. Will look all of them up. Ive used leatherique dye but never their cleaning products. Which particular leathrique product is suggested here?

I've found their dye to be kind of lacking personally.

Pristine Clean and the Rejuvenator Oil are the care products. Oil first on leather surfaces only. Cleaner second on anything.

[keynsham1]

That's kicked off a bit of a debate! It's all a matter of opinion. Most USA stuff isn't sold in the UK so they are not and option. Who here is a specialist anyway? I guess all the comments are what you have all learned from others and of course mostly hearsay! Reality is that this is a forum and so is just opinion of non professional people.

Use whatever works for you. As I said I use Armor all and I have found it very good, and don't kid yourself that Porsche interiors are special by the way. Generally the quality of materials used compared to other makes of car I have owned is pretty poor!

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by keynsham1

That's kicked off a bit of a debate! It's all a matter of opinion.

Actually, no. Reading the bottle is an important step.

[Coastr]

Originally Posted by keynsham1

In the UK there is a product called Armor All Protectant Semi-Matt:

It does exactly what you want. I am not a great fan of the gloss look either. It is very good on vinyl, but not suitable for leather. I usually find leather gets shiny because of grease and oils from hands etc. A good cleaning product will remove the oils and grease and return the original look. Use a proper saddle soap as this will ensure that the leather will be clean but will not dry out.

Armour all is silicon based. Silicon is terrible for paint, leather, plastic, you name it. It's good for making something shiny for 10 minutes, but it's terrible for the surfaces over time. You want silicon free products for all care care products.

I have had good results from a UK based product called 'Gliptone' but it tends to make your car smell like a horse saddle. My new favourite leather cleaner/conditioner is 'Bowdens own leather love' and leather protector. But as this is an Australian made product not sure how available it is in other places. Certainly available as a web purchase though.

Properly cleaned and treated leather will have a matt finish and shouldn't be slippery or shiny.

http://www.bowdensown.com.au/leather-love



Gliptone

http://www.liquidleather.com/liquidl.htm

[RSTarga]

Good old saddle soap will clean it and leave a matte finish. It's just gylicerene soap.
I use soffener with is sort of like leatherique. Connalys Hide food too. Griots makes a leather product too.