seats are very dull looking
depending on how dull they are you may want to start off with some saddle soap or leather restorer..
If they are really dull then look in to dye..
but if you want them to look new then get them re-upholstered.
If they are really dull then look in to dye..
but if you want them to look new then get them re-upholstered.
What is the condition? If they are just dull, thats how leather is when its new, its not shiny. Are they still soft, cracked ect? Do you have a pic of the seats?
The Camaro's and all OEM leather seats are sealed after tanning, and then there is a flexible urethane clearcoat applied to them. You shouldnt ever use anything really specifically designed for leather, unless the company ( like leather masters ) specifically caters to coated leather. On OEM leather you are maintaing the coating, not the leather. The coating is protecting the leather. Contrary to the detailing products industry tells you, most leather conditioners just sit on the surface and collect dust and other debris. Then you sit in the seat and its abrasive to the clearcoat. The mixture of leather conditioner that cant absorb into the leather through the clear and dust and body oils, sweat ect. are what CAUSES the fine crack lines(wrinkles) and premature wear. Not to mention the shineyness is like a magnet for sun rays which accelerates wear, as well as suffocating the pores of the seat...again causing them to dry out and prematurely get wrinkles in the clearcoat. FYI to the wrinkles, most of them are solely in the clear giving the appearance the leather has the wrinkles. Proper cleaning will eliminate alot of the wrinkles if they are not to severe.
All I ever use to clean OEM coated leather is distilled water mixed with a bit of mild detergent soap like dreft( baby soap ) , or leather masters soft cleaner. Apply the cleaner to the microfiber then clean the seat, you can use a soft brush like a horse hair brush to agitate. Rinse with clean distilled water( its cheap at the grocery store), and let the leather air dry completely. Then to maintain you can apply leather master protection cream or I keep a spray bottle with a fine mister filled with distilled water and I mist the seats once a month on the driver and every couple on the others. Not enough to soak, just a fine mist. Let dry by the mist absorbing into the leather. Its really as simple as that.
The goal is to keep the seats hydrated and water is the only thing that has molecules small enough to actually soak in past the clearcoat, in addition to water based products like leather master protection cream and to a lesser extent Zaino Z10. Lots of people will say you need lanolin and other things that would be beneficial to the skin of a living cow, but the fact remains, its dead skin and it does not have the same needs as living skin. All you have to do is keep it hydrated it will retain the matte sheen and be soft for years. Even cheap GM leather.
The backs, sides of the seats and headrests are vinyl. Clean with distilled water and mild soap and protect with water based products like 303 aerospace protectant or Inzett cockpit premium. I keep mentioning distilled water because it has nothing in it. Normal water has minerals and chemicals like chlorine and fluoride that will leave a residue or whiten plastic, leather or vinyl. Distilled water will air dry and leave nothing behind.
Leather unfortunately needs regular maintenance, and unfortunately most of the detail world is so filled with myths and really send you down a path of wearing out the leather prematurely with all their cleverly marketed topical junk. So....Sorry man, but I don't have an easy solution for ya. Ive brought back to life some pretty hopeless looking seats, but while not particularly hard, it isnt a quick process.
The Camaro's and all OEM leather seats are sealed after tanning, and then there is a flexible urethane clearcoat applied to them. You shouldnt ever use anything really specifically designed for leather, unless the company ( like leather masters ) specifically caters to coated leather. On OEM leather you are maintaing the coating, not the leather. The coating is protecting the leather. Contrary to the detailing products industry tells you, most leather conditioners just sit on the surface and collect dust and other debris. Then you sit in the seat and its abrasive to the clearcoat. The mixture of leather conditioner that cant absorb into the leather through the clear and dust and body oils, sweat ect. are what CAUSES the fine crack lines(wrinkles) and premature wear. Not to mention the shineyness is like a magnet for sun rays which accelerates wear, as well as suffocating the pores of the seat...again causing them to dry out and prematurely get wrinkles in the clearcoat. FYI to the wrinkles, most of them are solely in the clear giving the appearance the leather has the wrinkles. Proper cleaning will eliminate alot of the wrinkles if they are not to severe.
All I ever use to clean OEM coated leather is distilled water mixed with a bit of mild detergent soap like dreft( baby soap ) , or leather masters soft cleaner. Apply the cleaner to the microfiber then clean the seat, you can use a soft brush like a horse hair brush to agitate. Rinse with clean distilled water( its cheap at the grocery store), and let the leather air dry completely. Then to maintain you can apply leather master protection cream or I keep a spray bottle with a fine mister filled with distilled water and I mist the seats once a month on the driver and every couple on the others. Not enough to soak, just a fine mist. Let dry by the mist absorbing into the leather. Its really as simple as that.
The goal is to keep the seats hydrated and water is the only thing that has molecules small enough to actually soak in past the clearcoat, in addition to water based products like leather master protection cream and to a lesser extent Zaino Z10. Lots of people will say you need lanolin and other things that would be beneficial to the skin of a living cow, but the fact remains, its dead skin and it does not have the same needs as living skin. All you have to do is keep it hydrated it will retain the matte sheen and be soft for years. Even cheap GM leather.
The backs, sides of the seats and headrests are vinyl. Clean with distilled water and mild soap and protect with water based products like 303 aerospace protectant or Inzett cockpit premium. I keep mentioning distilled water because it has nothing in it. Normal water has minerals and chemicals like chlorine and fluoride that will leave a residue or whiten plastic, leather or vinyl. Distilled water will air dry and leave nothing behind.
Leather unfortunately needs regular maintenance, and unfortunately most of the detail world is so filled with myths and really send you down a path of wearing out the leather prematurely with all their cleverly marketed topical junk. So....Sorry man, but I don't have an easy solution for ya. Ive brought back to life some pretty hopeless looking seats, but while not particularly hard, it isnt a quick process.
Last edited by LT4vert; May 19, 2013 at 05:13 AM.
