Leather Matte finish

[ChadW]

Hi,

Being the 1st car I've had with full leather seats, then I thought I would get some proper cleaner, did not realise though that some give gloss rather than matte finishes.

Brought some Megiuars Gold CLass leather stuff but not sure what finish this would give, should it be matte and I am not using enough or is it gloss as my drivers seat hip and arm bolsters seem to be a lot more shiny than the passenger seat, which gets used as quarter as much. Is the Autoglym leather treatment matte (dealer recommended this) or can you still get Audi's own brand. DO Audi still do colour specific too as mentioned in the TT manual (I have grey leather btw).

Or is the just normal wear and tear for grey leather, once I found my camerea I might get a few pics done to illusatrate this. My handbrake cover seems to be getting shiny at the end too, is this normal after only 3k worth of miles?

Any initial help would be appreciated though.

Thanks.

[jmiller]

~One man’s opinion / observations ~

Autoglym provides a ‘matte’ finish; there is absolutely no basis for a colour specific wax for paint surfaces or leather. What ‘type’ of finish do you have on your leather, as some manufacturers use a polyurethane clear coat on top of the hide to preserve it’s finish, this will tend to be ‘shiny’ whatever leather treatment you use.

1. Cleaning- use a soft horse hair brush (Groit’s Leather & Interior Brush PN15515) or a vacuum to remove any dust, apply a cleaning solution (Water /Woolite or Dreft 6:1 ratio or stronger) on to an applicator pad and apply to one area at a time (i.e. a seat back). Gently agitate the surface with a boar’s hair cleaning brush. This removes stubborn grime and will not harm the leather. Use a clean, damp Microfiber towel to rinse the leather.

Stubborn stains- dependent upon the leathers condition or how dirty it is consider using a leather-cleaning product. (Leatherique’s Prestine Clean or Croit’s Leather Cleaner)

2. Maintenance- recommend a preventative maintenance routine three to four times a year, once prior to the winter season to prevent cold temperatures cracking the leather, and once before the heat of the summer to prevent deterioration and shrinkage by heat, which result in continued cracking of leather. In addition to regular cleaning, leather requires replacement of natural oils; Collagen-based products restore the lost moisture and maintain it’s natural flexibility. The smell of leather comes from oils evaporating out of the hide. Once every 30-60 days, Arizona, Florida and Texas, especially in summer, for northern climates between 90-120 days, use a leather conditioner to restore these natural oils and keep the leather soft and supple. (Criot’s, Autoglym or Zymol Treat leather cleaners are good maintenance product)

3. UVR Protection- you should consider additional sunscreen protection (especially if you own a convertible) Leather conditioners typically do not offer any UV screening. The best solution is to alternate between a leather conditioner and a UVR Protectant. One month use a conditioner to keep the leather healthy and supple. On alternate months mist and wipe the leather with a UV protectant. After application allow 60 minutes for product to cure, then using a 100% cotton cloth lightly buff surface.

~Hope this helps~

Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/ Jon

justadumbarchitect * so I question everything *

[Sven]

[ QUOTE ]

Brought some Megiuars Gold CLass leather stuff but not sure what finish this would give

[/ QUOTE ]

I used it, and it doesn't get 'shiny', just nurtures the leater and cleans it. I'm happy with it. (Valcona/Alcantara in 'Swing' (dark grey)).

[Paul]

i tried it and hated it Sven.

Had to use stage one again to get stage two off.

[Bushy]

I personally prefer the 2 stage Aloe Meguiars product to the Gold Class but all if applied then buffed off should give matt finish not shiny

[Sven]

NOW he tells me....

Anyways, on the Valcona it works okay, made it supple and even got shoemarks of the back of the seats (f'n kids). Although the cleaner may be more practical for that. (Grrr!)

Paul, what didn't you like about it?

[ChadW]

Sorry when I typed Gold class I mean't the newer Medallian Leather Protection treatment stuff you can get from Megiuars. So does anyone know if this should give a matte finish?

Some people reckon to get the matte finish all you need to do is wipe down the seats with a very hot damp cloth, will try this now and let you know how I get on.....

[Paul]

[ QUOTE ]

NOW he tells me....

Anyways, on the Valcona it works okay, made it supple and even got shoemarks of the back of the seats (f'n kids). Although the cleaner may be more practical for that. (Grrr!)

Paul, what didn't you like about it?

[/ QUOTE ]

despite all the care and time i took, the finish was awful on my silk nappa black leather.

Blotchy and spotty, and seemed to leave a greasy finish.

in the end i used the stage 1 cleaner to get rid of the stage 2, and flogged it on here.

I then went back to trusty AutoGlym, and was more than happy with the results , and much easier to do just the one coat.

[Paul]

Licke Chad, i have also been told all i have to do is keep them wiped down, and to get rid of the grease/shinyness use a very hot damp towel, to clean the pores as it were.

[CARACTERE 007]

i use the zymol stuff..works very well

[ChadW]

....Hi, yes looks a lot better than it did. Guess it was just general grease and grime causing the shine as it were.

Cheers for all the advice on cleaners too.

What I am going to do now is get the Autoglym leather treatment and use it twice a year to 'feed' the leather while every 2 weeks rub down with the 'hot' damp cloth, btw I used one of those high fibre cleaning cloths, very good although the garish pink colour does me no favours!