not that you sickos.. I need to get some cleaner/protectant for the max and pf. I've heard positive and negative about Lexol. What about the Nissan branded stuff? anyone try it?

Leather Cleaner $3.32 (99MPA5060P)
Leather Protectant $4.15 (99MPA5055P)

I know, I've waited too long (about 14 months on both cars) to do this.

 

I use Meguiars (sp?)
its pretty good.. i do like 2-3 coats on the front seat and 2 on the back

Ant

 

leather conditioner works very well and it smells nice too. Not too oily and works wonders--

btw, is the "leather" in our cars really "leather?" It seems faux at times compared to the stuff in a lexus or bmw...

 

On my car I have aftermarket leather so unfortunatley it's real leather. On your cars it's leather up front and a form of vinyl in the back.
Since I have leather in the back of the car..it gets heated from the sun...we all know what happens when leather get's hot? IT SHRINKS!!!!
Yep...the top portion of my rear seats is all ripped!!!
So be thankful that you have vinyl...it would cost $400 to fix.

 

I used Lexol in all my cars with leather interior for many years and no problem at all. You can also use Lexol products on your leather furniture and some of your clothing. If you started when the car is still NEW or good shape then you will save the leather interior before it starts cracking/drying up. Some of the others' situation might be too late no matter what they use now. This is the same product that majority of the detail shops use. You can give other products like Zymol or Meguiar's a try since it is not too expensive to buy a small sample. But I will personally only buy/try some of the more well known brands. Good luck.

Ken

 

so the leather in the back is fake on 4th gens?

 

Lexol cleaner is just a liquid gylcerine, you can buy a glycerine bar for $1.50 that will last you 10 years and will clean every bit as well as lexol. Their conditioner is pretty good, although it's mainly a neatsfoot oil. Since that formula of neatsfoot is pretty hard to find you might as well just stick with Lexol. Clean the leather monthly, condition maybe twice a year, more often if it's thirsty.

 

I think he means that the seating surfaces are leather, but the back of the seat is Vinyl. I know that in my 4th gen, my rear seats are leather. They've got the same feel and texture as the front seats, which is definitely different from the Vinyl (faux-leather) parts of the car - the back of the seats and the door trim.

 

When I use leather conditioner, I use a hair dryer to heat up the leather as I rub it in. It opens up the pores more and the seats absorb it a lot better. Burns my hand though.

 

Ours probably isn't the same quality.
When I bought a leather sofa awhile back you could get it in like 8 different grades of leather...prices for the cheaper one being around $1700 all the way up to $3500 for the most expensive stuff on the exact same style sofa.

 

Lexol is definitely the way to go, I started using it on my 89 GXE last year and it softened up most of the leather, except the top of the rear seats. The only drawback I found by using Lexol is it can get greasy if you don't wipe it off completely. On the plus side it works so well people think I’ve had my seats recovered.

 

I may be wrong, but it seems like the 95-96 has a higher grade of leather than the 97-99. The seats in my friend's 97 just don't feel as nice as mine - kind of rough. Flame me please...

 

I've got a 96 and I like the leather. I noticed that it was kind of rough in comparison to some of my friend's cars ( dodge avenger, Navigator, old LHS) however. all of their SUPER SOFT leather seats have rips in them except for the Navi but he just got that. My point is, since it's a little rougher, I think it can take more, thus not tearing up as quickly as softer grades...this is a good thing. Nobody's soft leather couch is about to bake in the sun for hours a day...so it can stay on the couch

 

Yes, I think what Roman is saying is true in the Maxima--the standard stuff has real leather in the front driver and pasenger--whearas the back feels a bit plasticy--you ever felt the inside of a BMW where it has the "leatherlike" interior--well the backseat feels similar to that. I am not sure if it is jsut my tan leather interior, and the black leather is different.
Oh well, I guess I learned soemthing else again--jeez, how much was the leather interior cost? 1-2K sheesh...
and all I get are two seats with realy leather.

by the way, study the material of the back seat really well, it lakcs the real pores of the real stuff up front.
Damn, my suspicion has been confirmed!!

=)