i was wondering if there's anything i can buy or do to make my rear leather seats softer. Was it always that hard or did it get hard because of exposure to sunlight etc?

 

usually gets hard due to exposure to sun, tint your car, that'll help.

 

That won't make them any softer though. Damage is done.

Try using Lexol cleaner, conditioner, and preservative.

Dave

 

grab yourself some blinker fluid and then get a meat tenderizer...
for some reason i felt i had to do that

 

Leather is a skin that requires oils to keep it soft, age and heat evaporate these oils leaving the leather hard. check out the detailing forum for a couple of threads about leatherique, absolutelly amazing stuff, it will make even "cardboard hard" leather soft again as they claim.

 

like i said, blinker fluid
haha...
after u get them soft, use some sort of leather treatment stuff on them, like meguairs or something, it helps a lot

 

leatherique is the way to go, i have personal experience with it and with cheapo stuff.

 

use meguiars leather cleaner/conditioner to wipe down ur seats. it works perfect. and it smells great.

 

If your seats are cardboard hard, you will need Leatherique to rejuvenate the seats.

 

Luckily mine are still way soft, but good tips to know..

 

Any nice alternative to Leatherique ? thx

 

how much is leatherique and where would i find it? thanks!

 

http://www.leatherique.com/

get it direct maybe?

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=392795

 

the only thing would be lexol, but it wont work nearly as good as leatherique

 

listen everyone....I have tried all kinds of leathe cleaners, protectors and what not. Mequiars, lexol, etc. All that stuff is garbage compared to leatherique. I mean you might notice allright results using these products of your leather is brand new but if your leather is even slightly worn then leatherique is the only way to go. I have experience with it and let me say that it is amazing if used correctly. It might be fairly expensive but you only have to use it every 6 months or so, so splurge a little and try it, you wont be disspointed...trust me!

 

Is the 8 oz special kit of Rejuvinator Oil and Prestine Clean sufficient for one time application ? $20 is okk I guess ... my car leather seats are no cardboard like but i do think that prevention is better than cure ...

Also, is there any shipping charges if we buy from Leatherique site ?

Thanks.

 

I bought the 33 oz kit, which included applicator pads, a brush, and microfiber towels, from Autogeek.net. It cost about $75 with shipping. I have used about 1/4 of the bottles for one application. If yours are like mine, not cardboard hard, but not very soft either, it will require multiple applications, hence my reason for buying the 33oz kit. Plus, these bottles will last you for a while. Worth it in my opinion.

 

How do you tell which surfaces are leather and which are vinyl? I don't want to accidentally use a leather product on vinyl. I read that doing this will make a mess. Thanks.

 

Looks like Ill have to get some Leatherique as my seats are cardboard stiff! Good thing they sell it in Aus.

 

applying a leather product to vinyl wont hurt a thing, it wont do very much for the vinyl either. Stock Maxima leather is leather on the face of the seat (everywhere your body touches) and vinyl on the back and sides. if you carefully feel and sometimes lightly running your fingernail over the surface you can tell the difference, vinyl feels more rubbery and does have a different appearance also.

jacsmax: for cardboard hard leather several treatments will be neccesarry, up to 4 or more so make sure you order enough, it usually takes 2-4 oz. per seat per application. i would also reccomend you leave the rejuvinator oil on for a full 24 hours, maybe even 48 hours for the first or two applications.

 

Ok thanks for the tips. Also people have been recommended heating/warming it up, can this be done with a hairdryer or similar because its getting chilly here.

 

I'd wait for warm days because i dont think you'd want to take the chance of wasting something that expensive.

 

Good point, Ill have to wait a while then and do it properly in summer. I really want to get them in a better condition as the previous owner didn't look after them at all.