First "Happy Christmas Everyone".

Hope you are all enjoying your new trucks.....and for those that are still waiting ....It's worth the wait !!!

Despite the moaners and the gripers it really is an excellent piece of kit.

I just took my new 4x4 on the beach and thoroughly enjoyed it.

HOWEVER....!

We have discussed the leather several times especially cleaning.

See....
https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...hlight=Leather

Some of us who had the KR version of the old F 150 spent endless hours debating the various products and methodologies for cleaning that wonderful Castano Leather.

This new "Tan" leather, though is something else !

Firstly as I have said before on these boards I haven't got the foggiest notion why Ford insist on calling it "Tan".

"Tan" it isn't.

Parchment maybe, or beige more like !

In fact in Europe (Possibly the US for all I know ) the Volvo range (Part of the Ford Empire) has EXACTLY the same leather which they call Parchment !

Anyway, this is all by the by.

The main purpose of this post is to advise you to clean your "Tan" leather regularly.

If you have had your truck for more than 3/4 weeks it WILL be dirty...even if you hadn't noticed (Especially the side of the seat squabs where one tends to slide over getting in and out.)

I have only done 600 miles in my new 4x4 and have cleaned it twice already !
There is something about the texture of this particular leather that holds the grime.
My truck does not get hard use (One exception the beach this morning), and it really surprised me how dirty it was getting.

So if you haven't tried a clean yet, get some Lexol, or any well known brand leather cleaner/conditioner, and rub some on your seat with a shop towel.
I think you'll be surprised !

Anyway I wouldn't swap my light interior for a dark color for anything...I think the light color lifts the spirits a little bit rather than perhaps black...which to me is depressing....and not very suitable down here in the heat of South Texas.

I quite understand though why some people go for black especially in working trucks.

Anyway if you haven't had a go at your leather yet give it a go soon !!



Don't drink and drive !!!

 

I ordered a new Lariat with tan trim in July, came in mid October, the same time another sold unit came in with black. I decided not to take the unit and ordered another Lariat with black trim. Just got it last Tuesday. I am very very pleased with the black.

My 02 Screw had tan trim and it was hard to keep clean. The 04 tan seems to be much lighter than the 02.

Probably be a little hot here in Oklahoma in the summer, but much easier to keep clean.

Sure don't like the dinky floor mats!

 

I've got the tan, and for sure it gets dirty fast. I've cleaned it several times now in the truck's first 7500 miles, and it is amazing to see that clean leather come out from behind the dirt.

However, re the black vs tan thing. Both the black and the tan are getting the same dirty, just that it doesn't show up on the black so well. Still, it's a good idea to get that leather clean.

 

I had white leather in a Corvette once.

Let me tell you, white leather and Levi 501's do not play well together.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong (which I'm sure someone will) but the other day I read somewhere that Ford will be changing the "TAN" leather to a darker "TAN" in the coming model year. Stated that it wasn't dark enough for most customers. I woud have loved to get tan in my 04 (white az biege lariat screw) I really liked the leather in my 01 lariat scab (white monotone) but the TAN in this 04 was just way too light...and I went with black. Black is nice but the interior is just too dark during these gloomy michigan winters.

 

the entire reason I would never order such a light colour is that you would need to clean it with that frequency.

Fantastic looking color and great for those that can invest the time, but not for me.

 

I love to looks of the tan leather , but I have noticed That 505's
DO NOT play nice with the light leather. I have 6 pairs of 505's so it looks like about every week to 10 days I get to clean my drivers seat. I have cleaned it 3 times in a month. And all the leather and grab bars etc one time . I have the whole thing on my list of things to do this weekend . I made up my mind it will be easier if I don't let it get ahead of me . I just thought of something I need to do in town . That means I get to drive the F150 again

I really hate that when I ahve to drive to town again

 

I know all of you in this thread meant to say "tan vinyl" and not "tan leather". Oh wait, I almost made the same mistake, "premium tan vinyl".

 

lol....good one...Premium Tan Vinyl=2" of REAL leather seating surface!....that really does suck!

 

There are suddenly a lot of people here who seem to be "leather"
experts !

Some time ago ( a couple of months) some clever **** suggested the rear seats were mostly vinyl.
It seems to be an idea that has caught on and some people are now convinced that there is more vinyl than leather in the whole vehicle.
I would challenge those people to know the difference....there is actually a major part of those seats that is leather.

As for never ordering light leather .... as I said in the first post of the thread, it is something about the "Texture" of this particular leather that holds the grime.
Some light leathers are quite OK.
I have an Aston DB7 that has white leather that hardly ever gets dirty, yet a couple of years back had an S Type Jaguar with white leather that was a total pain !!

 

Hey Lenticular, I took this from a past thread.

"No, ive been doing all our upholstery work at my dealership for about 9 years, and I have seen the changes over the last few, and I am 100% sure in saying that only those areas circled above are the real leather parts in the back seat."

If you want to see what’s leather and what’s vinyl go to search mode and type in "vinyl" under the 2004 F-150 Forum and look at the "cheap seats" thread. It has pictures showing where the little bit of leather is. Sorry to brake it to you, I found out through this site and was very pissed. But that’s how it is. Thanks for the cleaning tips though!!!

 

yep i agree, only the center squares are actually leather.

i ordered a white/tan truck with tan leather and i gotta say it was one of the reasons we didn't keep it. went all black with gray interior and love, sure it's getting just as dirty, and as posted i should clean the leather/vinyl seats.

happy holidays to everyone

freddy

 

A few weeks back I was at a Ford Market Research Group and spoke with one of the Ford engineers about the leather in the 04 Lariat Screw. He did confirm, that in the back seat only the four small squares are actually real leather. He also informed me, that the front seats are almost all real leather. I specifically asked him about the panels either side, in front of, and above the four main panels (on the front seat). He said that everything on the front seat was real leather except for the headrest and the rear panels.

Another engineer said that they use the vinyl for durability and the ease of cleaning.

Scott

 

Thanks Scott,
That should put the leather/vinyl question to rest!!!

 

scott99


Thanks for that.....

Sorry for the confusion.....I should have said that I was really only talking about the Front Seats.

I HAD seen those pics of the rear seats outlined.

Our back seats are folded up most of the time for carrying stuff.....well the wife's shopping actually.....so I only tend to think about the fronts that we actually use !