My steeringwheel in my 03 KR was starting to get very dark after a few months of owning the truck. I read the article on the Johnson's baby wash and decided to try it. It didn't do ANYTHING. In fact, it made the leather almost black. I have tried damp cloths and still I cannot get the black grime out of it. I have not spilled anything on the leather... It is just from skin contact. Is there something that I am missing??? I don't mean to sound harsh but I am almost convinced that the castano leather is done after it gets a little dirty because I have had no luck at all in cleaning it. Please help me. Rockpic, I know you're the KR expert here and I got the Johnson's Idea from you. Please help.

Thanks

Jay

 

Has the leather dried? When the leather is moist, it will appear dark brown/black.

 

yes it has dried and it still looks bad. When I saw the before and after pictures of your steeringwheel, my after didn't look anywhere near as good as your before picture. Could you please give me a detailed procedure on how to clean the leather? Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thank you soooooo much.

Jay

 

I've had the same problem. I have not tried the johnson trick , but will look up the thread and read about it. What I have done with minnimal effect was use Armour All leather wipes on it. I purchased some a while back to try on my seats, but it only made them look dry. It did seem to clean some of the grime off the steering wheel though and made it look good for about a week. I'm thinking seats need conditioning treatment, but it somewhat helped the steering wheel due to my own skin oils soaking into the leather. It might help to keep some of those wipes handy just for use on the steering wheel.

 

I guess I am just wondering what people DO when their KR leather (especially on the steeringwheel) gets really dark and dirty. How is everyone cleaning the leather? There has to be some other way to clean it than with Johnson's baby wash. Are there different kinds of the baby wash? I read on the back of the bottle that it had aloe and vitamin E. Does this help to make since to my problem?

Thanks

Jay

 

I just recently used the Baby Wash followed up by the KR conditioner. Came out great. Not sure what would cause yours to stay dark. Maybe the wash reacted with something you once had on your hands and got into the leather?

 

I'm not sure about the pictures you've mentioned (as I've never taken any of my wheel) but, I'll do a little research.

Did you note any dirt/grime removal when you tried the babywash trick? Could it still be dirty and you simply didn't get it all in one wash?

RP

 

does anybody know what thread the johnson baby wash trick is explained on. I would like to give it a shot.

 

The cloth gets a litle dirty but its brown ... not dark. I have noticed a little difference now but It doesn't look anything like the seats. I'll try to get pictures.

Rockpic- I thought it was you that did the article on the babywash with the before and after pictures. O well... I'm leavin for the beach in a little bit and I'll wory about it next week.

Thanks

Jay

 

ViperGrendel was actually the first to give it a whirl and document it....

See the thread HERE

He utilized DOVE BABY WASH (which, as we discovered, isn't available in the US).

Others expressed success with Johnson's however...

RP

 

This is my first post. I just bought my truck last weekend in Smyrna, GA from eBay. Got a great deal too!
2001 F150 King Ranch. 58,000 miles, Burgandy paint. I already love this truck as much as I used to love my Supra!

While I was setting up the financing the agent told me a little trick of his for keeping leather clean. He said that he uses seltzer water. He just pours it on and blots it up, then let's it dry. After it dries, he says to use only the King Ranch Ford F Series Leather Conditioner. You can buy it directly from the King ranch website. (About $15.50 w/ shipping) He specificly told me NOT to use any type of leather cleaners as they would cause it to start cracking at a much faster rate. I have not tried this yet myself, but I have a very nasty spot on one of the back seats that I intend to attack soon.

Hope this is helpful.
Kevin

Here's the link to the KR leather conditioner. [URL=http://www.krsaddleshop.com/shopping/prod_detail/main.asp?uid=6579F10D-B016-11D8-B7A3-0090277A52D2-6270312&search=leather&stype=PHRASE&sl=1&productID =867]

 

Greetings from the other side of the river kherald! Welcome aboard!

 

I spent several hours this weekend cleaning and conditioning just a few peicies of my interior and so far I'm not real happy. There is a signifigant difference in the condition of the front seats and the back seats.
The back seats have some dirty spots that the baby wash or club soda isn't cleaning, but they are otherwise soft and don't require too much attention with the Lexol. The front seats, center console cover and steering wheel are a completely different story. Up front, everything is dry and stiff. Not soft in any way. All of the seats have some water spots from rain, but that all comes off with just a little bit of cleaning.
After cleaning and conditioning the front console cover & wheel they feel almost like suede and are still hard. They are not pliable at all even after 3 heavy applications of Lexol. They do not have any cracks, but they are dry, and hard.

So my questions are:
1 Will the front leather ever get as soft as the rear leather if I continue to apply the Lexol or KR Saddle Cond.?
2 How do I get the suede feel to go back to being smooth?
3 What should I use to clean the really tough stains?

Thanks! -Kevin
'01 KR 5.4L - 58K mi.

 

Has anybody tried zymol leather cleaner works good on whatever leather came on a 2000 lariat

 

so far i have only used the griot's leather care since buying my kr. it seems to clean the leather very nicely, and it is holding up really well. I have around 27K miles on the truck, and the leather is aging great.

i'm a little different from some of the posts here though. i want the leather to age. i keep looking at it and thinking about a baseball glove. i want the leather to age. i just don't want it to deteroirate (sp?). i'm conditioning it as often as i can which means every couple months or more often, and it looks awesome.

for me?....keep the truck clean, work the interior as often as possible (meaning don't abuse it), and just take pride in the kr. if you're proud of your truck, you'll keep it looking awsome!