My fiancee just bought a 2003 King Ranch SuperCrew on Friday. The leather was in good condition just extremely dry, so we stopped at Autozone and bought some Turtle Wax Leather Cleaner and Conditioner. Has anyone tried this product and what was the outcome? I tried to search but nothing came up. We have applied it several times due to how much it soaks up in the leather. It is softer and other than the white haze that wipes off, it looks fine. My question is when you clean and condition does the rag turn the leather color? I am thinking and hoping it is normal for some bleeding to occur. Am I on the right track or did I ruin her seats? I wish I would of found this forum sooner. Thanks for any help you can give.

Justin

 

Don't worry; you've done nothing harmful to the leather. In fact you started on the path of monthly leather feeding and conditioning. Turtle Wax does make a fine product (even though its pH factor is a bit off - in the mid 8's with 7.0 being ideal). Just make sure that you "buff" all of the leather and the seams very well to remove all of the haze. Some (but very little) color will come off onto the cleaning sponge / rag. This is normal as the cleaners in the product will allow for surface dirt and oils to be removed.

I have used only one (1) product on my 2001 KR leather -

Leather CPR [my choice for the proper care and feeding of King Ranch leather]. So simple to use (supplied sponge makes application of the thicker consistency product so easy - cleans and conditions). Has done wonders for my leather - even the steering wheel.

Which ever product you settle on just make sure that it has as neutral a pH as possible and that you use it at least one per month to keep your leather in great shape.

A few words about leather care:

Leather should be routinely cleaned using a ph-balanced, non alkaline cleaner. Cleaners loosen and lift grease and grime (like French Fry fingerprints) without drying the leather or affecting the hides natural ph.

To properly clean leather:

Apply cleaner to a damp applicator pad and apply to one area at a time (i.e. a seat back).
Gently agitate the surface with a leather cleaning applicator. This removes stubborn grime and will not harm the leather.
Use a clean, damp sponge to rise the leather.
Towel dry with a clean terry cloth towel.

In addition to regular cleaning, leather requires replacement of natural oils. (The smell of leather comes from oils evaporating out of the hide.) If these oils are not replaced, the leather will dry out, deteriorate and crack. Once every month or two, use a leather conditioner to restore these natural oils and keep the leather soft and supple.

To properly condition leather:

Apply conditioner to a damp applicator pad and wipe all leather surfaces in the vehicle.

Allow 15 to 20 minutes for the product to penetrate and give a final wipe down with a clean towel. Don't be alarmed if there is conditioner on the wipe towel. The leather will only absorb as much conditioner as it needs.

Consider additional sunscreen protection - leather conditioners typically do not offer any UV screening. The best solution is to alternate between a leather conditioner and 303 Protectant. One month I'll use the Leather CPR cleaner/conditioner to keep the leather healthy and supple. the following month, I'll mist and wipe the leather with 303 protectant to add UV protection.

 

For the regularly available stuff, I have found that the Lexol conditioner works very well, and it is available pretty much anywhere.

However, that being said, DO NOT USE THE LEXOL CLEANER!!!

The cleaner is much too harsh on the leather, and it ruined my steering wheel. I have just moved to only conditioning, not cleaning. If I need to clean, I would just use a damp cloth or maybe some saddle soap.

Be very careful using the leather cleaning products, as they are meant for regular leather, not our very delicate leather.

 

I appreciate both replys but now I have another problem. I bought some of the Fiebing's four way as everyone recommended. I applied it and the leather turned extremely dark and dirty looking on the front seats and console after it dried. The back turned out great. I read the bottle which said it would "float out the dirt and grime", so I cleaned the seats with some hot water and Johnson's baby wash. I let it dry and they looked really clean but extremely dry. So I started over with the Fiebing's, and I'm back to where I started, extremely dark and dirty looking. What do I do now? It has been about 36 hours since I conditioned and I'm at a loss. It has sat out in the sun, doors have been open, I even tried turning the a/c on. The seats have to be dry by now. Are they still dirty or are they ruined? I'm scared to do anything else or there won't be any dye left. Everytime I touch them with conditioner, or soap and water the rag is stained with the dye from the leather. I am about to give up and just have ugly dry scuffed seats. Please help!!!!!!!

 

I don't think that you're leather is ruined. Far from it actually. The discoloration is typical and will happen with just about any conditioning product that you can apply.

I have a hunch that, by this time, you've started to note that the leather is getting back to its original color and such. The Fiebings 4-Way is a pretty darn good product that several of us have tried and like (I've gone through around 32 oz of this stuff in a period of a little over a year).

RP

 

I've been using the Lexol conditioner (not the cleaner) on my seats, and so far I'm not very impressed. I was curious about the Leather CPR. Is the only product you have to buy the Conditioner/Cleaner? I saw something about stain guard too, but I'm not too sure about using that on the KR leather. I've also used the KR Conditioner, and I'm not crazy about it either. Any other suggestions? I'll probably try the CPR next, but I'm open to other suggestions as well. My main concern is cleaning the leather. I normally use a warm, damp washcloth with no soap or anything. My front seats are fading, but not cracking. I can handle some of the discoloring, but I want to maintain them the best I can. I condition them religiously once a month.

I've been a member of this forum a while, but never post as you can see. I usually find my answers without having to ask questions! It's nice to know everyone pretty much has the same concerns, which makes life easy when you're me!

Thanks!!

 

Just a follow up. I haven't seen the seats in a couple of days, but we went to dinner tonight in her truck and the fronts are just as dark as they were. Any more ideas? I might try the Leather CPR, since there is a distributor in Austin if ya'll think that will help. Thanks again for all the advice and suggestions.

 

Not sure what to tell you. Sounds to me like it's time for you to try an alternative product as the Fiebings didn't yield the results that you wanted. Sorry.

RP

 

MikeF150 I think you mentioned this before but can you give us arun down on what product(s) you use from them and any procedure info would be great. Thanks.

 

Your 2 cents mean a bunch to me.... that's why I'll be ordering some just as soon as I need some more conditioner. I think my wife would kill me at this point if I strayed from the gallon of Lexol in the garage.... LOL!

 

God, I wish I was two payments away!! Must be nice!

No need to ship some down but I certainly appreciate the thought. I might call them and see if I can get them to ship some samples...

ROFL @ the McGreevey comment. I'm not going to touch that one with a 10' pole! LOL!!!!! I mean, he said he didn't like BUSH (as president) but, him coming out of the closet is ridiculous! LOL!

 

I stumbled across some Leather CPR here in Missoula, Montana while out blowing some time and thus, I snagged a jar. I'll give it a whirl...

We'll see how it works out...

RP

 

I tried the Leather CPR on my seats finally. In the end, I must say I didn't like this product. It left a white haze all over my steering wheel. I had to go back and wipe down with a wet cloth just to get the dried film off of it. Afterwards, I felt the seats were very dry - almost like I've never conditioned them at all. I went back and re-cleaned the seats and then applied the Lexol again. Maybe I did something wrong, but I called myself following the directions on the label. Or could be I'm a doofus, and don't know what I'm doing!