Is it OK to wipe the leather down with a damp cloth to clean it? I noticed the KR bottle says to do that before conditioning. How often should I wipe down and how often should I condition?

Every KR i have ever seen the seats looked horrible, I would like to take care of mine the best I can. I have conditioned once about 4 months ago but I did not wipe down first as the truck was new.

 

Wreed if you look up top there is just about anything you want to know about seat cleaning. I think the point is to get them clean before you condition. Don't hold me to it, but I think most people in here actually use a leather cleaner rather than just a damp cloth before conditioning. This is my first King Ranch so you will get tons more info from the other guys. I use a cleaner and then condition, but I don't do that every single time. I have had mine since February and have less then 5k miles on it. Needless to say they don't get much abuse. Hope I can say the same after hunting season.

 

What is a type of leather cleaner?

 

When your first come to the King Ranch forum click the thread Everything you want to know about King Ranch Leather. Alot of people have different varities that works for them. Spend some time reading each post and see what way you want to go. It is worth reading through all of them.

 

I use an actual leather cleaner, on occasion, before I condition. Honestly though, most times, it's a VERY hot and moist rag that works the best for me. For ultra-grungy areas (steering wheel), I've been known to use a very dilute solution of baby soap and HOT water -- this has worked quite well for me over the years.

My typical cleaner of choice is either Eagle Ottowa Leather Cleaner or Meguiar's Rich Leather Aloe Cleaner. I'm sure that there are better cleaners out there but, thusfar, those are the two that work best for me that I've tried...

I'm not a big fan of 'all in one' cleaner conditioner products as I believe that they offer very little cleaning action and actually, typically a lousy conditioning action as well...

There's a BOATLOAD of great conditioning information in the leather sticky at the top of the KR forum. It's actually a collaboration of many many years of leather care learned and shared by some of the guys that have been here since 2001 when the KR first showed up on the F-Series scene. Feel free to cruise across that post... It's VERY beneficial.

-RP-

 

RockPick just gave you some great advice. Any of his cleaning methods are fine. You DO NOT want to condition dirt into the leather by applying a conditioner without cleaning. And, cleaner/conditioners don't really clean.

That said, I think the key is to clean and condition before you start to notice the leather turning black. If it's that far gone, cleaning will also remove the "finish", and you'll have to "refresh" the finish somehow. The conditioner will not really do this in my opinion.

My favorite finish is Tandy's Satin Shene, when you have to refinish old, dull, dried-out, leather that has been aggressively cleaned.

- Jack

 

So i guess it is ok to put water on leather? I was just making sure of that.

What is the best way to keep the beautiful color of the seats stay looking like new?

 

Water on leather is not only OK, it's a normal treatment.

Here's the deal: If you "wet" unfinished leather, it becomes "plastic". You can mold wet leather around pistols, power drills, etc. to make "holsters" and they will retain this shape when they dry out. In addition, if you "tool" leather, you MUST dampen it first, or it will not hold the tooling work you apply to it. You can "wet" leather to stretch it or to shrink it.

But, if you don't dampen the leather uniformly, you will get "water marks".

Castano leather is really a lot like unfinished tooling leather. It absorbs almost anything you put on it. It can "water stain" if not dampened uniformly. And, it's "finish" is VERY fragile. If you apply a strong cleaning agent like saddle soap, you will take the "finish" right off.

So, wipe the leather with a damp cloth to remove surface dirt and after everything dries, condition with KR Conditioner or Leather CPR. And, there are some other products other peaple have tried that I have not tried.

If the leather is "black", almost anything you do to it is going to remove the "finish" as well as the dirt. This leaves the leather dried out looking and even more "porous". My only suggestion here is to apply some kind of acrillic finish to the leather (the kind of stuff that's on belts or holsters).

- Jack

 

HELP! I just wiped down my center console with a damp microfiber rag and I have 2 black spots where the brown finish is completely gone! How could this happen so easily? I was very gentle! I think it started from 2 water drops.

What can be done? Please help I love the truck but this is crazy the leather is that touchy!

Thanks

 

I dont believe this, i walked back outside after posting this to take pictures to post for you guys and the spots are completely gone! Does that mean they need to have a little finish applied to them?

 

When you apply water to the king ranch leather you should use a damp rag that has been rung out but if drops drop onto the leather or if you have your moonroof open and use your windhsield wiper fluid like me lol its ok. The excess water will just soak up into the leather but it wouldnt hurt to add some conditioner where the water was.

 

The dark spots were where the leather was completely saturated and, probably the finish is a bit thin or worn off. When the leather dries, the darkness disappears.

I agree, the console needs to be conditioned - it takes a pretty good beating. (Especially if you lean on it with bare arms).

- Jack

 

Yeah i can vouch for the beating, just from a few times getting in dirty and leaning on it, it left some pretty good dirt spots. At the time i didnt think about cleaning it and just added a layer of conditioner and you can pretty much imagine that it didnt help. Also wreedkr, i dont know if this was posted but i believe when you use the damp cloth, it works better when its warm. The heat kind of stretches it out allowing the dirt to rise to the surface.

 

I just got my two bottles of the King Ranch Conditioner this week from the KR Shop. I have one in the door pocket, and I swear, this week alone, I have conditioned the armrest two or three times just while sitting in traffic at the stoplights! I love that leather smell. I use a bare hand, but not sure if that's smart. The directions say to use a cloth, but I think it absorbs too much of the product. I will do the seats this weekend, too. I noticed the owner's manual says to condition the leather something like "within the first couple months".... almost like it is better to do it early when the leather is new.

 

Bare hand works for me! (Conditions my hand too)!

I doubt you can "overcondition" the leather, but I suppose you could be accused of having an OCD if you do it too much. (I wouldn't worry too much about that if I were you Smoke - we ALL know you're an OCD kind of guy).

- Jack