typesredline

Megs Ultimate Compound is one of the nicest I've seen that doesn't require a polish step. They still make an Ultimate Polish for that extra 10% though.

Mrsuitcase

Hi everyone. I'm new to having leather seats in a car.


I wanted to get something to protect the leather to keep it lasting. On a whim, I picked up MacGuires leather wipes from the local Canadian Tire. Before using them, I checked out Amazon.com reviews. GLAD I DID! Most people appear unsatisfied.


So, I have no clue what product to use to protect my leather now. The only other brand I saw at the Canadian Tire was something called "AutoGlym". If that's not one of your suggestions, I'll probably need to order it online.


Thanks for any advise in advance folks!


Oh, FYI, it's saddle leather (tan) rather than black, if that makes any difference!

GrnT

I'm interested in the results of this topic. So far I've only used the Macquires wipes.

2011 Kona Blue

A DA polisher is where its at bro. Takes all the elbow grease and hard work out. Porter Cable 7424 DA !

2011 Kona Blue

I just recently did a three step detail on my pony and mini van and the results were fantastic. I used Meguiar's ultimate compound. Meguiar's ultimate polish and final Meguiar's Ultimate wax which is really a sealant. Awesome products and me personally am really a big fan of Meguiar's products. I think they are great quality especially for the money.

2011 Kona Blue

I have been using Meguiar's leather conditioner and cleaner that comes like a cream and seems to work nice. I personally don't have leather seats but used it on my mothers seats for her. I also have a big bottle of Lexol leather conditioner and hear that's good stuff as well.

typesredline

Megs isn't the worst thing in the world. A lot of their stuff is very good. But they make so many things, some are naturally going to be meh.

You need to look online for good quality stuff. Places like Autogeek or Adam's Detailing.

MarcHarris

Eromzek:

First off, I certainly hope you're planning on using a good machine. A Dual Action (DA) polisher is certainly the way to go. I'd recommend it over hand polishing not only for results, but for safety. A machine is going to work in a smooth consistent manner while your hands are going to be very inconsistent AND have pressure points. Some areas you're going to remove a lot, some not at all. Exactly what you don't want.

To address a higher cut polish, just grab a bottle of Meguiar's 205. Depending on how it's used it can be a medium-plus or medium-minus type of product. It'll be great to have in your arsenal.
I'd use it on the entire car: hit everything with both steps, and then maintain from there on out.

MarcHarris

AutoGlym is a well known and trusted brand. Maybe not as much here in North America, but European detailers have used their stuff quite a bit in the past. A year or two ago, AutoGlym signed a big deal to be sold over-the-counter here in the states and other places. It was a pretty big deal, and most were impressed to see "normal" stores trying to sell their $60 or so wax.
What I recommend is NOTHING. Use nothing. People make the mistake all the time thinking their leather needs more help than it really does. The leather in your car is urethane coated to resist wear and tear. In other words: it's sealed off with it's own permanent protection barrier. You don't have to "condition" it and trying to do so will actually increase wear rate as those products pull more dirt and grime to the finish and lock in there: giving you more creasing / lines in your leather. Just keep your leather clean. A damp cloth wipe down once a month will help to remove light dirt and grime.

If you do want to go crazy and use something on your leather, use Leather Master Protection Cream. It's a water-based breathable product made to be a light sacrificial barrier to your leather in the same way wax is for your paint. Use VERY little in VERY thin layers. Less=more. Using more will yield worse performance.

eromzek

Marc,
Thanks again.. my mustang and I thank you.
So, based on the info I've gathered- this is my plan:

-Wash with Dodo Juice Born to be Mild
-Claybar with Meguires Clay kit
-Polish using Porter Cable 7424-
->1 pass with Meguiar's 205, then finish it off with 3M Ultrafine
->will go less pressure/less quantity in the areas of no scratches, more quantity/more pressure where there are scratches. <Any issues with this?>>
-Finish with 1 layer Blackfire Wet Diamond sealant


Any last suggestions or recommendations?

AlsCobra

Marc you have been great here so far. So here's the question. I live in hard water hell out here. Any additives or certain washes you can recommend to avoid water spots? Unfortunately I don't have a covered area to wash my car so I'm usually washing it in the sun. Leaf blower and waffle towels help a lot but it's still not easy and forces me to rush the job. I ain't buying a water softener system either. With all the wild products out there, I'm sure one will treat my wash bucket and make my life easier. Any recommendations?

CCTking

Im not Marc lol but theres alot of rinseless and even waterless washes you could use that would almost eliminate the need for rinsing with a hose and therefore rushing the job.
Optimum no rinse or ONR as its more comminly known is one of these products. Ive found it works wonders

AlsCobra

I don't trust waterless. I've used croftgate and I blame 3 days of paint correction on that stuff.

CCTking

Really? That bad? I was an avid croftgate user and still enjoy their products from time to time but i recommend ONR. It still uses water but no need to rinse. Just buff it out

MarcHarris

Negative. I understand your idea with polishing, but let me explain why you're looking at it slightly wrong.

The hardest thing about proper polishing is consistency. You're trying to polish every square inch in the same manner. This ensures even removal/even results. This is the idea behind using a machine in the first place. DA speed, arm speed, pressure, temperature, angle, amount of polish, pad condition, and polish residue build up. Brake your painted surface down to a grid in square inches. It's overwhelming to look at each of those tiny square inches and imagine working them all equally, but that's the task you have at hand.

Not easy to do, and now you're going to tackle this with little experience. You haven't worked on dozens and dozens of vehicles where you might be able to make fine subtle adjustments and understand the ramifications of those adjustments. In short, keep in simple and focus on proper polishing. Work the polish correctly. Keep your pad clean (I clean my pads thoroughly after each panel I work on with compressed air and a brush like this: http://www.detailedimage.com/Meguiar...er-Brush-P526/ ) and concentrate on keeping consistency.

MarcHarris

CCT might be onto something here. There are two categories to not mix up: waterless washes and rinseless washes.

Waterless washes are spray cleaning products that you spray and wipe off. I'm very weary of such things and personally don't trust them.

Rinseless washes, like Optimum No Rinse, are products you'd still use in a "two-bucket" system. This means you're using more water to carry away contaminates, and also keeping your towel/mitt more contaminate free with constant cleaning/rinsing of it.

Either way isn't quite like a traditional wash, but certainly you can see how a rinseless wash MIGHT be something worth looking into.


Products have come a long way, but hard water is something very tricky. Dodo Juice Supernatural Shampoo has static reducing and limescale inhibiting properties, but at best it'd make a SMALL dent in your problems. I hate to mention it because it's not cheap: but CR Spotless water deionizers truly do work as labeled. They're insane. One of my top clients bought one as he has hard water and a pitch-black car with soft clear (Lexus IS-F). You wash as normal, but when you go to do your final rinse, you swap the water to the filtered system. Rinse lightly, and walk away. Zero parts per million (0ppm) means you can let the car dry in direct sun without any water spots. While the initial price of $400 isn't the worst thing in the world, it's the on-going expense of resin refills that get pricey. The resin only is good for a set amount of water. Rinse too long or too frequent, and the resin will reach its limit faster. That's the reason you only use it for the final rinse.

Optimum No Rinse (ONR): http://www.detailedimage.com/Optimum...-P444/32oz-S1/

Supernatural Shampoo: http://www.detailedimage.com/Dodo-Ju...579/250-ml-S1/

CR Spotless product page: http://www.detailedimage.com/CRSpotless-M30/

AlsCobra

I appreciate that Marc. I might give the supernatural a try. Maybe even a R.O. unit for water treatment. Maybe I just won't buy another black car either. Lol. I deionize water at work so I might be able to score free resin though.
I'm thinking a R.O. filter system might be worth trying first.

CCTking

+1 on working one panel at a time. On larger pieces i tend to do half and half ill do one half of the hood, then half the roof, and i split the rear end into four sections. Trunk top, decklid face, left/right halves respectively. I actually use a ver hard bristled toothbrush to kiinda clean my pads, funds are suuper low for now.

But i find breaking thing downhelps make the task easier, simpler, and helps an individual work more consistently

Joeywhat

I also have SUPER hard water at home. It's ridiculous, I literally couldn't see out of my side mirror with my Focus after it was hit was the sprinklers a few days in a row in 90* weather. I spent HOURS polishing just my windows...I've looked at filters and water treatment, but it is pretty expensive.

My primary concern isn't so much with the wash water (I tend not to get many water spots after a wash), but protection from rain and sprinkler water. I managed to get the paint all polished and sealed with Klasse sealant/glaze before the sprinklers are turned on...but what about the windows? I see the klasse is OK for glass, but is there a better product? Since I already have the klasse, will it do? I'm going to polish them all up here pretty soon and get something on them so I don't have to worry with etching.

Also, I put two coats of the klasse on the paint about a week ago. I've been thinking about another 1-2 coats on to see how it looks. Can I just quick detail everything and go about with the klasse again? Any need to do any other prep before hand?

And does anyone put wax on top of the sealant? I was hoping for a darker hue to the "shine", something that carnuba wax has got me in the past. If I go that route, how long between applying the sealant and the wax?

Oh, and how about the klasse on the the wheels?

eromzek

Thanks.
When you state that I'm looking at it wrong, you mean my approach to polishing more heavily scratched areas of the car vs the less scratched areas? I think what you're offering is that I need to apply the same exact application consistently across the entire vehicle, one panel at a time. Do you agree with my steps and product(-Polish using Porter Cable 7424->1 pass with Meguiar's 205, then finish it off with 3M Ultrafine )?

Your comments about 'Not easy to do, and now you're going to tackle this with little experience'.. makes me a bit paranoid, especially since the reason I've never polished is because I hate the idea of applying an abrasive to my car's paint.. I certainly don't want to screw this up.. I think I'm going to practice on another vehicle 1st and watch me a lot of Junkman.

thanks,
Erik