Attention: TDR Forum Junkies Thought you might like to read a post from another websight which talks about caring for leather interiors.
Brent,
Your upholsterer was correct. On many models only the surfaces where you touch are leather, and the rest are high quality color matched vinyl. This is also the case on much furniture. Some manufacturers claim a sofa is "leather", but only the seating areas are. A good way to tell on a sofa is that the back panel is going to be sewn into sections because a natural hide can't be a perfect 6 to 7 feet long! You should continue to clean and care for all the leather and vinyl to keep everything supple and luxurious. A good rule is to avoid products that contain silicone products as they dry out leather and vinyl, cause it to harden and crack. As the silicone oils evaporate they also cause a haze on your windows. Auto manufactures purposely put "flexible" material into an interior as it can "give" with heat and cold and longevity in an interior is achieved by keeping it flexible to prevent cracking. Also avoid products that contain heavy amounts of petroleum distillates as they can cause stitching to rot. The thread absorbs a good bit of the petroleum, mineral oil or lanolin and eventually deteriorates. Also if your interior surface is already cracking, petroleum distillates can cause the delicate spongy leather fibers to weaken and split apart. A good temporary solution can be filing the cracks with warmed bees wax until you can alleviate the problem with the correct products. Brent this may be more than you wanted to know, but hope it helps.
Regards,
George Pavlisko, CEO
Leatherique Professional Leather Restoration Products www.Leatherique.com
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98' 24v 2500 Auto/3. 54 4x4 SB QC. Everything but leather. AMSOIL oil filter relocation kit w/secondary by-pass unit,Smittybuilt Stainless Steel Nerfs, Rhino Liner, K&N. Somehow lost my silencer Ring.
Still wishin I could put my M3's mile deep paint job on the truck. Or maybe I should wish to swap its perfectly engineered automatic. Or maybe... . Ah heck, Just wish BMW would start makin a truck using the ISB!
Brent,
Your upholsterer was correct. On many models only the surfaces where you touch are leather, and the rest are high quality color matched vinyl. This is also the case on much furniture. Some manufacturers claim a sofa is "leather", but only the seating areas are. A good way to tell on a sofa is that the back panel is going to be sewn into sections because a natural hide can't be a perfect 6 to 7 feet long! You should continue to clean and care for all the leather and vinyl to keep everything supple and luxurious. A good rule is to avoid products that contain silicone products as they dry out leather and vinyl, cause it to harden and crack. As the silicone oils evaporate they also cause a haze on your windows. Auto manufactures purposely put "flexible" material into an interior as it can "give" with heat and cold and longevity in an interior is achieved by keeping it flexible to prevent cracking. Also avoid products that contain heavy amounts of petroleum distillates as they can cause stitching to rot. The thread absorbs a good bit of the petroleum, mineral oil or lanolin and eventually deteriorates. Also if your interior surface is already cracking, petroleum distillates can cause the delicate spongy leather fibers to weaken and split apart. A good temporary solution can be filing the cracks with warmed bees wax until you can alleviate the problem with the correct products. Brent this may be more than you wanted to know, but hope it helps.
Regards,
George Pavlisko, CEO
Leatherique Professional Leather Restoration Products www.Leatherique.com
------------------
98' 24v 2500 Auto/3. 54 4x4 SB QC. Everything but leather. AMSOIL oil filter relocation kit w/secondary by-pass unit,Smittybuilt Stainless Steel Nerfs, Rhino Liner, K&N. Somehow lost my silencer Ring.
Still wishin I could put my M3's mile deep paint job on the truck. Or maybe I should wish to swap its perfectly engineered automatic. Or maybe... . Ah heck, Just wish BMW would start makin a truck using the ISB!
