Oops, Been treating leather as Vinyl for years

[Nebor]

I just called Volvo North America to check on a rumor I heard on the net. Turns out that the doors, all over, are wrapped in leather, not vinyl. And here I've been using vinyl cleaner and protectant on it all this time. They said it was Connoly (sp?) leather.

So my question is... what now? I wondered why some grease marks on the drivers side door wouldn't come off (deposited there by a Volvo grease monkey), and this could pretty well explain it. So what do I need to do to clean off the vynil stuff, and then what do I put on in it's place. Currently the only leather care product I have is the Meguiar's Cleaner\Conditioner Cream.

Thanks
Jeff

[jfelbab]

Re: Oops, Been treating leather as Vinyl for years

Originally posted by Nebor
I just called Volvo North America to check on a rumor I heard on the net. Turns out that the doors, all over, are wrapped in leather, not vinyl. And here I've been using vinyl cleaner and protectant on it all this time. They said it was Connoly (sp?) leather.

So my question is... what now? I wondered why some grease marks on the drivers side door wouldn't come off (deposited there by a Volvo grease monkey), and this could pretty well explain it. So what do I need to do to clean off the vynil stuff, and then what do I put on in it's place. Currently the only leather care product I have is the Meguiar's Cleaner\Conditioner Cream.

Thanks
Jeff

I'm not sure about the Volvo but most leathers today are coated with a polyurethane clearcoat, a vinyl like material. This evens out the color and texture and protects the leather in a similar way clearcoats do for paint. Using vinyl conditioner on them will not harm coated leather. It's not a good idea to use a leather treatment designed for uncoated leathers on coated leathers as they can be oily and will just sit on the coating.

I don't know what year your Volvo is but Connolly leather ended production in June of 2002. You might want to check with your dealer again if your Volvo is newer than that.

My leather is from GST.

[Duckman]

My leather is from GST.

Up here in Canada, GST means Goods and Services Tax

[TOGWT]

Conolly Leather Hides place a small label (usually on the back of the seat at the bottom) that states the leather hide is supplied by Conolly Leather, London, England
JonM

[Slats]

Well, since 99% of auto leather is coated (with exceptions like King Ranch F-150), isn't it safe to assume that Meguiar's leather products are indeed designed for coated leather? I put the one step cleaner/conditioner on the seats in my new Accord and they soaked the stuff up like crazy, even though they are coated.

Slats

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Slats
Well, since 99% of auto leather is coated (with exceptions like King Ranch F-150), isn't it safe to assume that Meguiar's leather products are indeed designed for coated leather? I put the one step cleaner/conditioner on the seats in my new Accord and they soaked the stuff up like crazy, even though they are coated.

Slats

I spoke with one of our chemists about this and his reply was yes, they take this into consideration when creating a leather formula.

[Slats]

Good to know -- thanks for checking into that, Mike.