Leather or Vinyl? IDK!

[kevblah]

Hey guys, I recently purchased a spray bottle of Megs Ultimate Protectant and proceeded to use it on my dashboard and door panels, until I read the label on the bottle that said "do not use on leather".

I wasn't planning on using it on my leather seats, because I knew that Megs had a product for that (Megs Rich Leather Spray). However, my problem is I can't differentiate what surfaces inside my car (2007 Mercedes CLK550 Coupe) are safe to use Ultimate Protectant on and what surfaces aren't safe? My dash feels to be of a leather-ish surface, and my door panels even more so. Should I just use the leather spray on all of the surfaces, to play it safe?

Thanks in advance!

[Tuck91]

Re: Leather or Vinyl? IDK!

I would go ahead and use the rich leather spray on everything since it can be used on vinyl as well.

[kevblah]

Re: Leather or Vinyl? IDK!

I would go ahead and use the rich leather spray on everything since it can be used on vinyl as well.

Ah, good suggestion. I'll have to go out of my way to find a use for the Ultimate Protectant then.

[CHzo6]

Re: Leather or Vinyl? IDK!

You may be able to find out what the surfaces are made of in the owners manual. A lot of them will list what you should use to clean what and that will give you hints at least. Worth a check anyways.

[kevblah]

Re: Leather or Vinyl? IDK!

Thanks for the input.

I picked up the Megs leather spray and quik interior detailer spray. I used the leather spray on everything from the seats, to the door panels, to the dash, and to the steering wheel. Everything is so shiny and rich looking now, I love this product!

The only surfaces left for the quik interior detailer were the wood trim and buttons.

[TOGWT]

Re: Leather or Vinyl? IDK!

Hey guys, I recently purchased a spray bottle of Megs Ultimate Protectant and proceeded to use it on my dashboard and door panels, until I read the label on the bottle that said "do not use on leather".

I wasn't planning on using it on my leather seats, because I knew that Megs had a product for that (Megs Rich Leather Spray). However, my problem is I can't differentiate what surfaces inside my car (2007 Mercedes CLK550 Coupe) are safe to use Ultimate Protectant on and what surfaces aren't safe? My dash feels to be of a leather-ish surface, and my door panels even more so. Should I just use the leather spray on all of the surfaces, to play it safe?

Thanks in advance!

There is a great deal of conflicting information on leather care being put out by the leather experts themselves who use baffling pseudo scientific techno speak as another marketing ploy, which makes it difficult to find a definitive, unbiased answer.

Here is one definitive truth –you are dealing with the leathers finish, not the hide itself

Automotive finished leather upholstery is a multi-strata urethane coating that allows hydration (transpiration and evaporation of moisture); consisting of the actual hide, colour pigmentation and the surface protective finish. It is similar to vinyl but it remains flexible while retaining its tensile strength, to enable it to expand and contract, following the temperature fluctuations (elasticity) of the substrate.

Vinyl dressings contain oils to ensure elasticity and avoid the vinyl surface drying out.

Oil is detrimental to leather hides; however you are not dealing with the leather hide but a urathane coating so your Megs Ultimate Protectant will be fine on finished leather

[kevblah]

Re: Leather or Vinyl? IDK!

Vinyl dressings contain oils to ensure elasticity and avoid the vinyl surface drying out.

Oil is detrimental to leather hides; however you are not dealing with the leather hide but a urathane coating so your Megs Ultimate Protectant will be fine on finished leather

Great info, good to know! Thanks for that!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Leather or Vinyl? IDK!

Here is one definitive truth –you are dealing with the leathers finish, not the hide itself

Automotive finished leather upholstery is a multi-strata urethane coating that allows hydration (transpiration and evaporation of moisture); consisting of the actual hide, colour pigmentation and the surface protective finish. It is similar to vinyl but it remains flexible while retaining its tensile strength, to enable it to expand and contract, following the temperature fluctuations (elasticity) of the substrate.

As noted above, the coating used on automotive leather is quite unique and designed to mimic the properties of the leather it's protecting. You can think of it as a high end, premium vinyl if you like, but that still makes it unique to other interior surfaces. Because of that, it our chemist's firm belief that you are better off treating this material with a product designed to take these unique characteristics into account - which is why part of why we state that our Ultimate Protectant shouldn't be used on leather seats.

Another reason is the Ultimate Protectant isn't really designed for use on highly flexible surfaces, and your seats are subject to much more flexing than your dash or door panels. The potential issue is that the polymers in UP allow it to bond to the vinyl surface much like a sealant bonds to your paint. But constant flexing of the surface, like every time you sit on the seat, will break that bond and the life span of the product will be greatly diminished. This is precisely why we don't recommend using UP on tires, either. And it's not because it's going to hurt the tires, or the seats, but simply that we offer better products for those particular applications.