How to stop leather wrinkling/cracking ?

[ReaperX]

Hey guys


I have a 2001 Ford Focus (European model) with leather seats


I noticed a defect on my (driver's) leather seat, as shown up on these pics:



















I regularly apply meguiars cleaner/conditioner, and my body doesnt even make contact with this part (its almost on the seats side, near the door) I really dont know why it happened



Is there any way to prevent this from getting worse? I was thinking about aplying a little bit of "leather" glue to the cracks to prevent them from opening/peeling off

What you guys think?


Thank you

[greg0303]

Re: How to stop leather wrinkling/cracking ?

Regular applications of leather conditioner (and cleaner if needed) should prevent it from drying up and causing cracks. Think about leather as our skin: if it dries out it shows peeling and cracking.

[jfelbab]

Re: How to stop leather wrinkling/cracking ?

I'd not use conditioners on cracked or damaged leather. All the conditioners I've ever looked at are oily or waxy in nature and will get taken up into the leather through the cracks. In essence, the cracks get worse as the painted urethane coating loses its bond around the cracks due to the oily, waxy emulsion. If you're looking for a more permanent fix, to the damaged leather in the photos, I'd recommend cleaning and re-dying, following by a respray of topcoat.

If you just want to try to maintain this damaged leather, I'd suggest cleaning the leather weekly with QID and then use a water-based fluorocarbon protectant every couple months. This protectant will not loosen the bond of the surrounding topcoat like a conditioner will.

The underlying cause of this type of cracking is typically due to heat cycles and repetitive loss of moisture by the leather. Loss of moisture causes leather to shrink and form creases. The underlying leather shrinks but the topcoat does not. When the leather gets moisture back it swells and then the cycle repeats until the crease eventually turns into a crack.

The prevention is to keep your leather from losing its moisture or at least minimize it. To accomplish this I'd suggest weekly cleaning and a wipe down with a wrung out cotton towel. This will raise the relative humidity around the leather which will tend to rehydrate the underlying leather hyde. Also try to keep the interior of your car from overheating. When parked in the hot summer sun with the windows closed, the interior temperature can rise to extremely high levels very quickly. Try to slow this heat build-up by using a windshield sunscreen and keep your windows cracked but this offers very little relief as the graphic shows. The real solution is to park in a shaded or covered area whenever possible.

Here is a chart of the temperature rise in a couple of vehicles done by the LA State Medical Society. The heat quickly ramps up dramatically even in the vehicle with the windows cracked.

Source: http://www.injuryprevention.org/stat...rs/hotcars.htm


My $0.02

[link626]

Re: How to stop leather wrinkling/cracking ?

This is a problem I have also run into in my 9 year old car.
On my car, the leather near the rear glass feels the driest and stiffest, as it gets the most sun exposure.

It seems that leather conditioner does nothing to protect vinyl coated leather on today's cars, since it is just a painted surface.
Only shade and tinted windows seem to slow down the damage.



So it's gotten me thinking..... if we protect our paint with wax, why not do the same with leather, since it is also a painted surface?

Has anyone tried wax on leather ?

since our leather seat surfaces are vinyl, using a vinyl protectant should prevent surface cracking, as it does with vinyl convertible tops.

A couple years ago, I sprayed a clear coat over my headlights. Without it, they would turn yellow. The extra layer of paint protected the plastic underneath.

So I have concluded that we need an expendable coating over all sun drenched interior surfaces of our cars, whether it be protectant or wax or whatever.
Leather conditioner is probably spread too thin to provide any kind of protection.

[jfelbab]

Re: How to stop leather wrinkling/cracking ?

You are on the right track but wax is not the right product as it leaves a film that will hold onto dirt and abrade the leather when you slide in and out. It will also tend to make your leather shiny which is what you want on paint but not on leather. Then there is the fact that the seat will become slippery. Wax will also tend to darken most lighter leathers, and leave white residue in the cracks of dark leather.

IMO, a better way to protect from sun damage is with a leather protectant. Think of it like a sealant rather than a wax or glaze. It dries clear and dry to the touch, provides UVA/UVB protection, doesn't add gloss and doesn't get slippery.

In between treatments I like to use Meguiar's Quik Interior Detailer to gently clean away dirt and dust and it also leaves UVA/UVB protection behind. It contains a lot of water as well, which adds moisture to stiff dry leather, which should help in resorting the original softness over time. I like to wipe my leathers down weekly with QID which removes dirt and dust but not the protection.

FWIW, I use QID weekly on all the interior leather, vinyl and even the NAV LCD panels.

[Meticulous-Detail]

Re: How to stop leather wrinkling/cracking ?

Swissvax makes a product called leather healer, which is a dye that you can do yourself. They also have a leather grinding pad to smooth down ruff texture.

I also like QID on leather for the reasons stated above. For protection and prevention I like Ultima Interior Guard Plus. It can be used on the entire interior, dries clear, is an interior sealant and makes all interior textures feel like cashmere.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: How to stop leather wrinkling/cracking ?

since our leather seat surfaces are vinyl, using a vinyl protectant should prevent surface cracking, as it does with vinyl convertible tops.

A couple years ago, I sprayed a clear coat over my headlights. Without it, they would turn yellow. The extra layer of paint protected the plastic underneath.

So I have concluded that we need an expendable coating over all sun drenched interior surfaces of our cars, whether it be protectant or wax or whatever.
Leather conditioner is probably spread too thin to provide any kind of protection.

Yes, without a doubt the vast majority of automotive leather seating is covered in what is essentially a vinyl coating. But to just leave it at that is to ignore what goes into this vinyl coating. Just because it's "vinyl" doesn't mean the material is identical to the vinyl on the dash of your car, and not all vinyl dash material is the same. Looking just at vinyl dashboards for a moment, some are rock hard while others are much softer to the touch. But they're still vinyl. And so are those vinyl convertible tops. And so are those vinyl Landau roofs popular on so many '70s and '80s American luxury cars. And, yes, so is the vinyl coating on a leather seat.

But the vinyl coating on a leather seat is specifically engineered to look, feel, stretch and do everything else like leather. What would be the point in having leather in the first place if you just wrapped it in vinyl dashboard material? Anyway....... this specially engineered coating is also quite porous and will accept conditioners and moisturizers. If you've ever seen the product Leatherique in action, you know this is true otherwise Leatherique would not be able to restore dried out leather and return it to that soft, supple feeling again. And it does that extremely well - because of the porous nature of the coating. Regular application of a leather conditioner will help to keep this coating and the underlying leather "nourished" (for lack of a better word) and supple. Think of it as a moisturizer for your skin.

Now, is it a guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong with the leather surface? No. To some people, "regular application" is once a year. To others it's once a month. Big difference. And the more the vehicle sits outside, the more direct sunshine the leather receives, the greater the potential for damage.

[link626]

Re: How to stop leather wrinkling/cracking ?

I believe the leather hide in the OP is fine. It's the coating that is deteriorating.

Leatherique seems to restore hardened leather, when the leather hide is dried out.

but in my case, and the OP's, it's just the vinyl coating that has become hard or cracked. The leather underneath is still supple.

not all vinyl coatings are porous.
I have two late model lexus, and one absorbs water slowly through the microcracks, whereas the newer car absorbs absolutely no water at all.
I have rubbed the water around, but the water just sits on the surface. Nothing is getting through that.
It's still in pristine condition, as the car is less than 5 years old. But I want to keep it that way for the next 10 years.


I actually emailed Lexol the other day, and they responded, stating that they no longer recommend Lexol for coated leather like mine because it has no effect.
Straight from the horse's mouth.

so i need something that will maintain the flexibility of the vinyl coating.
I am going to switch to vinyl protectant soon. Hopefully the vinyl protectant will be able to prevent the hardening of the vinyl coating that is exposed to all-day sunlight for the next 10 years.
Based on my older car, it seems to take 9 years for the vinyl coating to become stiff under the sun.

i might even experiment with a vinyl softener.

[link626]

Re: How to stop leather wrinkling/cracking ?

the owner's manual for both my cars mentions nothing about using leather conditioners.
it does not recommend them at all.

What it does recommend is to clean with 5% woolite, and keep the car in the shade.

so it would appear that the best investment you can make to protect leather is to buy a bunch of cheap beach towels and drape them over the seats when you're not using them.

for the price of one squirt bottle of protectant, you could get 4-5 towels.

yeah, i think this is the way to go.

[ReaperX]

Re: How to stop leather wrinkling/cracking ?

My car is usually left in the sun, but, always with a cover, so the DIRECT sunlight is almost non-existant

Still, the interior gets a bit hot (not as much as without the cover, which would be extremely hot)


Im thinking about applying LEATHER GLUE to the cracks which are already opened (to stop the paint from peeling off on those points) and carefully paint these cracks with a very small brush, what you guys think?

By the way, where can I get leather sealant? Im only familiar with leather conditioner....does meguiars produce leather sealant?

Thank you guys

[Blueline]

Re: How to stop leather wrinkling/cracking ?

I actually emailed Lexol the other day, and they responded, stating that they no longer recommend Lexol for coated leather like mine because it has no effect.
Straight from the horse's mouth.

I could not agree more. Coated leather does not absorb ANYTHING. Keeping it clean with Woolite and kept in the shade (as you say in your other post) is about all you can do. Of course the beach towel on the seat another good trick. Conditioners only purpose is to make the interior smell nice (like leather mostly)

[Michael Stoops]

Re: How to stop leather wrinkling/cracking ?

Coated leather does not absorb ANYTHING.

Sorry, but this just isn't correct. Quite the contrary, these highly engineered coatings are highly porous and very elastic. They are engineered to behave as close to leather as possible, otherwise there would be no reason whatsoever to even consider using real leather in a car. What would be the point of using such a premium material if you were to then just lacquer over it and totally change the surface characteristics of the material? It would be so much cheaper to just highly mimic the texture with a quality vinyl and call it a day. It's not like the lacquer coating applied over fine woods on high end luxury cars like Rolls and Bentley - that coating is there to protect and even enhance the natural beauty of the wood. The coating on automotive leather is there to protect the leather, yes, but it is also designed to mimic all characteristics of the underlying leather as closely as possible. That includes porosity. If these coatings were totally impermeable then products like Leatherique would be useless as well, yet Leatherique does an incredible job of rejuvenating badly dried out leather seating.

[jfelbab]

Re: How to stop leather wrinkling/cracking ?

I don't know Mike, I've done several tests where I put a drops of water on protected leather and left it for a day and it was still there the next day. I can't see how a thick, oily, conditioner, especially one that has a much larger molecule size than H20 has a chance of penetrating that coating. I'd really like to hear the scientific explanation from a chemist on how this is possible.

I'm of the opinion that these conditioners sit on the coating and if anything does get absorbed it is the water content of the conditioner and that would be through increased relative humidity in the proximity of the leather. I've not personally seen any evidence that conditioners actually condition protected leather. Do you think you could bring this issue to one of your chemists and ask if he can explain it in terms the we can understand. I just don't see conditioners doing much for protected leather.

Protective coating is applied to split leather hides for several reasons.
1. to prevent staining and water damage
2. to make a split leather hide look like top grain leather
3. to provide a uniform color and texture to the split hide
4. to hide natural leather imperfections, and scars.
5. to provide resistance to wear
6. to resist fading

Protection is applied to the leather so that it will NOT readily absorb water, oils, stains, grease, or other harmful spills. It is there to prevent damage from these things coming in contact with the leather. Protected leather is nearly impervious to these things, as opposed to non-coated leather, and that's by design.

I'd seriously like to see some scientific explanation of how and why my view is inaccurate.

As to conditioners improving dried out leather. Well I believe the thing that is improving these leathers is hydration. Hydration occurs from an elevated moisture level in close proximity to the leather. Leather likely absorbs more moisture through the back side than the top side. Moisture is the lifeblood of leather and the elevated humidity level in the vicinity of the leather is what restores the softness and suppleness of leather I don't for a minute think any oils or waxes penetrate that topcoat.

Leather is severely stressed in automotive use. It sees temperatures from below zero to over 150 degrees F. When it gets hot it loses moisture. When it dries out it shrinks and when it re-hydrates the fibers swell and return to normal. This process causes wrinkles, creases and after a while cracks in the topcoat.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: How to stop leather wrinkling/cracking ?

Do you think you could bring this issue to one of your chemists and ask if he can explain it in terms the we can understand.

I have, and what I posted above is what he was telling me.

As for Leatherique, it's applied to the top surface, the coated surface, of badly dried out automotive leather and it will bring it back to a soft and supple texture.

[Jossy92]

Re: How to stop leather wrinkling/cracking ?

If you've ever seen the product Leatherique

Always respect it when you "help" rather than push a product.

Leatherique is recommended for vinyl:

PRESTINE CLEAN-Absolutely the best cleaner available for all fine leather....... This product is also an excellent cleaner and conditioner for vinyl and rubber. Use Prestine Clean every time you wash your car.

AND rubber bumpers.