How to Handle My MB's leather Seats?

[Hook]

I have a new MB E55 and have gotten conflicting answers from various sources about how to treat the leather on my seats. I'm hoping someone here will have a definitive answer.

The seats are made of "Nappa Leather" with inserts of "Nubuck Leather". The Nubuck Leather is perforated. According to the manual, the Nubuck Leather is "coated". I'm assuming the Nappa leather is not coated.

Anyone knowledgeable about how to hande this setup?

[Mike Phillips]

All Meguiar's leather products are safe for use on the leather used in automotive interiors. Whether the leather is coated or not, the principals are the same and that is to clean, condition and protect.

I would suggest this Meguiar's Gold Class Rich Leather Spray



I use this on the leather in our Honda Pilot because it's fast and easy. I simply dampen one side of a microfiber polishing cloth that is folded 4-ways and then wipe down all of the leather surfaces, if there is any dirt build up I can see it come off onto the polishing cloth and when I'm finished, the leather has a nice, rich look to it again.

I'm actually getting ready to wash the Pilot this morning and I'll take a picture of what I described above to show you.

[Carrera]

What would be the correct way to clean and maintain suede interiors?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Carrera
What would be the correct way to clean and maintain suede interiors?

That's a tough one...

The material itself doesn't lend itself well to any kind of chemical or even agitation.

Try a lint brush...

[toyotaowner]

Does anybody here use brushes to deep clean the seats?

With my car, I can't seem to get rid of the dirt unless I use a brush. Unfortunately, I'm using a clean brand new toothbrush to do the job. I'm not sure if it has any adverse effects doing this.

[oc detailer]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
All Meguiar's leather products are safe for use on the leather used in automotive interiors. Whether the leather is coated or not, the principals are the same and that is to clean, condition and protect.

I would suggest this Meguiar's Gold Class Rich Leather Spray



I use this on the leather in our Honda Pilot because it's fast and easy. I simply dampen one side of a microfiber polishing cloth that is folded 4-ways and then wipe down all of the leather surfaces, if there is any dirt build up I can see it come off onto the polishing cloth and when I'm finished, the leather has a nice, rich look to it again.

I'm actually getting ready to wash the Pilot this morning and I'll take a picture of what I described above to show you.

great stuff, although i found that it shows better results on black leather, when i tried it on tan, u couldn see the same effect it had on the black, which made my customer say, "its looks better now the when i bought the car" the car was a 05 g35 sedan..

[Buellwinkle]

The Gold Class cleaner/conditioner is very good, use it all the time and the wipes are even better as I don't have to look for a clean rag.

The problem I have right now with the perforated MB seats is my wife got some gunk on there last night that she doesn't know what it is. It resembles yellow paint and it doesn't come off with just rubbing (just saw it this morning so I didn't have time to try any chemicals). I was afraid to drive it as it may ooze through the perforations and stain my clothes. Any ideas on how to get it out of the holes? What's the strongest product I should use on leather? My guess is I'll have to remove the cushion and remove the leather from the seat to clean it correctly, is this a DIY task or bring in the pro's?

[Murr1525]

I actualy use the Wipes and Spray together..

Getting moist things out of cushions is a pain.. might be for the pros.

[Hook]

Originally posted by Buellwinkle
The Gold Class cleaner/conditioner is very good, use it all the time and the wipes are even better as I don't have to look for a clean rag.

The problem I have right now with the perforated MB seats is my wife got some gunk on there last night that she doesn't know what it is. It resembles yellow paint and it doesn't come off with just rubbing (just saw it this morning so I didn't have time to try any chemicals). I was afraid to drive it as it may ooze through the perforations and stain my clothes. Any ideas on how to get it out of the holes? What's the strongest product I should use on leather? My guess is I'll have to remove the cushion and remove the leather from the seat to clean it correctly, is this a DIY task or bring in the pro's?

Are your perforated inserts Nubuck leather? If so, you need to be very, very careful in treating them.

[Buellwinkle]

No, just the standard leather. My issue is once something goes down the perforations, how do you get it back out? The only thing I can think of is to remove the leather off the cushion, clean the foam and backside and put it back. Maybe get it wet with the leather cleaner and then **** it out with a vacuum.

[Pete-FWA]

Stiff, nylon bristled brush works very well with leather cleaners. They cover more area than just a toothbrush, yet they're not going to scratch or tear leather that's in good condition. Such brushes also help get into the perforations.

One trick, with the yellowish material in the perforations, is to put down absorbant towels over the stained areas, then sit on them. Get up and see if anything soaked into the towel. If so, get clean towels and do it again.

Same thing goes if you can't get things completely removed from the perforations after cleaning. Without access to compressed air, using a sponge or absorbant towels and the above procedure help greatly. In many occasions, it takes some cleaner and scrubbing to loosen the offending material enough to be blotted.

The downside to using this method is possibly pushing the material farther into the perforations without actually removing it.

Scrubbing uncoated Nubuck is something I'd avoid. With the ones I've done, it seems to react similarly to suede, a material that does not lend itself to cleaning chemicals or water. Does the coating on the Nubuck make it feel coated like a standard automotive leather, or does it have more "feel" and texture like a suede?