leather dash care in high-sun locations?

[Kirk S]

for those who deal with the "big leather" options (leather dash, leather vent louvers, leather EVERYTHING) in high sun geographies, is there a well-known, widely accepted, common sense procedure for making all these crazy leather surfaces survive?

bought a pre-owned C4S, has leather freakin' everywhere in the cockpit and i'm a newbie in p-car "big leather" land :)

i know the no-brainer stuff like park with a sun shield in the wind shield, but i figure, at minimum, i should apply some sort of annual leather protectant treatment or something, preferably with some sort of UV blocker.

is it worth bending over at the porsche dealer parts counter for some magic snake oil....or are there other well known, established, time-tested alternatives?

thanx!!

[Greg]

Kirk,

Sounds like a nice problem to have. I don't have any really useful information for you, other than I have used Lexol on my seats for about 5 years with good results.

You may want to browse www.autopia.org for more information. Also www.gurureports.org promises a future issue on leather care.

[danjen]

I also use Lexol and know others that do too. They make a good product for a reasonable price.

[ar38070]

Lexol seems to do the job. You want both the cleaner and the conditioner.

[braincuttermd]

I also use lexol, but i noticed that lexol has handy wipes available preloaded with lexol on the tissue! It's about $5 for a container of these handy wipes, and I don't recall how many wipes are in one jar, but has anybody used them? I guess I'm just lazy when it comes to getting that warm moist cloth and bottle of lexol out.

[mdillian3690]

I am need to buy some leather cleaner & conditioner for my seats. I just bought the car a few mths ago and noticed my driver seat has a slight crack on one side.

[ADias]

Lexol cleaner/conditioner but... do NOT over do it. Too much of a good thing may not advised as you may end up w/ stretched leather - mostly on the seats. The advice I've heard is to do it twice a year.

[plima]

On the subject of leather care, I've used Connolly Hide Food for 14 years (first on my '91 M5, a daily driver) and now on my '04 GT3 (also a daily driver). These cars sit in our plentiful California sun during the day and the leather has held up very well. This isn't to say Lexol is in any way not a good choice, only that there is another with an excellent track record.

[Jeremy Cottrell]

Get a sunshade immediately, or watch the waves on your dash swell like Malibu.

[Greg]

Properautocare.com has several nice information pages on leather care. This link is information from Lexol.

http://www.properautocare.com/leclcoex.html

[globalfun]

I was, unfortunately, not that quick in buying a sunshade..As a result I now have a small wave on the dash..It comes and goes depending on temp..**** it :)

What should I do? Is there any way to fix this without removing the dash?

Any advice is highly appreciated.

BR

/b

Edited October 15, 2007 by globalfun

[996c4s_dallas]

The sunshade as mentioned earlier will help tremendously!! It will also reflect a huge amount of heat. I also recommend tinting your windows!!

[globalfun]

The sunshade as mentioned earlier will help tremendously!! It will also reflect a huge amount of heat. I also recommend tinting your windows!!

Yepps, I bought one..but as mentioned too late.. Now that the "wave" is a fact what can be done to fix it?

Thanx

/b

[KevinMac]

You need a conditioner that has UV filters, there some products I have found that claims to have UV filters, I have not tried them, but maybe worth while looking into.

http://www.colourlock.co.nz/products/leather-fadegard/

Heres another!

http://allleathermaintenance.com/index.php...up699tremfaio00

ArmorAll Leather gel also is supposed to have UV filters alos.

Good Luck!

[pongobaz]

Don't use Lexol for leather on the dash. It has been specially dried by Porsche to stay shrink resistant but if you rehydrate it Lexol, it will make it too supple and over time, it might begin to come unglued from the base. On the dash, door, pillars, etc... I use Aerospace 303 Protectant since it contains UV blockers. Don't overdo it. Spray it directly on the surface or on a clean applicator or cloth and wipe/buff off any excess. It won't be sticky and attract dust and it won't be shiny like some of the other products out there. I then use Lexol for the seats where I want the leather to be supple. And buy a cheap sunshade or the grossly overpriced Porsche one as a measure of prevention on days when the sun and heat are brutal.

[pongobaz]

Don't use Lexol for leather on the dash. It has been specially dried by Porsche to stay shrink resistant but if you rehydrate it with Lexol or other conditioners, it will make it too supple and over time, it might begin to come unglued from the base. On the dash, door, pillars, etc... I use Aerospace 303 Protectant since it contains UV blockers. Don't overdo it. Spray it directly on the surface or on a clean applicator or cloth and wipe/buff off any excess. It won't be sticky and attract dust and it won't be shiny like some of the other products out there. I then use Lexol for the seats where I want the leather to be supple. And buy a cheap sunshade or the grossly overpriced Porsche one as a measure of prevention on days when the sun and heat are brutal.