MK5 Golf GTI
All Things Mk5 => Mk5 General Area => Topic started by: Steveo on July 12, 2015, 07:13:07 pm
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Hi all, what leather care products are proving to work for us? I tried some autoglym leather cleaner and balm but its dried/ discoloured the leather in places. Id really appriciate any tips as to what actually works. Cheers :-)
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Dr leather works brilliant! Gives it that matte finish
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+1 for Dr Leather it's the best there is, for UV and seam protection you can finish with Gtechniq L1 Leather Guard :happy2:
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Hi,
In the same vein, I have colour missing off my red leather interior on the bolsters caused by both seat belt rubbing and general getting in and out wear, has anyone used the coloured balms etc that are on the market to restore these areas and generally to rejuvenate the
leather ?
They seem to be fairly plentiful but would rather get some advise from someone's first hand experience of a specific make or supplier, I have had a look at Dr leather and gtechniq and neither of these sites seem to offer damage repair only cleaning.
Regards Steve
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I've used Scuffmaster kits for dye repair and Gliptone gentle cleaner and Gliptone Conditioner on my 2 previous BMW's with great results.
I've just got hold of TK Anthracite grey for my new MK5 GTI which has leather seats. You get white and black toner to increase or decrease the darkness of the main dye for a perfect match. The black can toner enables you to touch up your gear knob (mine was a little grey where the black dye had been rubbed off.
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I thought the leather in the GTIs was coated so the usual cleaners & conditioners didn't work on it?
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Dr leather works brilliant! Gives it that matte finish
Thanks for the help. Samiul, would you expect this to bring back the colour?
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It IS real leather. Read the brochure - all contact surfaces are leather, all non contact surfaces (ie bolster sides and rear of seats) are vinyl.
I can confirm that the scuffmaster kit I used on saturday has renewed the worn areas of my leather upper surfaces and the conditioner I have put on it has absorbed in nicely.
Taken from March 2005 VW UK Golf GTI brochure P10:
* Generally all parts of leather upholstery in direct contact with the driver or passengers are leather,
all other areas may contain leatherette
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It IS real leather. Read the brochure - all contact surfaces are leather, all non contact surfaces (ie bolster sides and rear of seats) are vinyl.
I can confirm that the scuffmaster kit I used on saturday has renewed the worn areas of my leather upper surfaces and the conditioner I have put on it has absorbed in nicely.
Taken from March 2005 VW UK Golf GTI brochure P10:
* Generally all parts of leather upholstery in direct contact with the driver or passengers are leather,
all other areas may contain leatherette
You cannot treat the leather (it has a clear coat of something over it? ) , it will not absorb anything , it is your imagination . All you can do is keep it clean .
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Have you guys downloaded the brochure from the vw website and looked at the specific details given by the manufacturer about the leather seats? The upper sections are leather. Vw state this! Shall I post a link to the brochure?
You can treat them, mine had greying in the natural creases where the dye was getting rubbed on the bolster and it is now perfect again after dye application. The wear on the side faces of my bolster is different, has a backing mat visible underneath the chunk out of it and cannot be treated.
If it were vinyl then you wouldn't get random creasing
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VW aren't cheap enough to sell you fake leather as real or they would get done under false goods and descriptions, they are supposedly a premium brand. What I would say is that presuming it is actually leather, it isn't the highest quality for sure.
My father in law has a saab 93 convertible which has vinyl seats, they feel totally different to the upper surfaces of the golf.
What's more is that the leather restoration company I use have a database of all leather colours from manufacturers and anthracite TK was in that database. They don't deal with vinyl care products
Now I wouldn't bet my life on what I've been saying but there is as much argument that it is leather versus vinyl online. Perhaps someone will have a dead seat they could cut open to prove one way or not!
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Taken from March 2005 VW UK Golf GTI brochure P10:
* Generally all parts of leather upholstery in direct contact with the driver or passengers are leather,
all other areas may contain leatherette
I have just checked the brochure and it does say this. It also says that it is leather on several other occasions
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I've used gliptone leather cleaner and conditioners on my seats, and they absorb the conditioner readily..
Having spoken to an upholsterer, I asked whether the leather in my car was 'plastic coated' and they said it is most likely pigmented leather (which is what 99% of car upholstery is) which colours the leather and provides a polymer coating.
From interweb...
"The thickness of the surface coating can vary but if the mean thickness is more than 0.15mm then the product can't be sold as leather in the United Kingdom due to consumer protection legislation"
Sounds like it is real leather, albeit beneath something synthetic protecting it :P
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I win :)
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Front of seat = leather
Back of seat (where map pocket is) = leatherette
A misunderstanding here...but I think this has been determined by now! :grin:
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I win :)
I agree mate :congrats:
Yes preety crappy grade but the main areas of the seats are indeed leather as it states in the official brochure
:grin: @ anyone who thinks any car manufacturer would print a info brochure and tell outright lies :stupid:
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So...why not share the knowledge you have Steveed30? I'd be interested to know, as I've only recently bought a mk5 with leather, and want to keep them in good shape.
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Why can't they afford to use leather in mass produced vehicle
Vw charge £1750 for it :booty:
Hardly giving it away now are they :stupid:
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Have enjoyed this thread and learnt from it,so to add to it:-
http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/are-your-car-seats-actual-leather-20140330-35sre
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Technically everyone of us wether in a car specked with leather or not is sat on a leather seat of the finest quality. :signLOL: it might be easier to treat your backside rather than you seat.
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Leather is a natural product, vinyl is plastic. You don't get a plastic type leather - it is either one or the other. You may have a wafer thin leather surface on a majority synthetic backing but this still makes the surface you sit on leather. This is what VW says in its brochure and this is backed up in the link 2 posts above. Leather contact surfaces, vinyl elsewhere.
Rolls Royce leather is better than VW's - obviously. Still doesn't stop VW leather being a natural product, even if it isn't 100% natural in its depth of construction.
You can't sell plastic and call it leather, end of.
The reason they put leather in as standard on the run out cars is that they were trying to shift a car that had been left behind in the market place as it was overstaying its welcome at the dealers. To shift a £20k + car that was due for replacement, they added a leather seat package that probably only cost them about £100 to manufacture. Bit of a no brainer!
My previous E46 coupe had full leather interior. That was a mass produced car and in its production life was one of the biggest selling cars in the UK. I can guarantee you that the seats were 100% leather - anyone who has owned a BMW with leather can tell you that you can feel the reverse suede side of the leather under the edge of the seat.
Here is a link showing cracked and creased aged leather in a Rolls Royce - exactly what you say cannot happen to genuine leather http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/Leather_Car_Interior_Restoration.php (http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/Leather_Car_Interior_Restoration.php)
VW MK5 GTI leather may be inferior but it still has a natural leather top layer, not vinyl. This is why I and a number of others on this thread have had no issue with leather conditioner soaking in. It would be pretty obvious if it just wiped off straight away as it does if you try and rub it in the bolster sides which are vinyl.
Anyways - this is getting old, lets agree to disagree! :)
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SteveEd30 must be a trimmer or similar :laugh: either that or he just doesn't listen to what people are telling him :pomppomp:
As said agree to disagree im off to watch my leather conditioner soak into my leather seats :laugh:
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SteveEd30 must be a trimmer or similar :laugh: either that or he just doesn't listen to what people are telling him :pomppomp:
As said agree to disagree im off to watch my leather conditioner soak into my leather seats :laugh:
Take as long as you like .... :chicken:
As the saying goes, you don't get something for nothing, and if VW used Real leather and decided to Just "give it " as a cost free option, then it's not gonna be the "real" stuff.
As a business case... Free real leather would cost a fortune, cheaper imitation leatherette , now that is alot less expensive to use over the Tartin alternative.
And no I don't work with upholstery , just have owned 3 mk5's, been on here and the VW forums since 2006 , and this has been covered plenty of times that car manufactures As per the report posted above ARE misleading :P :P
As said Steve
Agree to disagree
I've also owned 3 mk5's since 2008 along with over 40 other (some tasty) motors
:happy2:
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SteveEd30 must be a trimmer or similar :laugh: either that or he just doesn't listen to what people are telling him :pomppomp:
As said agree to disagree im off to watch my leather conditioner soak into my leather seats :laugh:
Matt, what leather cleaner and conditioner do you use?
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SteveEd30 must be a trimmer or similar :laugh: either that or he just doesn't listen to what people are telling him :pomppomp:
As said agree to disagree im off to watch my leather conditioner soak into my leather seats :laugh:
Matt, what leather cleaner and conditioner do you use?
Tried a few mate
Dr leather wipes are very good as are some other cheaper wipes called lord sheraton which contain aloe vera and bees wax etc
Most recent freshen up though was with good old Autoglym leather care cream and a microfibre sponge, came up great :happy2:
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SteveEd30 must be a trimmer or similar :laugh: either that or he just doesn't listen to what people are telling him :pomppomp:
As said agree to disagree im off to watch my leather conditioner soak into my leather seats :laugh:
Matt, what leather cleaner and conditioner do you use?
Tried a few mate
Dr leather wipes are very good as are some other cheaper wipes called lord sheraton which contain aloe vera and bees wax etc
Most recent freshen up though was with good old Autoglym leather care cream and a microfibre sponge, came up great :happy2:
cheers mate, your always helpful :happy2:
I went halfords and got the zymol leather cleaning spray and ordered g1 leather guard online.
I looked at the autoglym product, its a balm right? Is the one your reffering to for conditioning? Would it be ok to use zymopl spray in conjunction with any conditioner?
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SteveEd30 must be a trimmer or similar :laugh: either that or he just doesn't listen to what people are telling him :pomppomp:
As said agree to disagree im off to watch my leather conditioner soak into my leather seats :laugh:
Matt, what leather cleaner and conditioner do you use?
Tried a few mate
Dr leather wipes are very good as are some other cheaper wipes called lord sheraton which contain aloe vera and bees wax etc
Most recent freshen up though was with good old Autoglym leather care cream and a microfibre sponge, came up great :happy2:
cheers mate, your always helpful :happy2:
I went halfords and got the zymol leather cleaning spray and ordered g1 leather guard online.
I looked at the autoglym product, its a balm right? Is the one your reffering to for conditioning? Would it be ok to use zymopl spray in conjunction with any conditioner?
No probs mate
Yes the Autoglym is a care cream balm plus a seperate spray bottle of actual cleaner used before balm for general cleaning etc
Always worked well on mine
Not tried any zymol products myself so let us know how you get on with them :happy2: