callouie

OK, the seats are in very good shape, with some light wear on the driver bolsters, but no tears. A few cracks on the driver's outside piping, but otherwise, crack free. Ordered up Leatherique (SC to GA, shouldn't take long), and in the meantime, I've used some Zaino cleaner/conditioner (Z9/10) on the seats. Hopefully, 32 oz. of cleaner and rejuvenator will be enough. Here's what the seats look like at the time of purchase:

http://callouie.com/928_2/images/p1080262.jpg
http://callouie.com/928_2/images/p1080264.jpg
http://www.callouie.com/porsche/images/p1080281.jpg

Dash and pod are crack free, the car was kept very well prior to my purchase. Ditto the rear panels, don't see any warping, and except for a few tiny nicks in the vinyl (expected after 18 years and 135k miles), everything looks great. So, here's the question...other than the seats and the matching insert in the door panel, I believe everything is vinyl (yes/no?). There seems to be a consensus to not apply ANYTHING to these pieces, especially the dash and pod. I got carried away in my cleaning and used the Zaino products (cleaner and conditioner) on pretty much all of the vinyl. I've always used it on the vinyl and leather stuff in other cars I've owned with no ill effects, and even the Zaino site mentions that it's ok for vinyl. What do I do now?

Also read several posts, some with quite some age on them, suggesting Vinylex a few times a year, but other than that, haven't seen anything else. Use the Prestine Clean on it, then leave it alone? Always have been a big Zaino fan, esp for the paint, but willing to give some other products a try.

Appreciate any tips you can offer!

V2Rocket

I wouldn't use the stuff on the dash...if anything you MIGHT spray some windex or simple green on a cloth and wipe it down to get dust/fingerprints.

Podguy

Nice looking car. Often the door panels on the S4 cars are leather. The seats look mlike they are the draped leather option.

Dan the Pod Guy

callouie

Yes, the option code for draped leather is there. There is a matching leather insert in the doors, but the rest of it appears to be vinyl.

Marine Blue

I guess I don't follow everyone elses suggestion. I use Griots vinyl protectant on the dash, pod, door pulls and center console area. I apply a very light coating of it and wipe if with a microfiber to leave a thin layer on. As I understand it, it's only certain types of silicone that cause damage to vinyl and rubber parts and most protecants have eliminated them. The UV protecants IMHO have to be a benefit.

V2Rocket

Get some SPF30 and sunblock your dash :P

callouie

Thought I'd pass on my results. While the leather wasn't hard like cardboard, I did notice a difference after soaking the seats for 24 hours in the oil. I definitely didn't use 4 oz. of oil per seat, but honestly, I don't see how I could have put any more on there, since all 4 seats were fairly damp after using maybe a third of that. Nice warm day in GA, cleaned up pretty easily, and yes, the towels I used got pretty gross, so the oil did bring some of the nastiness out of the leather.

End result, a bit brighter and cleaner, but it wasn't bad before I started. Biggest difference, the top two panels on the rear seats. They were definitely the stiffest leather panels in the car, and now they're very soft. The rest of the seats and the door inserts look and feel great. I may still give it another treatment after a few weeks, per some posts I've read here, but very happy with the first round of Leatherique. I probably have enough left in these 16 oz bottles to do the car 5 or 6 more times, so really, it wasn't all that expensive.

Courtshark

Here's a tip if you have stubborn stains on your leather/vinyl items: try some GoJo or Fast Orange hand cleaner. I had some thoroughly mildewed 1971 GTO parchment colored seats I was trying to salvage with typical products, but to no avail on the mildew stains. I went to wash my hands with Fast Orange when I bumped into a door panel on the counter. With my reflexes I grabbed it to prevent it from hitting the floor. My hand grabbed hold of the panel and as I placed it back on the counter, the mildew that had been on the panel under my fingers had been transferred to my fingers! Looked brand new underneath. Needlesstosay, I rubbed down the whole interior with the stuff and it's now pristine, installed in my brother's 1971 Tempest T37 (with a GTO 455 HO under the hood). So for the tough interior stains... give it a shot. I recommend following up with one of the treatments described above in addition to this cleansing method.

mj1pate

This may be an old product, old solution. Regardless; back when I bought a new 1981 Alfa Spider, I watched in dismay as the rear window yellowed over 6 months in the Houston sun. I experimented with rubbing the rear window down with ArmorAll every time I washed the car and subsequently NEVER experienced rear window deterioration for the next 10 years. Have long since been systematically treating dashboards and any vinyl with ArmorAll. There are more than a few products that can absorb UV on the market to choose from, now.