ADias

We are all wrong... you are a leather professional... and have no time to point out what's wrong? Perhaps a sentence or two...

MKW

whether Porsche's current semi-aniline leather is " plasticized " for better water / spill / body oil protection or not, I have heard that it is more prone to UV fading vs the regular embossed leather , no matter how you care for it or how often you use a topical product claiming UV protection and is an especially bad choice for cab owners in moderate climates like SoCal who can drive year round mid day with its high sun shining onto an open car ...is that correct ?

drcollie

I have made many posts about leather in our cars here on Rennlist, however if you really would like to read down into it, this is the best thread:

http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/show...ecting-leather

Pure anilines are subject to sun fade, not semi-anilines or finished leathers as they carry a pigmented top coat. There are no pure anilines used in autos that I have seen, with one exception. The Ford King Ranch series, but notice how heavily tinted the window are in that series?

ADias

Good link. Thanks! So... you only advise cleaning with soap and water? No moisturizing like Leather Master Vital? No top coat protectant like Leather Master Protectant Cream?

All leather professionals I know state that all coated/semi-coated leathers need to see periodic recoats of some urethane-like protectant... Disagree?

drcollie

Soap and Water is a safe bet and done for warranty issues to avoid chemical incompatibility on certain hides with the leather product , but really it should be conditioned. More here:

http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/show...oning-Protocol.

Not all leather care products are the same. While most are safe, there are some out that will react with the hide topcoat of particular leathers over a period of time and cause the topcoat to break down and flake off. When we get a warranty claim on a leather piece that is experiencing that, first thing we do is send it to a lab to determine if aftermarket products that were not-approved are used on the hide and if so, its "sorry, we cannot help you" and that's it for the consumer.

Leather Master is a premium product, its never caused a problem and you can use that safely. Mostly the problematic chemicals are the ones that claim to 'barrier' the leather forever.

Winegums

Thank you for writing this up! I really appreciated the guide.

I will be selecting the natural leather for my TTS =]

hfm

Moose munchkin mongoose.

Dan (tags thread with his search words for future reference)

jsaviano

The thread about Porsche Exclusive and ordering is quite informative. I have the "standard" leather, and use Griots products which work very well.

drcollie

....and I can tell you from experience that Porsche leather is not coated in any way.....

Bzzzzzzzt! Thank you for playing....The standard leather in a Porsche is what we call FINISHED leather (a.k.a. Corrected, Pigmented, Protected, Painted). The upgraded 'Natural' Leather is a Semi-Aniline, which is both a dyed & painted (coated) hybrid product. Naked or pure aniline leathers are not used in automotive applications.

.....All Porsche leather has a vinyl coating......

You know vinyl is a form of plastic, and think about this - why would you want to coat leather with plastic? Makes no sense.

What you are describing is something called BONDED or BICAST leather, which is on the junk furniture you buy at Costco or Bob's Discount. BONDED leather is made from the split of the hide, the lower part of the epidermis of the cow skin and it lacks good tensile strength - these are typically used to make suedes. The upper part of the hide is what is call TOP GRAIN LEATHER. Because the Splits have little value and don't perform well as a seating surface, one way to use them is to bond a polypropylene sheet to the top of the split, and then paint it. BICAST leather is made from scrap bits of leather. Appx 25% of every hide is waste, and they collect this waste and sell it by the pound to China, where it is chemically melted into a slurry and formed into sheets like fabric rolls. It's painted, too. Both are a long ways from real top grain leather.

When hides go through a tannery, 94% of them worldwide are going to become a FINISHED leather. They are too banged up to become a pure ANILINE. They sand the hide, which destroys the grain pattern, tumble it to get it soft in the tanning process, then the grain pattern is embossed into the and its painted. This is what most all leather you buy is made of, be it shoes, belts, handbags, gloves, motorcycle jackets or Porsche Seats. Those that don't require heavy sanding can become a semi-aniline, which uses a combination of dye and paint. That remaining 6% can be a pure aniline, and that can be either lighted coated (most have teflon on them), a waxy top surface, or nude.

There is no plastic on top of Porsche leather or anyone else's top grain, but it is painted.....

MJBird993

DRCOLLIE is a personal friend of mine, IRL and all that, and so I can tell you all, without reservation, that he knows what he's talking about. I'm not sure of the "leather professional" moniker, but he often wears both chaps and a leather vest, which is, shall we say, a unique outfit. But he can pull it off, especially when he's driving his cabriolet.

john45in

Do they match or contrast?

MJBird993

Are you referring to the collars and cuffs?

Honestly, I don't know. I said we were friends, but that's all. Just friends.

66mustang

If anyone has seen a used King Ranch, you would know there is something special about that leather. The steering wheel looks like a beat up taxicab wheel. The seats are all stained up, most look like water drops. The arm rest is also usually 5 shades darker, and looks all stained.

I am in the used car industry and have seen many of them come though, and they all look the same.