I've used Griots and it is a good product too, but personally I like the Sonus products better. The results are better, but it is more labor intensive, and there's no artificial scent added like you have in the Griots.

If you look at my detail list in my sig, you'll see I'm a Griots fan boy, so it is rare for me to recommend a non-Griots product over one of theres. However, this is one case where Sonus is a slam dunk over Griots.

 

Seperate products. Cleaner is a thick clear gel. Conditioner is very thin, milky-colored. A little goes a long way and you can really work it into tight areas.

Yes, funny smelling in bottle, but once on the leather and give about an hour and open the door to get that unique clean leather smell that you get with new Porsche leather skins. No overpowering leather fragrance at all.

The effect on the leather is really neat. You'll not slide after treatment. Make the leather grip better when you sit on the seat. Guess what I'll be doing prior to trake time?

Deanski

 

I STRONGLY AGREE! This new formula is the best I've found for newer "P" car leather. The older Zymol Treat would be good too, but since Chuck sold it to TW, it's not the same at all.

Deanski

 

Would you still recommend your Woolite mix or is this cleaner the way to go for our newer leathers?

 

Thanks for the tip and the link, Ron.

 

Ron, went to the website, dfo you have any idea why there was only one review for the product, and it was written by you, thought there would have been more given that the product seems to be getting good reviews.

 

Woolite is still one of my ways of getting leather clean. It just takes longer to fully dry B4 treatments. More so if you get past the skin and backing and into any foam. That's when it's nice to roll it into the paint booth, crank up the heat and let it dry, or use a de-humidifier with hose into a template plastic panel to match the window. Takes me about 15 mins to make one, cut to shape, hot melt the adapter to the plastic and voila, a way to remove humidity and odors (ozone generator) in a car.

The gel does have good points in working the leather and being a gel holds more dirt, stays in place etc. Woolite gets into tight areas better. Still, since it was developed in line with the conditioner, I had to give it a shot. Not bad in cleaning, but I also mist on some distilled water at the end to make sure I get ALL of it off, then dry with white cotton towels to gauge the level of dirt if it needs more work. Once fully dry, after misting can take several hours or longer depending on temp/humidity, I did the conditioner.

As you well know, most leather cleaners are nothing more than a Woolite type mix with color and fragance added, which we could all do without the added "stuff" to make it smell and look good.

These are now in 8oz bottles, he did have 16oz ones. I'm trying to get gallon size to have onhand!

Deanski

 

Oh, one more tip - be sure if you have heated seats to run them for a bit (or just sit in your seats to warm them up a bit) before using the conditioner. It absorbs quicker and deeper for a glove soft leather feel.

 

Glad you brought that up - I actually do that too and forgot to mention that. I keep a mist bottle of water and I just use a yellow microfiber or terry cloth towel to wipe any excess gel off.

Not for you Deanski, but others...
READ THE DIRECTIONS too. You need to let the cleaner dry before doing the conditioner.

 

I'm with Deanski on this one, I use all of the Ziano products and love them all. The leather conditioner is the best I have used.

 

Z-10 is and shall be one of may favorite ones.

However, after giving SONUS a try, I'm hooked like crack on this stuff!

Go to your dealer, sit in a new coupe. Enjoy the smells. Go back to your car and sit in it. If it has Z-10, it's a bit overpowering leather smell. Porsche leather has that unique clean smell like no other. Never in my long career of doing auto detailing have I smelled something this unique in leather. Nothing.

SONUS can release it back from the tanning process. Very cool.

Honestly, I didn't think it would stand close to Z-10. Then you realize that Z-10 as great as it is, is nothing more than a conditioner with leather fragrance. That's good if you have skins that are really old or want that strong leather smell. Z-10 was dead-on ringer for Lexus leather when I owned my SC430.

SONUS on the other hand does it naturally. By releasing the tanning odor, it is as close to new as you'll ever get w/o chaning the skins. Since SONUS was developed by another "P" car owner, he knew what he and other "P" car owners wanted. Something to bring that new smell back, the new feel of the leather (firm) and do it w/o oils. He hit a home run on this one!!

What I found out is he still has factory original skins still in a plastic bag that he used to obtain the way "P" car leather smells new without oils, fragrance etc. It tooks some time until he was satisfied with it and would not release it until perfected. Thank God he did now!

Look, these are only 8oz bottles. Give it a try and feel and smell for yourself. If you want that leathery odor, stay with Z-10. If you want that clean smelling leather odor from a new "P" car, try the SONUS.

As he told me one day: Smells odd out of the bottle, but smells great on the cow!

Enjoy!!

Regards,
Deanski

 

Great write up Deanski! I couldn't agree more.

EXACTLY. The first time I used Sonus I did it on my wife's SUV in case it sucked. I thought it smelled terrible coming out, so I stopped after doign only the drivers seat. I figured I'd just toss the stuff.

The next day her leather, which hadn't been conditioned in 4 years, felt almost as soft as my Mercedes Nappa leather that had been conditioned 2 times a year for 5 years. It also didn't stink anymore - in fact there was no odor either way (because Lexus leather isn't high grade stuff).

I then decided to do the Mercedes (still afraid to do the 911) and I got phenomenonal results. The area of the rear seat by the carpet was the softest I had ever felt it, and I couldn't help but caress the leather to marvel in its softness that whole first day when I was driving it. This leather had been treated with a Mercedes leather conditioner made by Meguiars (not Gold Class crap) so I think that years of using it kept the leather smell from really coming out again.

With two successes, I did the entire 911 (which was still in the break-in period and only a couple months old at best). It already smelled like new, but leather from the factory can be a bit dry so I thought I'd do it anyway. Once again, I was pleased to see that the leather softened up to better than new conditions, and my new car smell wasn't affected. It still smelled the way a 911 should and the seats felt great.

I now use the Zaino cleaner for leather wipe downs when it is dirty from the kids and top down driving, and Sonus for cleaning and conditioning.

Lastly, after the application moisture is restored into the leather so the color of the leather will darken -- this is good - dry leather lightens up so your real leather color is restored AFTER conditioning. My black looks like black instead of natural grey, so I don't keep getting that question anymore.

 

Thanks a lot for that ringing endorsement, Jim. I really appreciate it coming from someone with your experience.

I knew I didn't want a product that would add an artificial leather fragrance as Zaino's Z-10 apparently does that overpowers and masks out the natural leather smells of the full leather interior. To me that would be a lot like hanging a deodorizer from your rearview mirror - something that hopefully none of you do in your fine p-car.

Glad to hear that David Bynon of Autopia has "hit a home run" with this product. He's a perfectionist who has personally helped me out and whose infuence can be seen in the detailing techniques I use in my detailing threads.

Can't wait to try this Sonus product out myself!

 

Thanks for the thread guys... The conditioner that is milky in appearance sounds like the COACH leather conditioner my wife buys at department stores....

Question: When they say 'full' leather ...does that include the not so obvlous areas like seat backs, airbag cover on the upper cowl, console covering, etc? I ask because I got my 05 w/full Cocoa on Saturday and have started the long, lonely road to detail perfection. (I know enough not to 'condition' the headliner...) Thanks.

Jim

 

I'm sure you'll like it. With DavidB being an avid "P" car owner as well, it only made sence to give it a try.

You're right about Z-10, great stuff, and has very good leather fragrance that's for sure is just a bit overpowering for Porsche leather. Older ones works very well in restoring the old leathery smell.

Enjoy and let me know what you think as well.

Deanski