This topic goes back aways and a google search brings up lots of hits, pictures, etc. I've had them since I bought the car to some degree, but noticing (with time probably) there are more. I found one post on 6speed back in '11 where an owner said his dealer got word from Porsche there was a process the dealer has to remedy the situation. Before I call my dealer to see if he can hunt this down I was hoping owners here may know more (that 6speed poster is no longer active). Thanks as usual for the help guys.

 

Sorry, what was he issue with the seats that you are trying to remedy?

 

An issue with spots appearing on the ventilated leather seats

Pics

 

What I notice in all those photo's is the holes in the spotted areas are all darkened in. Because ventilated seats have holes punched into them, each hole creates a cross-section area where oil, etc can easily get into the leather. That's exactly what these all look like. The places where someone got sweat, or french fries, or whatever, on the seat, it got absorbed and spread into the leather, making it darker. The other thing common to all these seats, none of them look very well cared for. (Watertheodds?)

So the answer seems quite simple to me: follow all the normal leather care steps. Thoroughly clean the entire seat with your preferred cleaner and lots of soft white cotton cloths. Soon as a cloth shows any dirt at all, turn it to a clean area or get another cloth. Then slather on your preferred leather conditioner. I'm partial to Griot's Leather Care, but enough guys get good results with other products that it seems to me the process matters more than the products. Ideally you slather it on and leave it some place warm to soak in a good 24-48 hours. If you search around there's a Carrera GT pictorial thread where they did this using a bathroom and space heater to create a sauna for the slathered seats. In the after pics its obvious how much the natural leather grain plumped up after this treatment. This is what you need to soak in enough to blend out those spotty areas.

Afterwards you may need to buff with a soft cloth, which I like to follow up with a horsehair shoe brush. Then because yours is perforated you may need to either keep buffing or painstakingly clear out each perforation with a wooden or metal pick. Then, lay off the french fries.

 

Is this what you are talking about? Just don't let Spot sit on your ventilated seats!


But seriously, I was about to say roughly the same as chuck911 posted while I was off finding a dog photo. The light areas are untreated leather just inside the perforation, so anything that gets on that leather is easily soaked in and creates darker spots in the middle of the lighter areas. So the fix is to just make them all darker with a good treatment like chuck recommends.

I ran into this when my son and I were out and got cups of chocolate ice cream in the car. He dropped a spoonful right on the seat. My passenger seat still has some traces of the chocolate in those holes... dang it. At least the spots you are likely referring to are just darker and not brown (on black leather).

 

I have black interior ventilated seats and see the same issue - the top leather is black but inside the perforations the leather is more natural color. Water spots or other sources create "spots" because inside the perforations, the leather is no longer natural color.

What you have to be very careful is not to use a cream that clogs or fills the zillion little holes - that is a disaster.

I used the Leather Master foam on my passenger side seat and that seems to work - makes all the holes dark inside the perforations but does not clog the holes. Hard to get all the holes treated - kind of a PITA.

In the past on non-perf seats (Mercedes), I used Leatherique Prestine Clean and Rejuvinator Oil, which is good stuff. I haven't used Leatherique on my P-car ventilated seats for fear of clogging the holes, although both PC and RO are liquid and not creams. I will probably try a test area with Leatherique to see if it clogs the holes and will advise results.

Al

 

Same issue with sand beige ventilated seats. I've learned to apply the leather cleaner to the cloth first, make sure it's well distributed and absorbed. Then rub on the seats. If it's too wet of soupy it'll discolor the holes.

After this fairly simple change in technique no new spots. Spilling hot chocolate would not be helpful.

 

Thanks guys. I'll try that Leather Master Foam, someone else mentioned that product effective in a thread I found in the search here.

 

My C4S had the dreaded water stains on my ventilated seats when I purchased it. I used Leather Master Soft Cleaner and it came right out. It's a water based cleaner so it will not stain or damage your seats.

Pour the liquid on a small foam sponge and squeeze it until it foams up. Apply the sponge to the seats in a circular motion while pushing down. Once applied, wait a couple of hours for it to fully dry and then apply the Leather Master Vital Conditioner to re-enrichen them. The soft cleaner leaves the seats with a matte finish. The vital once dry gives them the oem shine you get from the dealer.

I've attached before and after pics:

Before


After




Links:

http://www.leatherworldtech.com/Leat...er-p/lmsoc.htm

http://www.leatherworldtech.com/Leat...al-p/lmvit.htm

 

Do you not wipe off the cleaner with a dry towel after application? Or by "let it dry" do you mean air dry after wipe off? Thanks

 

Yes. Wipe down the excess and let it dry.

 

Thanks. Ordering the products now

 

You wont be disappointed. Post before and after pics!

 

I've seen his seats in person and can verify they looked brand spanking new. I had no idea they used to look like the before picture.

 

The problem with ventilated seats is that if get a little bit of water on them they will stain. With these seats, you have to be extra careful when it rains. If you get wet and sit down, the water could trickle between the seats and could cause them to stain. Same goes with sweat.

I assumed whoever detailed the car at the dealer before I had it shipped wasn't aware of it and most likely treated them without care.