[200q20v] leather care

[Brett Dikeman]

Lexol.  I've been complemented many times on the condition and feel of the
seats, though it helps that the previous owner did a great job of keeping
the interior in good shape(I have no idea what he used, I suspect Hide
Food from the buildup on the seams.)

Do it while the car is warm.  I just discovered that using a soft brush
results in even more spectacular results(unless your leather is flaking or
damaged, in which case, the brush will just rip everything.)

With the lexol cleaner, don't be afraid to use some water to
work up a good lather.  Vacuum the seats -completely- to get any
dirt/pebbles/what have you out of the seams; then go over the seat gently
with a soft brush, and get a lather going.  Wipe it all down with a damp
cloth.

Don't forget some of the most critical areas are the tops of the seats;
front passenger seat tops closest to the window, and a good portion of the
back seats(headrests, top leather surface of the back) get VERY dried out
from the sun.

After everything dries off, and preferably when the car is somewhat warm
from being in the sun, go over all the leather with the conditioner.
Slather it on, especially on the areas where it's really dried out.  Let
it sit, then come back later and buff the seats with a good dry towel.
This works for me; experiment on your own and see what works for your
leather, your climate, etc.  Typically my seats are very grabby for a day
or two after this, but quickly turn back to normal-feeling.

Do the steering wheel with the cleaner, and really rub the stuff around,
use a toothbrust to get the grime out of the stitches, etc.
If you use a white cloth, you'll be amazed at home much grime comes off
even with periodic cleanings.  Use some conditioner, but wipe it
off soon after, or you'll have an icky-sticky wheel for a day or two :-)

Also, pay attention to the shift boot...it's possibly the most abused
leather item in the car aside from the outside driver's seat bolster(pay
extra attention to that guy too, especially if you have sport seats.)

HTH!

Brett

On Thu, 19 Apr 2001, Sean Upchurch wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I bought a gray 91 200q20v about a month ago and have been lurking on the
> list since then.  Similar to Tom's bouncing speedo and stalling, my car had
> the same problems.  Thanks to some friends (Pete Kunzler and Orin Eman), we
> replaced the BPV (and the connecting vacuum line) and soldered the circuit
> board for about 4 hours time.  Anyway...
>
> My drivers seat has some surface cracking in it and I would like to use some
> leather treatment to extend the life of them.  Anybody have any BTDT and
> suggestions of what to use.
>
>
> Thanks,
> Sean Upchurch
> 91 200q20v
> 87 4ktq (currently dead and waiting for replacement block to be bored)
>
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