skiin6

Hey everyone,

I have the red and black Nappa leather on my 2013 c63 and I'm looking for the best way to take care of it. The car is just about a year old and I'm just worried about keeping it in great shape. So the car is obviously developing creases from being sat in, but I've notice in the back seat it's starting to show cracking on the back rest. I've been referred to HIDE CARE for a good conditioner, i was also told if I could find the old formula, HIDE FOOD, that would be the best. We'll I found bentley's version of hide food so I grabbed that. After doing some research I've seen people say those products (hide food, hide car) are good for old cars and for the new cars they have protective coating on the leather and it's not good to use a lot of conditioners that are available today? So obviously I'm a new bee and just needed some help

1. How often should I have to maintenance the leather?

2. What products should I use ( currently have bentley hide food)

3. Will this help get ride of the cracking

Thank you guys!

Ingenieur

1 I do it twice a year, spring & fall


2 I do a 2 step deal:
I wipe everything down with a Woolite and distilled water solution on a wrung out rag, I then use a grout sponge to wipe everything down lightly with a little Mothers conditioner/cleaner. I rinse the sponge out occasionally and spray the product on it. I then wipe off any excess with a dry cotton rag. Leaves a dry matte finish. Our leather is sealed/treated, so you can't really condition it, only clean it well.


3 cracking is inevitable with time/use, you can only slow it down

skiin6

Ok sounds great, what type of solution do use if you don't mind me asking? And are you familiar with the hide food? Since you said that you used a little mothers I didn't know if that could work to?

Ingenieur

1/2 gal of distilled water in a small bucket with a few oz. of standard Woolite, just enough to get a little foam.


I've heard the hide food is for old style untreated leather.
The Mothers is for modern treated leather, leaves almost no residue.

KIS007

Not sure where you are, but in Houston, I have the leather treated every month. Heat dries out leather.

skiin6

KIS007 currently in az so that deff makes sense, I do garage the car tho. What process do you go through monthly if you don't mind?

Bodacious

Sonax Leather foam weekly.

Ingenieur

you do leather maintenance every week?
doesn't that build up produc on the surface?

Bodacious

No build up whatsoever. Sonax is awesome stuff. Look it up on www.detailersdomain.com

coladin

I have the Mercedes stuff from the parts counter, works great.

KIS007

I believe my detailer uses Lexol products, the cleaner and the treatment.

SaphGreyC63

I'm a fan of Leatherique. Two years in, condition and clean every 3 months and my seats and steering wheel still look and feel like new and I have the black/white interior.

in2dwww

I always used Lexol on my 2007 SLK55 AMG (nappa), and for years, it looked and smelled great. I had the black with ash combo. Add to that a convertible top and what I had was a chore on my hands.

More than anything, with whatever product you go with, the key is to stay on top of it with regular maintenance. Once a month is ideal.

Lexol cleaner followed by Lexol conditioner was my routine. But nowadays, I've moved on to Sonax Leather Foam for non-nappa leathers.

The 1-step method takes half the time. Beyond that, each product has a unique scent. I like Lexol with nappa leather and Sonax with all other leather (except rare uncoated).