[VictorRomeo]

Hi all,

So I will soon be taking delivery of my new 330e and am getting quite excited. I'm moving from a 2017 330e and that had the regular Dakota leather which really needed little to no after care at all save for a wipe down every now and again. Robust and tough for sure.

Now the Merino (Fjord Blue/Black and Tanzanite) on the other hand seems to be a lot softer and I can imagine will require more maintenance. Not a problem of course but I want to get things off to the right start.

Where I am, the BWM ProtectX dealer option is GardX for paint and leather - not something I have any faith in and I'm well aware this sort of stuff is a nice little dealer bonus.

That said, however, I'm curious to learn the following;

1 - What first-use leather protection product would you recommend for Merino?

2 - how have you found your merino wearing? Cleaning and maintenance schedule and so on.

Thanks!

[WestCoast76]

Hi,

You don't have to be worried about the Merino leather. It's not fragile and easy to clean.

I remove the dust with my vacuum cleaner (with a soft brush) and I clean the leather time to time with a microfiber and a All-Purpose Cleaner (low dosage). The key is to not too much water.

I have a kit from ColourLock but I'm sure I'm going to use it as the Merino leather ages very well. I admit I don't drive my car daily but just the weekend and during holidays.

I hope it will help

[Fd340]

I've got Merino leather in Tartufo colour.
I was looking at treating it with Gyeon Leathershield as I did have some blue denim transfer on it already over the past 2 months.

I coated half of the back of the arm rest for testing purposes. Interestingly, the difference between the treated and untreated in terms of Hydrophobic properties was negligible! Questioning whether I should actually treat it or not?

However testing it on the drivers seat, the water beading wasn't anywhere near as tight which gets me thinking either the cleaning (I used initially some Zaino z9, but really didn't like the smell of it, and then just before testing yesterday I used the Gyeon Leather Cleaner mild) has slighting affected it.

Now I'm unsure whether I should actually treat the car (especially as its mostly just myself in the car), and maybe thinking I might just treat the drivers seat only?

[Eric S]

When cleaning leather for a coating, you need to clean and them remove all residue with a hot towel only. No additional cleaners.

[Burrcold]

I hate the feeling of leather with the ceramic(ish) type coatings. It makes it feel too slick in my opinion.

[Fd340]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

I hate the feeling of leather with the ceramic(ish) type coatings. It makes it feel too slick in my opinion.

Yeah that was my concern, that's why I coated half of the back of the rear arm rest (as I think in 8 years of my previous car I never put it down!). Saying that feeling it after a day or two I can't feel the difference. I did feel it being more slick after a few hours though.. so not sure if it just takes a while to flash off and dry.