[JRJ1970]

...what do you use to care for it and how often? Should convertible owners do it more often?

[335xi_zer0]

Leatherique Prestine Clean and Rejuvenator Oil. Take a look at the Detailing Forums. There's also a great write-up here:

http://www.detailedimage.com/Auto-De...-Care/#leather

As you'll read, this is a pretty time consuming process, but it does a great job. Make sure to get some type of vinyl/upholstery brush to really work in the Prestine Clean to the seats. It will pick up LOADS of stuff you'll be amazed.

Because you have a convertible, I would clean it more often but it really just depends on usage and how much you actually ride with the top down.

If you don't like the process of Leatherique, Lexol is another great product that I see people using.

Hope that helps.

[ceb]

Originally Posted by jrjinsa

...what do you use to care for it and how often? Should convertible owners do it more often?

I have 45k on my car and all the seats look like new with the exception of a few tiny wrinkles. I use leatherique every few months. My car is also garaged when not driven.

In addition, I wipe down the steering wheel weekly with a diluted Leatherique Pristine Clean solution and it is looking near new. Keeping a steering wheel looking new is impossible but we can always try

A frequent vacuum is your friend and jeans are your enemy.

A convertible will obviously need more care but the leather is also slightly different on BMW IIRC.

[ceb]

Originally Posted by 335xi_zer0

Leatherique Prestine Clean and Rejuvenator Oil. Take a look at the Detailing Forums. There's also a great write-up here:

http://www.detailedimage.com/Auto-De...-Care/#leather

As you'll read, this is a pretty time consuming process, but it does a great job. Make sure to get some type of vinyl/upholstery brush to really work in the Prestine Clean to the seats. It will pick up LOADS of stuff you'll be amazed.

Because you have a convertible, I would clean it more often but it really just depends on usage and how much you actually ride with the top down.

If you don't like the process of Leatherique, Lexol is another great product that I see people using.

Hope that helps.

I've never been a friend of Lexol for Dakota leather but I've heard good things about Leather Master.

[GetSomeE92]

I just bought some Zaino Z-9 (leather cleaner) and Z-10 (leather conditioner) since I heard good things about it. I used Meguiars leather cleaner and conditioner on my old Mustang's interior and that interior looked great even at over 100k miles. I'm pretty sure anything you do to clean and condition the leather will work out well.

[Tom K.]

Zymol Leather Treat conditioner applied at least every 3 months has kept my 128i 'vert's Coral Red looking great after 34,000 miles.

Tom

[JRJ1970]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

Zymol Leather Treat conditioner applied at least every 3 months has kept my 128i 'vert's Coral Red looking great after 34,000 miles.

Tom

OP here. I have this exact cleaner and have used it once on my six month old 'vert. Do you use the Zymol leather *cleaner* as well or just the conditioner?

Thanks in advance. Thanks all for your replies thus far.

[Snow King]

Originally Posted by GetSomeE92

I just bought some Zaino Z-9 (leather cleaner) and Z-10 (leather conditioner) since I heard good things about it. I used Meguiars leather cleaner and conditioner on my old Mustang's interior and that interior looked great even at over 100k miles. I'm pretty sure anything you do to clean and condition the leather will work out well.

+1 for Z-10 Leather in a bottle (treatment and conditioner). Keeps my E93 looking and smelling brand new, I highly recommend it. Haven't used the Z-9 leather cleaner yet since it doesn't get dirty often and is more of a deep cleaner.

If I am driving top down often, I will condition every 6-8 weeks.

[anerbe]

Leatherique PC for the standard cleaning. Put it in a commercial spray bottle to get good coverage on the seats, and use the leather brush to agitate.

It was a PITA to do the small pour on to the leather and/brush, then scrub around trying to prevent the pooled product from running.

[ceb]

Originally Posted by anerbe

Leatherique PC for the standard cleaning. Put it in a commercial spray bottle to get good coverage on the seats, and use the leather brush to agitate.

It was a PITA to do the small pour on to the leather and/brush, then scrub around trying to prevent the pooled product from running.

Yep, I use a SOLO bottle that works great.

[anerbe]

Originally Posted by ceb

Yep, I use a SOLO bottle that works great.

[achien]

the stuff they sold at BMW dealerships for leather care.

once before winter starts and once before summer starts will be good enough.

if you are leaving your top down during the summer, you may need to look at monthly maintenance.

Originally Posted by jrjinsa

...what do you use to care for it and how often? Should convertible owners do it more often?

[Romanian nightmare]

Not to change the subject, but i have two small scratches on the front passenger seat from my wife's jeans. The scratches are about 3-4 inces long and they happened when she got out of the car. She felt horrible, because she knows how much i baby the car. The leather did raise and it looks like a almost scaled fish (sorry, couldn't find another description).
I looked and looked trying to find something that i can do myself, rather then spend a fortune to fix the issues. What i found, doesn't seem to last very long. What do you guys recommend? I'm sure there are more people like me out there. I'll try to post some pics soon.

Thanks!

[dmatre]

Originally Posted by Romanian nightmare

Not to change the subject, but i have two small scratches on the front passenger seat from my wife's jeans. The scratches are about 3-4 inces long and they happened when she got out of the car. She felt horrible, because she knows how much i baby the car. The leather did raise and it looks like a almost scaled fish (sorry, couldn't find another description).
I looked and looked trying to find something that i can do myself, rather then spend a fortune to fix the issues. What i found, doesn't seem to last very long. What do you guys recommend? I'm sure there are more people like me out there. I'll try to post some pics soon.

Thanks!

You can try searching over on Autopia.org. I recall seeing a couple of people in their forums using leather repair processes to either repair a scratch (similar to yours), or to refurbish an old, worn seat.

[3Coupe4Me]

Another thing I do other than cleaning regularly is to try not to "ride" the bolsters when getting in and out the car. It sucks to see otherwise nice looking leather seats with worn bolsters.

[achien]

so true, so many people don't use their "back muscles" when they get out of their cars.

Originally Posted by 3Coupe4Me

Another thing I do other than cleaning regularly is to try not to "ride" the bolsters when getting in and out the car. It sucks to see otherwise nice looking leather seats with worn bolsters.

[Royal Flush]

Leather Masters kit or Leatherique kit should do the trick for restoration. You should try cleaning once a month, if not more frequently.

[DASHOCKER]

I don't have 75k on my 335 but I love lexol leather care products. The leather in my old lexus still looks fresh after years of treatments with lexol.

[mr_milo]

Originally Posted by jrjinsa

Should convertible owners do it more often?

I try to do it at least once a day, but sometimes my wife isn't in the mood.

Joking aside, so far I have been using Meguiars leather cleaner and conditioner about once a month. It really cleans up the Oyster leather and helps with the steering wheel too. Hopefully it will help in the long term.

By the way, make sure to clean the back seats too... even if you don't use them. I was amazed at the soot on the back seat uppers from having the top down.

[PINeely]

94k miles on mine, seats are still new looking. I've only used Zaino Z9/Z10 or the BMW Leather stuff for general use and Leatherique twice a year.

[Blubaron79]

Mine as 60k miles on it, and i treat the leather with Meguiars leather cleaner/conditioner at least once a month if not twice. Leather looks super new..

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by jrjinsa

OP here. I have this exact cleaner and have used it once on my six month old 'vert. Do you use the Zymol leather *cleaner* as well or just the conditioner?

Thanks in advance. Thanks all for your replies thus far.

I don't use the cleaner, but simply vacuum the seats and wipe them down with a slightly damp cloth if needed. I also enforce a no eating/no beverages other than water rule which helps considerably!

Thanks for your kind words.

Tom