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Honda Accord Leather Care

34 messages,  Last post on Jul 25, 2009 at 9:01 AM

You are in the Honda Accord Forum.

What is this discussion about? Honda Accord, Interior, Sedan

Messages Page 3 of 4

#15 of 34 Re: EX-L leather conditioner and wet looking seats [mrbill1957] by cb2k

Aug 29, 2007 (12:29 pm)

Replying to: mrbill1957 (Aug 28, 2007 9:19 am)
I was passing by a honda dealer near work today so I stopped by to see if they sell leather cleaner and conditioner for the accord.
 
The service guy said they did but pulled out from his service station what he personally uses and recommends - a container of Lexol. He said I could buy it in the parts dept. but could find it cheaper elsewhere, and recommended using it every three months. He also said the stuff that Honda sells is 'made by the same people' - I am not sure if he was referring to the product sold at the parts dept. at this specific Honda dealership or a leather care product that Honda supplies to it's dealerships as an official Honda product.
 
His recommendation was to go ahead and use Meguiars on the front seats as well, and then start with a different product when it's time for the next application, if I wanted a less glossy look. He advised that the gloss will wear off over time - a few months on it's own, maybe sooner with some buffing using a microfiber cloth, and thought Meguiars was also a great product for leather care.
 
It seems like sensible advice, even though I hate the thought of getting the front seats glossy as well, albeit for a few months.

#16 of 34 Re: EX-L leather conditioner and wet looking seats [cb2k] by tallman1

Aug 29, 2007 (5:14 pm)

Replying to: cb2k (Aug 29, 2007 12:29 pm)
I agree with you about not wanting to put that on your front seats. Just because he is a Honda service guy, doesn't mean he knows what is best.
 
I'd still rather clean off the back seat and start over but I doubt if you will do any serious harm. You may want to contact a good auto detailer in your area or check online. Some places have an 800 number for advice.
 
Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

#17 of 34 Re: EX-L leather conditioner and wet looking seats [tallman1] by accord6mt

Aug 31, 2007 (7:23 am)

Replying to: tallman1 (Aug 29, 2007 5:14 pm)
Does anyone know if the procedure for cleaning leather seats differs if the leater is perforated? My 05 6MT has perforated leater seats and I'm just wondering if there is a certain technique used on that kind of leather so the cleaner doesn't get ground/pushed into the millions of small holes.
 
Thanks for any advice!

#19 of 34 Re: EX-L leather conditioner and wet looking seats [tallman1] by cb2k

Sep 03, 2007 (7:54 am)

Replying to: tallman1 (Aug 29, 2007 5:14 pm)
Well, here is how it turned out. I picked up Lexol leather cleaner wipes (orange container) and Lexol leather conditioner wipes (brown container) from our local Pep Boys automative.
 
I vacummed the seats and then cleaned the seats using the lexol cleaner and a damp microfiber cloth, following the directons on the lexol website - basically gently rub in the cleaner and remove excess with a slightly damp rag.
 
Gave that some time to dry (actually as it happened I did not get to it till several hours later, but I am sure there was no need to wait that long), and then applied the lexol leather conditioner, following the directions on the container - gently rubbed in condtioner, waited about 45 minutes and wiped off the seats.
 
(I used the leather cleaner and conditioner on the vinyl areas of the front seats as well - from what I understand, this is not a problem, although you don't want to use vinyl products on leather. BTW, I think I ended up using a total of 8 Lexol conditioner wipes to condtion the leather interior - seats, headrests, door inserts etc - not sure how many cleaner wipes I had used, but certainly no more.)
 
I am very pleased with the results. All seats (including the rear seats that were treated with Meguiars a week ago) now have a nice even look - rich and supple without being glossy.
 
Here are my thoughts on the two products that I tried in the process. Meguiars wipes combined the cleaning and condtioning in one time-saving step, were visibly richer in the condtioner content (just meant I had to use fewer of these), seemed to condition the seats well and had a pleasant smell; the downside for me was that they left the seats glossy and a little slippery (although I had not wiped the seats after applying this product, so I am not sure how much that would have helped...but I have read other posts about Meguairs being glossy). On the ohter hand, the Lexol products required separate cleaning and condtioning steps (so the process required more time and expense for cleaning wipes and condtioning wipes), the conditioner left the seats a little sticky (I have read this goes away quickly). Also I noticed a *slight* odor upon completion of the lexol condtioning process, which had dissappeared by the time I went back to my car a few hours later.
 
Between the two products (Meguiars and Lexol) that I have tried, I prefer Lexol (because the finished look is not glossy) and plan to use it again. Incidently I had picked up the Vinylex product (for vinyl, plastic and rubber) from lexol for our other car, and it worked well for me as well.
 
Thanks to everyone who provided input - there are certainly a lot of choices out there.
 
(As someone has pointed before, perhaps this thread should be moved to different fourm?)

#20 of 34 Re: EX-L leather conditioner and wet looking seats [cb2k] by dairyshick

Sep 04, 2007 (3:04 pm)

Replying to: cb2k (Sep 03, 2007 7:54 am)
I second the lexol choice. I bought the cleaner and conditioner earlier in the year for the first time...the cleaning is time consuming, but the leather came out pretty nice after the conditioner was applied. I think as long as you're putting the conditioner on every few months, you really only need a cleaning once a year depending on how dirty you are when you sit in your car!
 
It does has a funny smell to it, I agree.

#21 of 34 Re: EX-L leather conditioner and wet looking seats [dairyshick] by blane

Sep 04, 2007 (3:55 pm)

Replying to: dairyshick (Sep 04, 2007 3:04 pm)
Well... after 3½ years of use (38K miles) my 2004 Accord's ivory leather interior is clean and in excellent condition, with absolutely nothing being done on my part other than sitting in it and driving. Perhaps my clothes are never too dirty.
 
It's interesting to note, that I went through my Owner's Manual cover-to-cover twice yesterday. There was absolutely no mention about care and feeding of leather upholstery.

#22 of 34 Re: EX-L leather conditioner and wet looking seats [blane] by elroy5

Sep 04, 2007 (4:45 pm)

Replying to: blane (Sep 04, 2007 3:55 pm)
In the 03 Accord manual, it's on page 329 (appearance and care section). It says to "clean the leather seats with a soap made specifically for leather, such as saddle soap".
It does not say to use saddle soap, it just mentions it as one possibility.

#23 of 34 Re: EX-L leather conditioner and wet looking seats [blane] by cb2k

Sep 04, 2007 (7:48 pm)

Replying to: blane (Sep 04, 2007 3:55 pm)
>> Well... after 3½ years of use (38K miles) my 2004 Accord's ivory leather interior is clean and in excellent condition, with absolutely nothing being done on my part other than sitting in it and driving.
 
Blane,
 
Good for you. I am doing it as a preventive measure. Is your car mostly parked in a garage?
 
BTW, a day after using the Vinylex (for vinyl, rubber, plastic), I have noticed that unlike the leather conditoiner by Lexol, rheir Vinylex product does leave some gloss (I expected more of it to have worn off by now)- nothing overly dramatic, but not exactly a matte finish with Vinylex so far.
 
Elroy5, what kept me from using saddle soap was reading about it's high alkaline content (supposedly not good for leather) compared to other leather care products on the market today - not sure what to make of it since the information was on sites that sold other leather care products and in your owner's manual honda does mention the product, but I decided to play it safe. That and the many positive posts on various web forums, including here, about Lexol (plus the honda service adivsor recommending it). I also came across some postive opinions about Griot's garage conditoner, here and elsewhere.
 
cb2k

#24 of 34 Re: EX-L leather conditioner and wet looking seats [cb2k] by elroy5

Sep 04, 2007 (8:22 pm)

Replying to: cb2k (Sep 04, 2007 7:48 pm)
I may try Lexol at some point. Saddle soap works extremely well for cleaning the seats, and mine were plenty dirty by the time I found some saddle soap. I had tried all those products sold at Autoparts stores (cleaner/conditioners. in one) and none of them cleaned the dirt off. I may try using a conditioner after cleaning with the saddle soap. I have been reluctant to use a conditioner because like you, I don't want my seats to shine or be slippery.

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