Leatherique review for M4 SO

[aboulfad]

Executive summary: if your F8x leather is ok, the only advantage I saw with Leatherique 2-step process is the time you're spending caressing your leather seats and soft/matte leather

I have 50K Kms (31k mi) on my 5yr old M4 SO interior and have regularly cleaned the leather with LeatherMaster cleaner/conditioner, then with BMW leather cleaner kit, and finally now I decided to give Leatherique a try. I have the usual wear/creases on the bolster, the front seats (mostly used) have some signs of "shine" that is gone when cleaned with any above cleaners.

I've applied the oil on the front seats, let it sit for ~24 hrs with windows/windshield blocked in outside sunny hot day. The oil did not get absorbed as much as I thought it should. The company said that I previously used products that contains silicons that may impede the oil from penetrating but I doubt either LM or BMW uses silicons ? After cleaning the surface with Pristine clean, i was left with a soft (but not way softer) and mat surface.

Overall, easy process with acceptable results no better or worse than other quality products. Will i buy it again, no. Will I try another product, yes. After going through this experience, I believe that at least for my car leather condition, Leatherique was overkill and did not provide any major benefits.

First two pics with oil on, then after it was cleaned. I've started the process for the rear seats and interestingly the oil penetrated more on the rear seats, u go figure ! I applied the oil by hand on the front seats and using a pad for the rear seats, so that explains why the oil appeared to penetrate more, it's because there was less to begin as the sponge absorbs oil!

[spool twice]

Looks good! Leatherique is the only thing I've trusted in the past 15 years to restore and clean leather to like-new. No shine, smells great, and everything is 100% restored.

fyi, the remaining oil you have, you can dilute it with distilled water and it makes for an incredible interior/seat cleaner with zero shine as conitnued maintenance.

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by spool twice

...

fyi, the remaining oil you have, you can dilute it with distilled water and it makes for an incredible interior/seat cleaner with zero shine as conitnued maintenance.

Thanks, that's a cool tip , 1:1 dilution ? I have a more than 65% left from the 16oz bottle, even after doing the back seats.

[spool twice]

I did 75% distilled water 25% leatherique. I've had the same 32oz bottle of mine for the past 5 years using it as a cleaner on my prior cars, leather and interior looked like-new even on my last car at 107k miles.

[rev29k]

Aboulfad,

I am in exactly the same situation as you! My leather looks the same as yours. Side leg bolsters are still silky smooth, with the main seat portion starting to show the grain more and its probably not as soft. I was seriously looking to go the Leatherique RO/PC route just like you did, but now I am having second thoughts. So are you saying it didn't soften the main seat surface any further? That is my main concern, as this is my 2nd BMW and our first E90 (bought brand new) had a terrible experience with the leather drying up so bad by year 10 that it literally shrank and split at the seams. I could never seem to get any conditioner to absorb, and now I am deathly afraid of the same thing happening to my M3!

Do you think maybe you didn't use enough? Or maybe it needed another coat? Did it ever fully absorb enough to where it looked like it needed another coat? All I ever used is Leather Masters, so I doubt I would have the (silicone) issue as well.

I'm just looking for something that can actually penetrate the protective coating and keep it moisturized so it doesn't dry out, like BMW seems to be prone to (perhaps it is the South Florida heat, although my M3 is a garage queen anyways!)

Thanks!

[aboulfad]

@rev29k tbh my SO leather was kinda soft and still was prior to applying Leatherique, 5yr later. It became a bit softer and more mat looking, but that would happen with any other leather cleaner. I can't tell you much if any of these products do actually penetrate and "condition", as there are conflicting information about whether our leather is top coated (urethane) and whether Leatherique can penetrate such coatings... read this and you decide https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1262132

I think I applied a bit, the instructions say the oil will be readily absorbed if the leather is in good soft condition. I cleaned a hidden part with 1:1 IPA, and re-applied the oil on that surface, didn't notice any change in absorption.

My advice, don't break your head, I did it for fun and 5yrs later, the leather is ok, there are some creases, wrinkles and some hairline cracks (leg side support) but that's any leather, just like aging skin...

[rev29k]

Hmmmmmm......

I guess I'm still on the fence about whether or not to try it. Can I ask what the temperature was when you did it? I've read a few threads over on the FerrariChat board of people complaining that it pulled the dye off their leather, but they suspect it was because they did it/let it sit in really hot temperature. At least that's their hypothesis.

If this doesn't work, then I am still at a loss as to how to keep our leather from drying out. I've never had this bad of an experience with any other make of leather. BMW leather seems to dry out so much quicker than others. I still have my '00 Honda S2000, and although it eventually did dry out too, it took almost 2 decades for it to do so.

As far as whether or not Merino Leather is coated or not, my research online has found that at most it's SEMI-aniline, so still not sure how much absorption that allows.

For anyone else reading this, what have your experiences been with Merino Leather and the best products for conditioning it, if any do exist?

[aboulfad]

^^^ For the front seats, the car was parked outside with windows/windshields blocking direct sun, that day was 30C, (38C incl humidity factor), so yeah it was super hot. The rear seats I did in my garage, temperature 27-30C.

I don't see any harm in using this or other good quality products, except Leatherique isn't as simple as wax on wax off. I'll keep using it until it's finished then onto another "miracle" leather cleaner, get my point? As to your last question, there isn't that miracle product... just basic maintenance and being tidy and clean.

rev29k how many km/mi on your car, maybe take a high res shot of the front seat bottoms, especially the front side. I just found a photo of mine one month after purchase but not high res and it kind shows that area was silky smooth unlike the "grainy" look above. That area is high contact too.

[rev29k]

OK. Here is a picture I took a couple days ago when I was emailing support at Leatherique with a question. (I haven't heard back yet).

[rev29k]

I forgot to add, I’ve got maybe 28K on mine.

[bsmf8x]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

^^^ For the front seats, the car was parked outside with windows/windshields blocking direct sun, that day was 30C, (38C incl humidity factor), so yeah it was super hot. The rear seats I did in my garage, temperature 27-30C.

I don't see any harm in using this or other good quality products, except Leatherique isn't as simple as wax on wax off. I'll keep using it until it's finished then onto another "miracle" leather cleaner, get my point? As to your last question, there isn't that miracle product... just basic maintenance and being tidy and clean.

rev29k how many km/mi on your car, maybe take a high res shot of the front seat bottoms, especially the front side. I just found a photo of mine one month after purchase but not high res and it kind shows that area was silky smooth unlike the "grainy" look above. That area is high contact too.

What do you do to keep your steering wheels matte finish

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by murdrdf82

What do you do to keep your steering wheels matte finish

I’ve recently used colourlock mild leather cleaner with the tiny brush. Next cleaning (in 1-3months), I’ll try Leatherique oil/pristine clean or diluted oil or pristine clean alone.

FYI that pic with the steering wheel was taken 1 month after ownership. Now the steering wheel is matte but not as matte as that pic, I could have cleaned more but didn’t want to push it with the CL mild cleaner as some members reported that the strong version of the cleaner faded a bit the colour.

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by rev29k

OK. Here is a picture I took a couple days ago when I was emailing support at Leatherique with a question. (I haven't heard back yet).

It’s hard to know if the leather was like that originally or with time it develops that texture. Contrast that with the headrest area which is rarely used.

I’ve applied 2 more coats on the bottom seat front area: oil looks like it’s sitting on top and the texture never changes. Before the 2nd application I did wipe it down with IPA as suggested by Leatherique to ensure no silicone residue (if any)

[rev29k]

Did you notice any additional change with the extra applications? Did they help soften/absorb better or smooth out the grain?

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by rev29k

Did you notice any additional change with the extra applications? Did they help soften/absorb better or smooth out the grain?

No change at all, aside from wasting a bit more oil!

[rev29k]

OK thanks! So not really any advantage over Leather Masters it sounds like. Well, given it’s like 110 outside lately, and I don’t feel like sweating buckets while treating the leather, I’m guessing I might just continue using LM myself for now and revisit this later in the fall.

[AMG]

What about if our seats are more worn? Leather care never really crossed my mind before but I've recently noticed that my seats are looking pretty worn. Don't know if I should just get an interior detail or try to apply something like this myself.

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by AMG

What about if our seats are more worn? Leather care never really crossed my mind before but I've recently noticed that my seats are looking pretty worn. Don't know if I should just get an interior detail or try to apply something like this myself.

Definitely worth trying on more worn seats and following instructions (soak, heat, clean, repeat). It takes time and patience and only costs $50 for 16oz. But if you don't have the patience and time, then get it detailed. If you go the DIY route, post pics before and after here.

[moonluv810]

This may have confirmed that modern leather seats are heavily coated from the factory.

Years ago, I used Leatherique on multiple E36 seats with 50k-100k miles. You could literally see the leather soak up the rejuvenator oil and the leather felt so supple and smooth afterwards.

[bsmf8x]

Originally Posted by rev29k

OK thanks! So not really any advantage over Leather Masters it sounds like. Well, given it’s like 110 outside lately, and I don’t feel like sweating buckets while treating the leather, I’m guessing I might just continue using LM myself for now and revisit this later in the fall.

How's leather masters stuff on our merino leather.

I just ordered the soft cleaner & conditioner off amazon.

Any tips ? Also how often do you use it

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by moonluv810

This may have confirmed that modern leather seats are heavily coated from the factory.

Years ago, I used Leatherique on multiple E36 seats with 50k-100k miles. You could literally see the leather soak up the rejuvenator oil and the leather felt so supple and smooth afterwards.

I am definitely leaning to that conclusion, another member with a fair bit of research also concluded that our Merino leather is semi-aniline with top coat.

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by murdrdf82

How's leather masters stuff on our merino leather.

I just ordered the soft cleaner & conditioner off amazon.

Any tips ? Also how often do you use it

If you see my OP, that was my first choice, its ok and super easy to use. use monthly or every 3 months, it all depends on usage/wear/... google youtube for videos.