Nappa leather care

[zcasavant]

Yes, I used the search function, but was not satisfied with the results. I want to fix all the wear on the bolster in the drivers seat in my car. What is the best product to use that is still safe for Nappa leather? Thanks.

[in_d_haus]

Originally posted by zcasavant
Yes, I used the search function, but was not satisfied with the results. I want to fix all the wear on the bolster in the drivers seat in my car. What is the best product to use that is still safe for Nappa leather? Thanks.

By wear do you mean the fading if the leather where it wrinkles? If the leather is cracked there isn't much you can do. If you are just looking to hide the fading many people have had success with shoe polish.

[zcasavant]

Originally posted by in_d_haus
By wear do you mean the fading if the leather where it wrinkles? If the leather is cracked there isn't much you can do. If you are just looking to hide the fading many people have had success with shoe polish.

Well, it looks like this. It is wrinkled, and a bit faded. Will shoe polish match the color?

[in_d_haus]

I was talking with our own JonM, our leather guru, at a gathering receintly and that was the general concensus. Apply a bit then buff it off.

[JonM]

Yes, try shoe polish. You can always clean it off if you don't like it, provided you have a leather care kit that comes with ink remover (ahem...shamelss self promotion).

[F1Crazy]

Try calling Leatherique (http://leatherique.com/) , they should be able to help you. They sell great cleaners and conditioners but also leather dyes that can be custom matched, many products are used in restoration projects. Take a look at how they worked on this E28 M5: Todd Kenyon's seat restoration (http://home.insightbb.com/~todd.kenyon/leather.htm) .

I don't think that dye will be needed in your case, probably complete cleaning and reconditioning will do. Their products work a little different than the rest of cleaners and conditioners, do a search on the web as there are procedures documented by users.

[Nick T.]

Since I’ve never had to deal with Nappa leather, I can’t give you a definitive answer, but here goes with some opinions:

<A HREF=http://www.spinneybeck.com/Main.cfm?vPage=Maint TARGET=new>Spinneybeck Leather</A> is the only company that I’m aware of that makes cleaning and protection products for unfinished automobile and aircraft leather. They have an excellent reputation, and have been very helpful to me on the phone. They have a kit for about $25, and if it’s as good as their products for finished leather, then you can’t go very wrong.

I’ve used<A HREF=http://www.leatherique.com/ TARGET=new>Leatherique</A> on the finished leather in my 90K mile Suburban (the Miata Masher) and think that it is the best product available for really dirty leather. Kinda pricey though. I’m afraid that it would be too oily for use on unfinished leather like BMW’s Nappa. If you do decide to give it a try, then do a test on an inconspicuous area first - as you may not be able to ever remove the oils!

Please post what you did, and the results that you get. Most all detailing forums have an occasional question about Nappa leather, and seldom are there any good answers posted.