mrsinista

Hi,

I have recently purchased a 2001 996 Turbo with black leather interior. Does anyone know if the leather interior is coated? I have searched but have not managed to find a definitive answer. If it is coated I will clean and then dress with a UV protectant. But if the leather is not coated I would like to clean, condition etc and have some more research to do on what conditioners would work well.

Thanks for any help or advice.
Dom

wross996tt

No, but the leather is "different" depending on where the leather is in the car. For example the leather on the dash (and door sills....)is specially "dried" to remove moisture to prevent movement of the leather over time. Therefore it is not recommended to apply ANY moisturizers to these leather components. Applying a UV protectant (like Aero 303) is a good idea, but not your typical leather conditioning products. This of course is not the same leather as the seats are made of.

sdematt

On the seats, I use Leatherique system, and it works very well. I would recommend looking up the process that Esoteric Detailing does with Leatherique on Youtube - that's the method I use and it works well.

Aero 303 on the rest is probably just fine.

-Matt

Carlo_Carrera

+1 for aero 303.

mrsinista

Thanks guys, I did not consider different leather finishing across the interior. I use 303 on my other cars which have coated leather so will use that.
Am I right that the only leather to condition is on the seats?

Thanks again

911 Rod

I do the same and it comes out very nice. Isn't there also a softer leather option?

sdematt

I think there's Natural Leather vs. Coated, and Ruffled vs. Perforated.

jayzbird

Pretty sure the standard leather at least is coated. The way to tell with any leather is to spritz water on it. If it quickly absorbs into the leather, it’s uncoated. Couple pics below of an uncoated chair and my 997. The water on the 997 seat is just hanging out, not soaking in.

Not to say leatherique is a complete waste, but it won’t do a ton on coated leather at least in terms of softening it. If your seats are perforated I’d be careful not to overdue it.

17ram2500

Leatherique really helped all of my leather. Did a light treatment on the entire interior, and then the pristine clean to follow.

I won't do the skins or dash again anytime soon; but the seats will get another treatment, really helped with pliability and suppleness. Mine weren't dirty, but they sure were in need of moisture to bring them back. I've used leatherique for years, and can't speak highly enough of it.

Their pristine clean is particularly good on interior parts and bits.

mrsinista

The seats in mine are perforated. The guide by Esoteric is excellent. However I have am concerned about using the product on perforated leather. I will try the water spray test tonight.

Esoteric_Detail

You'll have no issues when using Leatherique Rejuvenator or Prestine Clean on perforated seats.

Rejuvenator soaks into the leather; it doesn't congeal and harden in the holes of the perforations.

Prestine Clean is a thinner consistency than Rejuvenator and would simply dry out if you were to leave it sit. Stick to using it as instructed in our video guide for best results, no matter what.

Esoteric_Detail

Coated vs. non-coated is a measure of water-resistance. Modern leathers will be more water resistant than old leather, but they should be maintained the same way. The better maintained and conditioned the leather is (old or new), the more water and stain resistant it will be, naturally.

We address the "coated leather" myth directly:

mrsinista

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. I will give Leatherique Rejuvenator and Prestine Clean a try once it is delivered. Your instruction video is excellent.

sdematt

Yep, their video was the best I had seen. I learned the process from Ferrari Chat, but everyone had a different way of doing it...

-Matt