Quote:
Originally Posted by Naz24
But just putting leather conditioner on will not ruin the seats. It's the "rubbing" that removes the coating
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Exactly, just like washing your car: It's not the detergent that creates spider webbing, it's the improper technique that grinds dirt and grit over the surface, thus abrading and damaging the clear-coat.
You cannot "moisturize" auto leather as it doesn't need replacement of fats or liquors and has a polyurethane coating, so it doesn't need "conditioning".
What happened to
dkhm3's older car is that, over time, the surface coating breaks down due to sun exposure, heat/cold cycles, abrasion due to use, etc, thus exposing the leather underneath, which then dries and cracks.
To prevent that on a new car, after about 4-5 years (during which time you should NOT DO ANYTHING), you should have the leather professionally cleaned (ie., proper technique) and have the polyurethane coating replaced as you recommended.
If you do that every 4-5 years depending on sun / temp exposure, the leather will stay like new.
Repeatedly "conditioning" will 99% likely destroy the leather's surface coating and ultimate the paint color underneath. The repeated rubbing also separates the leather's fibers contributing to sagging, stretching, and wear, not to mention risks getting moisture into the stitching holes which rots the leather from the inside out.