What's the best way to care for the BMW leatherette upholstery in my Mini? Do I Armor-All it? Are there better methods?

Thanks for everyones imput!

 

One thing I have heard consistenly from detailers is Don't Use Amour All. It's supposed to be horrible for your car.

 

I'm curious about this too. It's not leather so what should I use??

 

BMW offers a Leather Care Kit that is a cleaner/conditioner in one. The kit comes with 3 applicators. 2 latex gloves, and 5 polishing towelettes. This kit retails for $14.95 not including shipping and we do have them in stock for immediate shipments. It is very important to use good cleaners and conditioners on leather, leatherette and vinyls to keeps them ply-able. This materials tend to crack and crease much more when the become dry and brittle. We recommend you clean and condition these surfaces at least once per month. Feel free to email us if you would like to order this kit. bmwparts@Classicautocampus.com

 

For anyone who hasn't already seen it, checkout this website properautocare.com.
They have a lot of show quality products and they explain each one and how it should be used. They even have a free detailing guide you can download. Actually, only the first 8 chapters are free, but those are pretty much the good ones anyway.

 

Here I go, dredging up a seven-month-old thread...

Today I bought Meguiar's "Natural Shine Vinyl & Rubber Protectant" to use on my MINI's leatherette. I've never used this kind of product before, so maybe I'm just inexperienced, but it seemed like a real pain in the neck. It was nearly impossible to apply evenly, and it doesn't spread around very well once it's on the laetherette surface. It seems to bond with the plastic very quickly, making it hard to even out without going nuts and applying loads of it. Maybe that's how you're supposed to use it... Any splatters or drips immediately created uneven spots, necessitating applying even more to that area, even if it had already been done.

Is this typical of vinyl/rubber protectants, or is there a more user-friendly product available?

By the way, for the actual CLEANING of the leatherette (not very much of which was necessary), I just used some plain old Windex-type stuff.

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2003 Red/White Cooper - Brookline, MA

 

I used armor-all on my leatherette seats and detected no problems. I tried a small area on the seat first to check. Ended up doing the whole interior. I think your dealer just wants to sell you his stuff at greatly inflated prices.

 

I would recommend Lexol Vinylex or Wizards Vinyl Shine. Both will give the material great environmental protection, with controllable glossing

Vinylex

Wizards Vinyl Shine

Cheers,
Ryan

 

I use the leather armor-all wipes, and it's still nice and buttery feeling... I still get people thinking that it's leather...

Rocketboy_X

 

Watch that you don't slide out from under your seat-belt if you stop suddenly after using Armor-all.


This for rocketboy....I covered my seats....Guess what color?
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>>Watch that you don't slide out from under your seat-belt if you stop suddenly after using Armor-all.

Rocketboy_X

 

>>I used armor-all on my leatherette seats and detected no problems. I tried a small area on the seat first to check. Ended up doing the whole interior. I think your dealer just wants to sell you his stuff at greatly inflated prices.

yellowcooper,

I'm not certain, but I think Armor-All contains silicone; which, while short-term makes vinyl look shiny and pretty, in the long run can increase degradation of the surface skin on the vinyl, causing dryness and cracking. I would be cautious about using it on your leatherette. Tires okay, they're very thick and get replaced every 20 or 30k; but not the seats.

For years I have used Lexol products with great results. And you don't have to buy them from the dealer at an "inflated" price; should be at your local auto parts house. The Lexol also usually leaves the surface looking rich without that tacky shine that screams "I'm vinyl, not leather!" The MINI leatherette is so nice; I've seen so many people confuse it for leather. Don't want to ruin that effect.

Cheers,

James

 

>>How's the yellow flashlight doing?

Rocketboy_X

I'm looking for a yellow bulb. BTW My antenna is a lovely color too, as are my plug wires and valve-stem caps. Not to mention my pen holder and driving jacket. I think I'm going to register as a Chinese!

Oh! I forgot the yellow first aid kit. The yellow cross didn't show up, so I had to keep the red one.

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Thanks for the tips, everyone! I'll check out those products.

 

>>Not to mention my pen holder and driving jacket. I think I'm going to register as a Chinese!

I thought that's why you were always driving with a co-pilot... heh heh..

Rocketboy_X

 

>>Today I bought Meguiar's "Natural Shine Vinyl & Rubber Protectant" to use on my MINI's leatherette. I've never used this kind of product before, so maybe I'm just inexperienced, but it seemed like a real pain in the neck. It was nearly impossible to apply evenly, and it doesn't spread around very well once it's on the laetherette surface. It seems to bond with the plastic very quickly, making it hard to even out without going nuts and applying loads of it. Maybe that's how you're supposed to use it... Any splatters or drips immediately created uneven spots, necessitating applying even more to that area, even if it had already been done.<<

OK, ignore me here. I just used a plain old cotton sock to apply this stuff to my seats, doors, and dash, and it worked great! None of the issues that I am whining about above. I had been using a paper towel before, and that does indeed give crap results with the Meguiar's. Use a sponge or a cotton rag, and the stuff is phenomenal! Just wanted to set the record straight...

 

my vote goes to Vinylx

 

i have the lexol bottle to moisturize leather for my lexus

can i use the same thing for the leatherette, even though its not leather, or does lexol have other products?

 

no response?

 

OK, I found this thread in a search and there still is not a lot of information about this. What are the seats made of? Should I use a vinyl cleaner or leather. I can't see how both would work for the leatherette seats.

My MCS is a month old now and I like the look of the tight leatherette seats. I don't want to make them saggy using the wrong cleaning product.

 

bolar,

"Leatherette" is marketing-speak for vinyl. It is definitely NOT leather!

Like many others in this thread, I prefer using Vinylex from Lexol.

 

Lots of people rave about "303 Aerospace Protectant" for vinyl. I have been using it for the last few months and it seems to work great. It is one of the recommended products listed on properautocare.com.

 

Griot's Garage also has a couple of good cleaners for vinyl. Their Interior Cleaner works great and is safe for vinyl and they also have Vinyl & Rubber Dressing which is a cleaner and protectant.

Good Stuff! :smile:

 

Thanks for the replys .