I am starting to question real leather

[MNspiderman]

So I seen a show and some car guy said why would you want real leather anymore. It gets hard, cracks and doesn't last. Then he went on with some other mumbo jumbo about leather. But it made me think that maybe he is right to an extent. The high end cars of today don't use real leather. They use synthetic leather. (NOT to be confused with pleather, you know that crap on your couch that you tell everyone is real leather cuz they don't know better) synthetic leather is softer than leather, feels like leather, lasts longer than leather, cleans better than leather. Is cheaper than leather and smells better than leather. Every time you sit in an expensive car and sink into that soft leather seat and say "wow this is awesome" well its synthetic leather. Ok, 95% of the time anyway. They just didn't have the technology back then to create synthetic leather. So everytime I hear about making things in real leather, I immediately think of synthetic leather now because its better.

NOTE: I love real leather too, I don't care if it came from a cow, lizard or an alligator. I would'nt want anything but a real leather wrapped steering wheel. But how many of you found an awesome 30 year old car sitting in a garage, back yard or junk yard with real leather and it was in terrific shape. Not many. Not even me. I had my share of leather interior cars that were riddled with cracks beyond repair but if the cracks werent there they would have been in pristine shape. The technology keeps getting better.

[azygoustoyou]

WOW! That's 19 leather's, 4 better's, and 1 Pleather!

[pope]

I am not sure why you think that leather is still not in cars. Yes it is, mostly it is an option. It is usually leather on the seating surfaces and vinyl on the sides. Most automotive leather nowadays has a polyurathane coating on the outside for durability and water resistance. They are also splitting leather thinner for seats these days. Since auto leather has a protective coating, leather conditioners dont work like they should.
There are really two kinds of leather used in vehicles . One is full-grain leather, meaning that the top of the leather is what the top of the cow looked like. You might see insect bites, barb-wire scars and brands. This is the very best leather and most expensive. It is what was once known as Connelly Leather. Its expensive because of the care used in tanning the hide and also the amount of usable good area. This leather will only get better as it ages developing a patina. It is dyed using transparent dyes, meaning that you can actually see the actual hide surface.
Second is top-grain leather. It is the most used automotive leather. They sand the top surface off the leather to get a very nice surface. It helps to get rid of the insect bites and scars. When the surface is nice, they send it through a machine that gives it a leather like emboss. There is a dozen or more types of grain patterns that leather can get embossed. Also in ostrich, alligator, or what ever. This leather usually has a solid dye so that the color of the leather is consistant over all the leather hides processed. Easy to match hides for the same job. It is real leather, just helped along.

There is a new type of leather that is hitting the market that is ground up leather that is made into a paste, some glue is added and extrude in thin sheets and embossed like top grain. I dont think this is being used in the auto industry, and certainly not in the luxury car market. This would be #3 in the list of leather and for good reason. Its like MDF in the wood industry is to a real wood plank.

[red107]

Very well put. Great info!!!!

[htchevyii]

I have leather seats in My 95 Grand Cherokee and they seem to be holding up very well. I treat them about 3 times per year with Lexol, which was recommended by a detailer friend of mine. Of course, it's not real hot or sunny here, so your experience may vary.

[radiopilot]

I have leather seats in my 95 Nissan Maxima and I am the original owner of this vehicle, the seats are like new... the leather has been taken cared of and is supple, of course the car is in the garage but when not it's out in the sun, even in Arizona/Florida sun. I use the Chemical Guys products for all my interior/exterior maintenance.

http://www.chemicalguys.com/

I would not want to have vinyl in a convertible, it's hot, doesn't breathe, and it also cracks just like leather and you can't make vinyl supple no matter what you do, but leather can remain supple almost forever as long as the oils in the fibers are there, plus there is added value in a leather interior as opposed to vinyl otherwise why would high end autos have leather in their interiors and not vinyl?

There is a certain feel and sense of being when sitting in a leather seat compared to vinyl, I guess you have to feel it to know it for those that have it... I do know a leather interior in a show car far outcompetes the same car in vinyl interior... hands down.

My bet if it's a keeper car for a lifetime put in leather seats/interior otherwise... well you know.

Nick

[cutchaguy]

OK everyone, get out your tar, feathers, pitchforks, torches, etc....

What do you feel about something like Sunbrella seat coverings? Not just a slip-cover, but a replacement for the convertibles? My wife and I have talked about how sticky we feel leather (and leather-like) seats are when we drive in warm weather. Not that I want my seats to become a sweat-sponge, but I want the fabric to breathe and allow me to feel more comfortable.

Pluses: more color choices, durability, resistant to fading, doesn't crack with age, might be cheaper to use.
Minus: it's Sunbrella.