Thread: Interior protectants

Hello,
I recently got my hands on a 2012 Volvo S60 T6 awd. Its without a doubt the nicest car ive ever owned. With that, I have no experience at all caring for an upscale car interior. Most of my products im afraid to use. For example on my jetta, I just use meguiars protectants and cleaners its all plastic so who cares.

The Volvo has leather, vinyl, and some weird dash material, along with chrome.
I don't really want to use the Meguiars, as ive heard the petroleum based protectants can dry out vinyl over time. not to mention any overspray would be bad for the leather.

I bought some lexol cleaner and conditioner to do the seats for now, so the main care of the leather is covered.

Ive been looking at pinnacle protectant. Ive been using griots interior cleaner so far.
The pinnacle stuff looks good, but it costs a fortune. Has anyone used it?
Any other cleaners good for a mix of interior materials, leather vinyl chrome etc.

Natural shine, Supreme Shine, New Car Scent protectant and Quik Interior Detailer are all water based. They will not dry out the plastics and rubber over time.

If you want a one stop shop type of product then invest in Quik Interior Detailer. It can be used on all surfaces including leather. It will not alter the appearance of the interior. It leaves UV protection behind. It has a light cleaner built in.

I am not a fan of lexol. Didn't really see any benefit to it. The cleaner is weak. The conditioner is not really needed given that modern day leather has a coating on it. Some conditioners attract more dirt than anything and feel tacky. Lexol was one of them. Keeping it clean is key. I would recommend looking into a leather sealer type product. The one's that come to mind are Meguiar's Gold Class Leather Sealer Treatment, GTechniq Leather Guard or Gyeon Leather Coat. These seal the leather.

McKee's 37 Fast Interior Detailer was just released on Autogeek. This is similar to Meguiar's QID.

If you really want to take it up a notch then Car Pro Cquartz leather coating is the way to go. This one of course costs the most. This is what I am using in my personal cars.

Pinnacle makes great products. The thing I don't like about their leather products is that the conditioner contains lanolin. I have some Blackfire Leather Conditioner and this one is good. Seems to be more polymer based than anything else.

There's also Meguiars leather balm... I've started using that since locally they stopped selling the leather sealer. I use 303 aerospace for the trim/plastic etc.


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Originally Posted by REDCRAPGP

There's also Meguiars leather balm... I've started using that since locally they stopped selling the leather sealer. I use 303 aerospace for the trim/plastic etc.


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as far as the leather, im probably going to buy the Volvo leather care kit. (depending on price) its what everyone on the Volvo forum has been using, they say it cleans and protects better than lexol without the grease. I needed something quick because the back seats were nasty. they felt like they were dusty, but they weren't.

Originally Posted by REDCRAPGP

There's also Meguiars leather balm... I've started using that since locally they stopped selling the leather sealer. I use 303 aerospace for the trim/plastic etc.


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Forgot about this one. It's pretty good. It's an all in one type product as well. A little light cleaning ability. Smells great.

303 is also a great interior protectant. Now that 303 placed it into a blue bottle for their automotive line, it can be found locally.

Originally Posted by 04lss

really? I thought with all of the fuss pinnacle and a few others made about being water based, that meguiars would have said something.

as for the leather, Ill try whatever Id love to keep the car looking pristine as possible. its my "other car" the one I take to cars and coffee, etc.

I want the leather to feel nice too


Some images of the interior
https://drive.google.com/folderview?...2hzUy1SWjd4bVk

It's been mentioned many times on the Meguiar's forum that their protectants are water based. Their protectants also have a light cleaner built in. Pinnacle is also water based. Actually most products are water based.

Keeping the leather clean is the most important thing. Especially after seeing that it is light in color from the photos you posted.

I go back and forth between products as I test and review. Gyeon leather coat is one that is at the top of my list at the moment. It leaves a matte shine appearance while maintaining the feel of the leather. Gyeon claims a 3 month durability. Maintenance wise after applying the leather coat, a wipedown with Meguiar's Quik Interior Detailer gets the job done.

If you can find the Meguiar's Gold Class leather sealaer kit locally then I would pick that up. It can also be maintained with Meguiar's Quik Interior Detailer until the sealer needs to be reapplied again.

Originally Posted by The Guz

Forgot about this one. It's pretty good. It's an all in one type product as well. A little light cleaning ability. Smells great.

303 is also a great interior protectant. Now that 303 placed it into a blue bottle for their automotive line, it can be found locally.



It's been mentioned many times on the Meguiar's forum that their protectants are water based. Their protectants also have a light cleaner built in. Pinnacle is also water based. Actually most products are water based.

Keeping the leather clean is the most important thing. Especially after seeing that it is light in color from the photos you posted.

I go back and forth between products as I test and review. Gyeon leather coat is one that is at the top of my list at the moment. It leaves a matte shine appearance while maintaining the feel of the leather. Gyeon claims a 3 month durability. Maintenance wise after applying the leather coat, a wipedown with Meguiar's Quik Interior Detailer gets the job done.

If you can find the Meguiar's Gold Class leather sealaer kit locally then I would pick that up. It can also be maintained with Meguiar's Quik Interior Detailer until the sealer needs to be reapplied again.

What would you recommend for a comprehensive leather cleaning? I wasn't very happy with how the lexol cleaner did, I feel like the seats are still dirty. I noticed the meguiars kit has a cleaner in it. Ive been happy with almost all of their products. So if its good, ill probably go that route.

The Gold Class Kit comes with a little bottle of cleaner. If you happen to run out of cleaner Meguiar's sells a larger version of it that goes by Gold Class Leather & Vinyl Cleaner. They even have their standalone Gold Class Leather Conditioner as well. To get into the deeper crevices of the leather, a soft bristled brush can be used to agitate the cleaner and then wipe off with a microfiber towel.

Originally Posted by The Guz

The Gold Class Kit comes with a little bottle of cleaner. If you happen to run out of cleaner Meguiar's sells a larger version of it that goes by Gold Class Leather & Vinyl Cleaner. They even have their standalone Gold Class Leather Conditioner as well. To get into the deeper crevices of the leather, a soft bristled brush can be used to agitate the cleaner and then wipe off with a microfiber towel.

Does the meguiars leave the leather natural, by that I mean, does it leave any residue? I have a horsehair brush I have been using to agitate the leather while cleaning.

My local walmart carries both the gold class products.

Buff off any excess product and you are good to go.

I don't like APC because it leaves the seats feeling a bit tacky. I prefer an actual dedicated leather cleaner. That's just my preference. Megs D181 Leather Cleaner in my opinion works better than APC. Doesn't feel as tacky and cleans very well. If APC is working for you then keep on using it. It still works and it won't cause issues if it is used properly. That has been documented on many forums as working. It's more cost effective to use APC for multipurpose tasks.

Originally Posted by spazzz

I thought cleaning with diluted APC or a light soap/ water rinse was the best since most leather is coated.

I just use the Meguiars gold class rich cleaner/conditioner and call it a day. It does leave the seats somewhat slippery.

Volvo actually recommends cleaning with a leather cleaner. They offer a rebranded version of the Ikea kit. Im told it works rather well. But there is no Ikea near me, and im not paying $40 for it from the dealer. If I was doing that id buy blackfire, pinnacle, or some other top notch brand.