07 Camry SE - Interior Car Care

DigitalFool said:

I was looking to get an idea of good cleaning/protectant products for the leather seats and interior of my Camry. I searched some threads and Meguiar's seemed popular.

I went down to the local auto shop and they have wipes, foams, sprays etc. etc. (tons of brands) I ended up getting Meguiar's Gold Class Leather Wipes for the seats and Meguiar's Interior Detailer Wipes for the dash and other parts of the console.

Does anyone else use the wipes or are the foams/sprays or even other products? The tubs cost $4 each, seems really cheap? I don't mind paying more for better products, since I want to keep the car in prestine condition, but those were even cheaper than Armor All.

Once it warms up over 0 degrees, I'll try these out!

Click to expand...

I'm a leather fanatic, and I've tried all sorts of stuff over the years. There is stuff out there that comes out of the bottle "white," and stays that way, and is holy hell to buff out. There are other things that make the leather quite a bit "grippy." There is other stuff that makes the leather "slick," and I prefer the latter -- part of why I got leather is that I like to shift around in the seat a bit.

In the end, "wipes" just don't have enough "stuff" on them for my tastes. Though, they may not be bad things to "add some more stuff to," and use for the "carrier" of the "stuff."

All of that said, what I like more than anything now is Armor All Leather Care Gel:

http://www.armorall.com/products/view_product.php?product_id=2&main_group=1&category_index=leather

Yeah, I know Armor All's reputation, but I figure that a lot of their new products don't have anything in common with the evil Armor All protectant stuff from the past. This "gel" stuff goes on the way I like, wipes off the way I like, and gives the seats the conditioning I like, with a little "slickness" as opposed to a more grippier finish.

And, I actually like Black Magic Leather Wipes -- no, not for the "stuff" on them, but they're kind of a neat, waffle-weave cloth, onto which I apply the Armor All gel.

http://www.autobarn.net/leatherwipe.html

Apply to leather, and make sure to wipe off with a clean cloth afterwards, and that "works for me."

I suppose I should say that I "do this often" -- usually several times per week. Pretty much every time after I eat in the car, at the least. Vacuum the seats, then apply conditioner. Every time.

Oh, sure, there are "heavier duty" things that might be incrementally better, but they don't tend to be as quick and easy and satisfying in terms of the finish that I want, so this is what I'm doing these days....