Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Sorry to revive an old thread, but I just saw both bottles of the interior detailer today in Walmart, old and new, side-by-side. I popped the top off the new gel-type, and it smelled different and obviously had a different consistency.
It also says on the front that it has 3M Scotchguard. It seems that both the detailer and the leather cleaner have new consistencies. Does this mean a formula change or is this just a gimmick? I like their stuff, so as soon as both of mine run out I'll be buying this - probably not for another year at the rate I'm going.
Apparently Meguiars re-did the Gold Class Leather line in 2010. There are 4 different products and they are all very different. Here's an explanation:
http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-42369.html
Originally Posted By: The Critic
These products are only useful if you have uncoated leather. If you have coated leather, like most cars do, you are probably wasting your money.
Apparently I was wrong, see this explanation from Meguiars:
Quote:
Yes, leather seating in cars is coated. It almost has to be as uncoated leather is highly susceptible to staining and discoloring. Think about a baseball glove, which is made of a natural, uncoated leather - add some conditioner to it and it darkens noticeably. Let you hand sweat in it for a while and it darkens noticeably. Now imagine the leather in your car behaving like this - you would not be happy. Wear a pair of shorts on a hot summer day and the seat would be "ruined" in most people's minds. Cleaning and maintaining would be a nightmare. So auto companies and their leather suppliers have come up with various coatings.
This is where it gets interesting, though. We often see people comment on these coatings as being merely a clear coat that basically seals the leather, so you don't need to do anything other than wipe it down with warm water. But it really isn't that simple. In fact, these coatings can be quite complex. After all, don't quality leather seats feel like leather? Sure they do, and that's because great lengths have been taken to make the coatings feel like leather. And look at the compression and stretching a leather seat goes through every time you sit on it. The coating has to move along with it, and not crack or split. This coating also has tiny fissures, cracks, pores, etc in it and allow the leather beneath it to breathe. This exposes the leather to the drying effects of UV and even oxygen, but it also allows you to be able to treat the leather.
Harsh cleaners can break down this coating and cause it to fail. You end up with what look like a stain, but it's really missing coating in the area that was aggressively scrubbed (assume a terry towel and a non diluted household cleaner was used). But a cleaner and/or conditioner designed for use on leather will safely clean into those fissures, cracks, pores, etc and lift the dirt out plus it will get down in there and feed the leather much in the same way a moisturizer does for you skin. It is a good idea to use a terry or microfiber applicator when cleaning/dressing leather, but you never want to scrub vigorously. APC diluted 10:1 is safe too as that dilution ration brings the pH level waaaay down, making it suitable for this application.
All of Meguiar's leather cleaner/conditioners are water based products, designed to be able to penetrate these coatings and properly condition the leather below. In fact, since the coatings are designed to mimic leather, these products also help to keep the coating from drying out and cracking. And some of these coatings are highly specialized, with their actual composition being closely guarded secrets. But they are all essentially designed to mimic the look and feel of the leather they are designed to protect in the first place.
http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-42369.html
