# Auto Express - leather cleaner test - your help needed



## Saabstudent (Nov 3, 2008)

Hi folks,
for those that know who i am, hi :wave:
For those that don't - i'm consumer writer here at Auto Express magazine, and i am about to conduct a test on leather cleaners (not leather feed/care creams). As i have previously stated, i'd be interested to hear what you pros think are good/interesting in this line of products.

FYI the brands i already have under consideration are 

Race glaze
Zym0l
Furniture clinic
Simoniz 
Armor all Gel 
Turtle Wax plat 
Mer
Meguiars
Armor all wipes
Comma upholstery
Gliptone
Croftgate
AutoGlym
Halfords

But i'm happy to think about including smaller/less well known specialist brands if you think they have a valid reason for being in the test. Space is limited though, so there should be a valid reason/argument for their inclusion.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this one.

Graeme Lambert
Consumer Writer
Auto Express


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Zaino is very well regarded on here. Also, LTT who sponsor the leather forum on here make some very good products.


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

LTT Leather Solution, Foaming Cleaner. This stuff is the dogs ******. Zaino is also very good.


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## Beancounter (Aug 31, 2006)

A couple that I would say would be worth adding to the list are LTT and Zaino products.
They get a fair amount of coverage on here and both offer good results, some of which can be seen in the studio and showroom. 

Edit: I'm too slow


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## Saabstudent (Nov 3, 2008)

Hi All.
thanks for the swift replies.
Seems that Zaino and LTT are both well regarded - i will certainly enquire and see if we can include them in the test.

G


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## RedCloudMC (Jul 19, 2008)

Another mention for LTT...Zaino I've heard is good but never personally used it. 

:thumb:


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## mkv (Jun 12, 2008)

I used to use ag leather cleaner, which worked very well.

Recently moved to CG Liquid leather and conditioner on Disco Daves recommendation.
Very, very impressed. I recently had a Merc ML to clean. Imagine: black leather, young kids, choccy biscuits, crisps, sweets. 2 runs over, 1 to clean the other to condition....Wow, brand new looking interior.


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

It would be interesting to consider Astonish leather cleaner and Wizz leather treatment in your tests, they are both readily available in the high street , made in the UK and I understand you consider price in the tests of value for money, these items can be had for less than £2 and often a £1.


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## judyb (Sep 7, 2007)

We deal with problems caused by high street products all the time and have come across many occassions when leather has been damaged by both Astonish and Wizz, they are both far too aggressive and will remove the finish on the leather, although these say they can be used on leather they are not produced by companies who have any knowledge of the proper testing etc. of leather products and who are also unable to help when things go wrong. Generally cheap products are made from cheap chemicals. Quality leather products will always be on the more expensive side as the active ingredients are tested (and are more expensive chemicals to produce).

Damage casued by these high street products is generally very expensive to fix so although the products may be cheap they are very expensive in the long run.


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

judyb said:


> We deal with problems caused by high street products all the time and have come across many occassions when leather has been damaged by both Astonish and Wizz, they are both far too aggressive and will remove the finish on the leather, although these say they can be used on leather they are not produced by companies who have any knowledge of the proper testing etc. of leather products and who are also unable to help when things go wrong. Generally cheap products are made from cheap chemicals. Quality leather products will always be on the more expensive side as the active ingredients are tested (and are more expensive chemicals to produce).
> 
> Damage casued by these high street products is generally very expensive to fix so although the products may be cheap they are very expensive in the long run.


Whilst they are lower cost than the boutique names , I fear they are no less quality than many of the competition, as you are in the trade, you know there is a massive mark up on some of the products due to marketing and packaging. A colleague has a 51 plate BMW from new with leather and has been using the Astonish product on his seats , the seats still look fab, so how long is it before the 'damage' is apparent?


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## Serious (Mar 19, 2008)

How long is a piece of string? lol.


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## martyp (Oct 24, 2006)

Probably depends on how good the finish on the leather is in the first place. A few people on here use APC 10:1 on leather, now that can't be good but for a quick one off I don't see much harm. 

However, I moved from Gliptone to LTT and am over the moon with the products. Plus at least I'm not wasting my time conditioning leather which does nothing, but I'm now protecting it. :thumb:


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

Serious said:


> How long is a piece of string? lol.


Heh heh very true, the point being, the low cost products do not necessarily mean low quality and high cost products are not necessarily better, chemicals are chemicals , I couldnt see any mfr purposely or accidently creating a product to damage a finish on any surface.


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## martyp (Oct 24, 2006)

Fair point Avanti, however at the end of the day you get what you pay for don't you?

I mean why buy Dodo Juice, Meguairs, Zaino etc, if a £2 tin of turtle wax will do the same job essentially? Two products are more or less the same but the more expensive one will last longer and generally be easier to use with a little better results. 

IMO, leather is expensive so its worth spending a little extra to keep it soft, supple and protected. Just my 2 cents.


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

martyp said:


> Fair point Avanti, however at the end of the day you get what you pay for don't you?
> 
> I mean why buy Dodo Juice, Meguairs, Zaino etc, if a £2 tin of turtle wax will do the same job essentially? Two products are more or less the same but the more expensive one will last longer and generally be easier to use with a little better results.
> 
> IMO, leather is expensive so its worth spending a little extra to keep it soft, supple and protected. Just my 2 cents.


Yes you get what you pay for, doesnt mean you get better value for money, if a top detailer detailed a car free of charge does that mean he has done a sub standard service? Collinite is cheaper than 2 of the above mentioned waxes but which is more durable? Yes leather upholstery is expensive, but after 7yrs Im sure any damage would have been apparent by now, there is no harm including them in the test. Back to the waxes TW original is not bad, and the product is easy enough to use, when one reads the instructions 
When I 1st used RG42 on my car, I completed the application of the wax to the whole car before trying to buff it off (and it was a pain to do) however a quick read of the instructions and next time it was simple to do as it clearly states complete a panel and leave a 1-2 minutes before buffing off.


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## Guest (Nov 17, 2008)

Few questions:

Will you be explaining the difference between modern leather (painted) and the older style (tanned)?

And as such will you then explain that certain creams will sit on the leather and not actually feed it?

Intrested in this test since GFs Dad has new car full of leather.


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## chris'svr6 (May 17, 2006)

Having attended LTT's leather training course last year, i'll stand up and say Andy and Judy defo know what there talking about, and their customer service is second to none. I'd say that there will always be cheaper products on the market, it's like anything, but only a few of them have been tested fully for their attended market, just because you cant see the damage it's causing, doesn't mean it's not happening.


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

chris'svr6 said:


> Having attended LTT's leather training course last year, i'll stand up and say Andy and Judy defo know what there talking about, and their customer service is second to none. I'd say that there will always be cheaper products on the market, it's like anything, but only a few of them have been tested fully for their attended market, just because you cant see the damage it's causing, doesn't mean it's not happening.


heh heh and just because you cant see any damage does not mean it's not happening, who is to say pricey products do not cause damage? I am not challenging Judy and co. 
But going back to the OP, there is no harm in including the products in the test.


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## Saabstudent (Nov 3, 2008)

Ok, Anyone a supplier/stockist of Chemical Guys products on here that wants to supply a sample for me to include in the test? Obviously contact details will be included in the test, so hopefully you should generate some sales/site traffic etc. Can't seem to find an official route, so will go down this one instead.

Please Pm me with offers or details, and we can discuss further.

Graeme Lambert
Consumer Writer
Auto Express


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## KingfisherA3 (Sep 5, 2007)

carwashnwax.co.uk are the UK distributors for Chemical Guys


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## Andy_Green (Oct 27, 2005)

the official importer of chemical guys into UK is David at carwashnwax if i'm correct, he's an offical trader on here and has his on section so it's probably worth posting in there or just dropping him a PM. I'm sure there's also other traders that would be happy to supply a sample or two such as Elite Car Care or CleanYourCar


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## Beancounter (Aug 31, 2006)

^^^^ as above, David at carwashnwax is your man for Chemical Guys stuff. He's David G on here.


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## Saabstudent (Nov 3, 2008)

PM has been sent.
thanks for the head up folks.

G


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## mkv (Jun 12, 2008)

Saabstudent said:


> Ok, Anyone a supplier/stockist of Chemical Guys products on here that wants to supply a sample for me to include in the test? Obviously contact details will be included in the test, so hopefully you should generate some sales/site traffic etc. Can't seem to find an official route, so will go down this one instead.
> 
> Please Pm me with offers or details, and we can discuss further.
> 
> ...


You have a message Greame.


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

I dont want to seem stupid, but I used Leather Soap (the stuff you put on horse saddles) on my mates Alpha 147's seats, and they came up an absolute treat!


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## nogrille (Oct 27, 2005)

another vote for Zaino here. Cleaned something that no other cleaner cold even touch.


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## Saabstudent (Nov 3, 2008)

Mother-Goose said:


> I dont want to seem stupid, but I used Leather Soap (the stuff you put on horse saddles) on my mates Alpha 147's seats, and they came up an absolute treat!


Doesn't sound stupid to me - i've heard of lots of people using saddle soap for leather.

G


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## CleanYourCar (Jan 23, 2006)

I can send you a Sonus leather care kit if you like. The cleaner really is very good.

Tim


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Good to see this kind of thread on here 

I personally use Gliptone, but have also used weak dilutions of APC which works really well.


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

It will be very interesting to see the results...


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

Saabstudent said:


> Ok, Anyone a supplier/stockist of Chemical Guys products on here that wants to supply a sample for me to include in the test? Obviously contact details will be included in the test, so hopefully you should generate some sales/site traffic etc. Can't seem to find an official route, so will go down this one instead.
> 
> Please Pm me with offers or details, and we can discuss further.
> 
> ...


Although AE tests get slated on here sometimes, I do enjoy reading the ones on products that interest me, like the polish/wax or shampoo's. It's clearly defined how the test is conducted and what way you are judging the products, so on a fair field one can compare one product to another :thumb:


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## rinns (May 24, 2008)

Saabstudent said:


> Ok, Anyone a supplier/stockist of Chemical Guys products on here that wants to supply a sample for me to include in the test? Obviously contact details will be included in the test, so hopefully you should generate some sales/site traffic etc. Can't seem to find an official route, so will go down this one instead.
> 
> Please Pm me with offers or details, and we can discuss further.
> 
> ...


Graeme,

I'll donate something for for test. A BMW 325 55 plate with dirty lemon leather in need of some good products after the wife has used it for commuting to the stables

Jason


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## quattrogmbh (May 15, 2007)

Another vote for the LTT Leather Cleaner and protector.

The protector is particularly worthy of mention as its the only product I've used which leaves the leather with a matt non greasy finish.


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## paddy328 (Mar 4, 2007)

The swissvax leather cleaner is my fave.


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## StuBoy (Oct 20, 2008)

Another vote for the LTT.

I trully hope you test LTT. Not a main brand, but never the less they have products dedicated for automotive leather.


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