zeroptzero

yeah 303 works well with maximum UV protection and since our seats are heavily coated in vinyl/plastic the 303 works well in that regard too. I mentioned Pinnacle as that is one product I know of that has UV protection in it. I know one of the over the counter products like Meguiars also has UV protection in it too, and there may be others. Anything you can do to protect against the sun will help.

Deckoz

The acrylic coating(Resolene) is still porous. Aloe can penetrate, but doesn't degrade the acrylic over time(like silicates) resulting in crazing. Which looks like cracked leather, since it is opaque.

IA-SteveB

^^ This. It is advertised as a sealer which can be a bit misleading.

zeroptzero

I think the ap2 seats are more porous, the ap1 seats seem to be more heavily coated. I could never get a drop of water to absorb into my ap1 seats but I think you can on an ap2 seat.

Deckoz

thats just because ap1 seats use higher quality/thickness of leather, just different hides.

sam_spider

I'm in Michigan and my car stays in the garage unless I drive it. I do about 1500 miles per year in mine, so what I use isn't going to be the same for you as our climates are completely different.

I have used 303 and Meguiars on my seats. I switched my seats to custom alcantara Recaro Pole Positions 6 years ago, so I haven't needed to clean my stock seats in years.

sam_spider

I'm in Michigan and my car stays in the garage unless I drive it. I do about 1500 miles per year in mine, so what I use isn't going to be the same for you as our climates are completely different.

I have used 303 and Meguiars on my seats. I switched my seats to custom alcantara Recaro Pole Positions 6 years ago, so I haven't needed to clean my stock seats in years. I use Sonax alcantara cleaner on my seats, but that doesn't help you much.

zeroptzero

if seats won't absorb a drop of water they wont absorb any conditioner, so use a product that cleans and protects and doesn't use petroleum distillates - 303, Pinnacle , Megiars

Thomas Guide

Thanks guys, needed to do more research from your comments and education. Coming back for another round of discussions.

Quick background refresh: I mentioned that about 3 months ago I cleaned off the seats using a Volvo alcohol cleaner and it cleaned the seats very nice and removed what I consider to be a Lexol shine build up. The Lexol after a couple days would begin to make that loud annoying creaking squeeky sound of old man couch leather, especially all around the center back pad (if you can imagine the center back pad fluctuates as you sit, so it constantly rubs).

After the clean off the seats were nice and smooth, soft to the touch and no annoying sound, but I have no protection on them. Based on the comments here, I decided to try the Honda Leather Protectant because it has Aloe Vera, I had two free bottles of it, and then top it off with 303. I used a soft cotton Zaino cloth and very gently put some on and then wiped off. Then using another cotton towel with just a couple of sprays on it with 303 I then wiped the seats with it, then wiped any excess off.

The seats are again back to being annoying like with the Lexol, they are a bit shiny, squeeky and tad bit 'slippery' (I was VERY conservative with my application). Before moving to Phoenix when I would apply Lexol, the seats seemed to absorb it and the seats were "grippy", where if I sat in them I wouldn't slip around and it would last months with no annoying squeaking/creaking. So although I'm now using a more applicable product, I'm getting the same annoying results. This is why I don't like Meguirs, because they seem to give the most shine and slippery feel of them all. (I have the Rich Gold Class stuff).

My questions to yous fellas: @Deckoz which Pinnacle products are you using, they have so many combinations and systems. @zeroptzero back in 2014 you were recommending to use Einszett, which I have also thought of using, but didn't see you bring it up in this thread.

I understand there is no magic product, but this is helping me understand the science behind the products and the way our seats were engineered...eventually I'll find a product that works for my application.

thanks

zeroptzero

yes 303 makes the seats very slippery and shiny, it protects well with UV protection but makes the seats shiny and perhaps squeaky. I used Einszett because I found their product is made for vinyl coated seats like the S2000, if you go onto their site they have a very good explanation of the different types of leather seats, ananline, semi-analine, etc. You might want to try Einszett as it leaves the seats a bit more grippy, less shiny than the other products. Or just try Megiars over the counter leather conditioner as a lower cost alternative than trying a dozen other products. I also tried Leatherique and did not notice any benefit as it is meant for uncoated leather, not coated leather seats like ours.

If you have dried out seats you almost need a product that will moisten them up and that often makes them slippery and shiny and noisy, but you also want UV protection so they don't get any worse. There is no product that will soak into the S2000 seats as they are so heavily coated, so all products will sit on the surface and make the seats somewhat shiny, and potentially squeaky. If the seats don't end up like that after treatment then you have effectively wiped off all of the product as it sits on the top surface of the seats. As a test put a drop of water on the flat portion of the seat and I bet it will sit there for 12 hours without absorbing, if the seat wont absorb water it wont absorb anything, so any product pretty much sits on the surface until completely wiped off or cleaned off. 303 aero eventually stops being shiny as it will wear off the seat after some use, combined with body sweat etc. The only way our seats get moisture is through the seat perforations and through the seams of the different panels where sewn together, product will not absorb through the solid flat panels of the seat. Have a read at the Einszett site for more info., you may like their product but honestly there is no quick fix for what you have going on with your seats. Either keep them well moisturized and protected which will be shiny and slippery and somewhat squeaky, or just give them a regular cleaning and hope for the best. You can also recover them with aftermarket covers or find better used replacements.