... I'm plenty busy with my own stable of cars.

 

Since espresso in mono or two tone is only current Cayenne choice in natural leather:

I have yet to see a vehicle with espresso but came across cocoa and the salesman said they are the same. Is this true? If not how different?

From the pics, I sometimes get more grey and black than brown, but posters have said brown, brown, brown???

And, question, are the natural leathers any smoother in surface than the full? That I could not make out at the dealer.

All photos stunning anyway! thanx.

 

Ron, the natural leather does have a softer feel but to most people it would not be that apparent. Here are some espresso pics

 

It is different that the cocoa (also a nice color) but has some pattern more like the the ones you see on sofas.

 

Bringing this thread back. WOot and Jace seem to know their stuff so i'm trying to decide between the Sonax and Leatherique Prestine Clean for weekly cleanings. Which should i go with? Any help would be appreciated! Already seeing blue from my jeans on my platinum grey leather that i need to get off!

 

Jace better know his stuff

To answer your question, both are great products. No reason to choose one over the other and you can't go wrong with either. Start with prestine.

 

prestine works great for taking the jean marks off my cream leather.
looks brand new still. I see jean marks DAILY, so I do a quick 5 minute clean once a week.
it's cake.

having a variety to choose from when I tackle the cleaning process is a great way to go.

But what do I know. the steam cleaner I use hand held is XTreme Power XPH-9300U

like my friend in the above post mentioned can't go wrong with either.

 

Didn't want to dilute the Avatar thread and have to guess that w00t will read any post regarding natural leather.

Ordered the leatherique kit in advance of my CS and have been experimenting.

I'm beginning to think that Hartman natural is vegetable tanned and that Porsche natural is chromium tanned and analine dyed, glazed and coated without any pigmentation- hence the moniker full analine. BTW, glazed means "subjected to great pressure" and my guess is that this is a protection methodology.

Left pic is 30 year old natural Hartman never conditioned- blotch on upper left is a leatherique mistake I made and decided to keep for the time being. Middle pic is opposite side after leatherique rejuvinator oil and prestine clean, which did come off with a bit of dye on the cloth.

At first the treatment seemed to darken and dull the leather, creating a more "matte" look and perhaps less "patina". But after a good amount of buffing with sheep's fur some of the glow was returned. The leather definitely became more supple and rich looking.

Photo right is new Hartman leather to show how much it darkens over time, just like Vachetta on high end hand bags. w00t mentioned on another thread that his friend's cognac darkened even without any conditioning.

Given that natural receives fewer coating layers than full, the rejuvenator oil may penetrate better/more into the leather. Many believe that heavily coated auto leathers (99% including Porsche full leather) do not "accept" leather conditioning oil and is a waste of time and money. Perhaps some here with both full and natural leather cars can comment.

On another note, thank you w00t for calling us off any conditioning of the dash- something I would have attacked with great zeal. But without any conditioning whatsoever would not the leather dry out and crack over time? Are leather areas on doors, consoles, etc. to be treated as dash or seats? Lastly, you noted surprise at first that the cognac was not as rich as you had expected- is the leather already darkening towards malt?

 

Ron: Given that natural receives fewer coating layers than full, the rejuvenator oil may penetrate better/more into the leather.

w00t: I certainly feel that natural leather does take in the rejuv oil although not as much as my wife's MINI cooper.

Ron: On another note, thank you w00t for calling us off any conditioning of the dash- something I would have attacked with great zeal.

w00t: I'm glad u did not.

Ron: But without any conditioning whatsoever would not the leather dry out and crack over time?

w00t: Use a UVS 100 heatshield sunshade and Sonax dashboard cleaner that has good UV protectant capability.

Ron: Are leather areas on doors, consoles, etc. to be treated as dash or seats?

w00t: No, just a leather cleaner. I like Sonax or Sonus (both these leather cleaners do not mask or change that Porsche leather smell)

Ron: Lastly, you noted surprise at first that the cognac was not as rich as you had expected- is the leather already darkening towards malt?

w00t: I love malt brown leather (I'll try to pull some pics of my wife's MINI that I have lovingly maintained) and hope that the cognac will slowly turn darker. It may be an illusion but I certainly feel that the high traffic areas (the front two seats seem to be turning darker much to my pleasure.

 

Ron, here you go: First shot was a couple of years ago and the other pics are from last month of my wife's 4 yr old MINI cooper after 30K miles shows what annual leather conditioning and bimonthly cleaning w/ leather cleaner can do. Even the driver seat has very little wear. This is English malt brown interior.

 

http://www.wollsdorf-leder.com/eng/p...rie_sattel.php

For those crazy enough to follow this thread, the above link just may be the holy grail of automotive leather today. Company claims more than half cars worldwide contain their leather, though for most it is only the steering wheel.

They specialize though in southern german and austrian hides, sell to the majority of luxe brands and have analine, semi-analine, and simulated/embossed auto seats and interiors.

They don't show samples on their auto page, but the above links to their highest quality furniture leather whose weight mimics autos. Note the Coffee and Camel colors are somewhat similar to espresso/cognac. Or for those with these interiors, not?

This whole post may be a complete red herring, and if so, sorry

 

The cleaning information in this thread is immensely helpful btw! Question for jace and w00t, I'm torn right now between E/C and U/C interior with JBM exterior... Me and my wife like the U/C better, but she's especially worried over keeping it looking clean. On one hand, the cognac should hide dirt better than cream, but I'm thinking the urethane coating on cream should make it easier to clean, and less prone to absorbing dirt and oil (my big concern with the aniline dyed cognac).

Any thoughts? I'm planning on seats about once a week. If cleaning regularly, will one look better than the other over time? In between weekly cleanings, will the E/C look better? I noticed even on w00t's avatar thread, the visible marks on the cognac seats where the bolsters are, which has me worried that E/C won't really be easier to maintain than U/C.

 

I've racked up 10,000 miles, and my E/C interior looks new, as the Leatherique cleaner/conditioner does a great job of getting the dirt out, thanks w00t! You may have to stay on it a bit more diligently with the cream, but unless kids or pets are an issue I would say go for it if you prefer the U/C over the E/C.