My 8 is a week old and i was cleaning it up yesterday.

I have the black and red leather seats. I know the red part is leather and i know the ribbed part is vinyl.

But what about the rest of the material. I mean the black stuff that runs up around the top of the headrest above the red insert. Is that leather or vinyl?

I am using the meguir's leather cleaner and conditioner to clean the leather parts. I have used it on my other cars and even furniture with great results. But i don't want to waste it on the black part of the seats if it isn't leather.

It's amazing (and sad) how much dirt came off of a new car.

Also, the red door inserts don't feel like leather. Is that correct?

sorry for all the newbie questions. Thanks for your help!

greese

 

Good question greese, I have no idea. But I'll be interested to hear when someone who DOES know speaks up. Also, you've motivated me to tackle cleaning/conditioning of my leather seats this spring or summer.

Ya know though, in thinking about this more, I think this may have been discussed before somewhere here in this forum.

 

I thought it was all supposed to be leather?

 

Red seat parts = leather
Ribbed stuff = rubber/cloth
Black seat parts = leather
Door trims, f&r = vinyl
Steering wheel = all leather
Centre console tops =vinyl
Handbrake grip (option) = leather
.
.
.
doc

 

Thanks for rundown on what's leather, vinyl, etc., Doctorr!

How 'bout the big chunk of stippled leather-looking dash sitting in front of the passenger seat... 'zat leather or vinyl? Ask Mazda and they say to clean with a damp rag. However, the black seems to be fading a bit (came that way from the factory), and might look better with a little leather conditioner.

 

I used Armor All Ultimate Care on the dash in front of the passenger seat and it shines great. It did take a few applications to get it to shine the way I wanted it to but in the end it looks much better than it did when it was fading!

 

EEEEEEWWWW!

You made the dash shiney?

The OEM finish on the RX-8 is a beautiful, smooth matte finish. Look a the sales brochure, for a reference.
The thought of someone using Armor All on it makes me cringe.
Your dash wasn't "fading". It is supposed to be a flat finish.
Now it will "fade" from that fake, greasy, silicone shine on a nearly daily basis.

What a shame....

 

Hey Maniac you obviously don't live in South FL where the sun beats down on your dash at 110 degrees. You can keep your faded looking dash and I will protect mine from cracking with the Armor All. BTW it looks MUCH better!!

 

1) If you are parking in the sun without a sunshade, your dash will take a beating regardless of what you do

2) Armor All has NO UV protection, regardless of what it says.

3) The dash is plastic, so Armor All won't "oil" it. No actual protection from "drying" is possible or needed.

4) I direct sunlight, Armor All will just evaporate and end up a nasty film on your glass.

 

First, let me say that I would never armorall anything in my car. It's a personal thing but I don't care for the spotting, pooling, and streaking that the product causes; not to mention the tacky "goo" that builds up over time. However, uv light in a car is not an issue since refraction of that light as it passes through the auto glass will convert 95% of all uv to higher wavelength light. That's pretty much why it gets hotter'n hell in a car with the windows up, the uv (which isn't particularly hot, gets slowed down as it passes through the glass and that slowing, changes the wavelength of the light; converting uv to IR (heat).

The "benefit" of armorall is that it replaces the plasticizers that are in the vinyl. Many people aren't aware of it but PVC pipe that you use to plumb your home is the same chemical as the vinyl in your vinyl seat. The only reason that soft vinyl is soft is that they include chemicals such as dioctylphthalate to plasticize or "soften" the plastic. As time progresses, these plasticizers leech out of the plastic and are absorbed by cleaning rags, by skin, by clothing, etc. and the plastic eventually becomes embrittled due to a lack of plasticizer. The armorall could slow or otherwise abate that process. However, like I said above, it's pretty nasty stuff overall.

The sunshades you mention are a great idea. Because they do block the small amount of uv that does make it through the glass but moreso because they reflect the IR (heat) rays away from the dash and the steering wheel. The cooler these surfaces stay (the plastic ones anyway) the longer they will last. This is due to the fact that heating a plastic will speed up the rate at which plasticizers leech out of the vinyl.

Finally, let me reiterate, I agree -- armorall is some dang nasty stuff and I'd rather watch the dash degrade to powder than to use it in my 8; but that's just me.....

 

I use 303 protectant on my spa cover. It is supposed to have uv protection in it. I have not used it in my 8 though. The stuff is expensive.

 

I use Meguire's leather wipes on everything. It contains aloe and cleaners that are good for leather and also has a UV protectant. When dry, it doesn't attrack dust bunnies because it is not sticky. It cleans and protects and for the matte finish areas, just rub it in and wipe it off. I also use a good saddle soap at least once a year on the leather as well. Taks all day to rub it in the first time.

Best part is that nothing fades and leather remains soft.

 

The best leather cleaner bar none is some stuff that I think is called lexol. It is what Mercedes, BMW, etc use on their leather. It is some really good stuff, but kinda hard to find. The BMW dealership near me carries it as well as the Lexus. I saw it once at autozone, but havent been able to find it again.

 

I know this might be hard to believe, but the ribbed area appears to be leather. If you press your fingernail into leather it will leave a mark for a while, Vinyl/plastic) will not, also at almost 10k miles the ribbed areas on my seats have leather wrinkles/creases in it.

 

rjacobs you're right, Lexol is great. I first discovered it when I bought my Tony Lama's in El Paso. It's available in many Western boot shops and Tack shops (for horse stuff). you can also try Jeffers Equine It's big with the saddle set...

 

Guys-I have used Guardsman Leather Conditioner/Cleaner mousse. Easy to work with and towel off without disagreeable smell. I purchased before online from PJ Sales but cannot find their online address presently but this is carried in Ace Hardware and many other places that carry Guardsman Products.

Bob

 

Guys-found web address of above:

pjsalesonline.com They sell cheaper than retail outlets.

Bob

 

According to the Mazda email in this thread, the black seat parts are not leather. Also, don't forget the shift **** is leather (wrapped).

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...=leather+vinyl

 

Holy Thread-Resurrection!!!

Thanks for bring ing up this old thread and for correcting the errors cited aboove. The "Mazda e-mail" certainly corresponds with my observations on my all-black upholstery, now 75,000 miles old.

As a practical matter, most leather conditioners work fine for vinyl, too. So it doesn't matter a great deal which you use on the "faux leather" bolsters, sides, etc.

As far as Armor All goes--guys, note that the writer is using the "new, improved" AA Ultimate Care (or whatever), not the original. But I agree that there are far better products available.

 

I can't tell from your post if you are using saddle soap as intended, with brush and water to clean the leather, or as some sort of conditioner.

Saddle soap is exactly, and just, that: soap. By itself it has no preservative value. Proper leather care calls first for cleaning, then preserving. Saddle soap is only the first step. People have used SS in place of good preservatives for years, and many will swear by it for that purpose, but what they see as good preservation of the leather is just a tribute to leather's inherent toughness.

Lexxol is ****; you just about can't do better with anything you want to sit on afterwards.

Pilgrim