I have retrieved my Daimler seats from the restorer who has had them stored for over 15 years! After many false starts to this restoration I have now moved to Ireland so had to collect the seats from the attic of their premises. All my fault not theirs but thank you so much Maidstone Sports Cars for being such a professional and decent company. Payment for storage was offered but refused.
The seats are covered in 15 years of dust and dirt and honestly were not cleaned properly ever and I have owned the car since 1972.
I did some googling and checked the forums and was baffled by the different views on how to clean recondition etc.
I have carefully checked condition and found all the stitching intact except for the rear arm rest where it has come adrift so needs re stiching.
There are no holes but a few belmishes and cracks which need treating. The leather round the bottom sides of the rear squab has dried out and broken up which has been like that for many years. The cotton material as been damaged where to goes over metal frame so needs replacing. The front seat backs have warped so need to be taken off and replaced/repaired.
The seats themselves are therefore worth saving as they are recliners and have history. I debated fitting XJ seats but decided as I drove this for years as it was why change it now as I will be doing local journeys and few long trips.
After hoovering off all the dust I cleaned initially with a mild mixture of vinegar and warm water. This removed all the surface dirt. Now I need to clean a little deeper and re soften the leather.
I have Gold Label Neatsfoot Oil (but dare not use it) and some Autoglym leather cream.
I cannot find a sure fire way to clean and recondition as all the advice seems very mixed.
I hope there will be some consensus here so I can move forward without losing sleep over stitching coming apart down the road etc.!!
You mention that you have some cosmetic repairs to do. My advice would be to decide who’s products you are going to use to fill cracks and touch up/recolour then use their cleaning and softening products. That way you’re not going to run into problems with things not adhering.
Some people swear by Neatsfoot oil, others avoid it.
If you have any areas which need sanding, do that before you soften the leather.
many commercial leather clean, restore, protect products…the main companies, that I have used and trust Mothers, Meguiars, Griot, Jay Leno products, but always test on an underside small section first. Currently I have the Griot…and like it,.: use clean micro fiber (no scratch) every time.
Nick
what ever you decide on avoid Mothers VLR I have found that it dries out leather.
Don’t ask how I Know 
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I’ve been on this forum for almost 20 years and it’s interesting how certain topics keep repeating. There is a wealth of information in the archives and I suggest our newer members learn how to use this valuable tool. For Jaguar leather issues I suggest you go to the professionals not the local auto parts store. For example, Leatherique knows Jaguar leathers and has a good product line: restorer, cleaners, dyes, etc.
Pat H
I have used this company’s products for many years with great success. Apparently it has compounds that come from the ocean. There is so much information on this web page that you will have all of your questions answered:
Gerard
Indeed. Here is a search: Search results for 'leather restore order:latest' - Jag-lovers Forums
Here are some pics of my results using stuff from Colourlock (lederzentrum.ch): https://goo.gl/photos/S3m471K2xikmjHis6
Not a new member just had issues with my registration and ended up losing my status as a fully paid up member from years back.
I certainly did use the search facility (but used 2 words leather renovation I think) and trawled through various posts hence my “confusion” reading about the different views on various treatments. I have a bottle of Neatsfoot on the shelf but found totally opposing views on this. I was looking for cleaning solutions that I may have around the house so I didn’t do any damage as the seats were very dirty/dusty. Going straight to an online shop with a credit card without checking is not my style.
I re discovered Woolies who have been around forever so looking at their kit but no one has mentioned them so far.
Thanks for all the feedback - its a long hard road ahead so apologies if I ask the same questions after doing a search and still being unsure or unconvinced!
Hi Steve,
Whatever you do, please avoid Neatsfoot Oil. It seems to be okay at first but over time it can truly destroy leather where it touches unfinished areas - like cracks or areas where the color has worn away.
I had an old leather seat that I tried it on and it eventually caused areas of the material to flake apart - I’ve never seen anything like it. Around the same time I tried it on a leather tank boot (I bought a bottle at the Army surplus store) and same thing happened to the unfinished backs of the straps after they sat in a closet for a while. The damage didn’t happen immediately - takes a while to do it’s evil work. It is not woth the risk.
I’ve had good luck with Leatherique products… Not the miracle that some report but the system cleans and conditions well.
~Mike
Lots of people swear by Renapur, which comes as a quite hard combination of waxes and jojoba oil . It is applied with stiff sponges ( supplied with the product ) , and having tried it I have found it really does work well on unsealed leather i.e. the bulk of leather interiors prior to about 1990. It always seems expensive at about ÂŁ12 sterling for a 200 mls pot, but in fact that pot could last you for years . I have just done the whole of a Mark IX interior, and used perhaps one-sixth of the pot. Available by ebay or try searching Renapur
Hello,
I’ve been a distributor of Leatherique products in Canada for 11 years. I used the products on my Jags for 15 years before selling it.
What I’ve learned about leather conditioners and cleaners is that the best ones have only animal-based ingredients.
Most mainstream cleaners have harsh components that dry out leather. Have you ever had lacquer thinner on your hands? It makes you skin dry and crack right away. Even Connolly Hyde food says “white spirits” on the label. White spirits can dissolve dye, and has for some people who ignore the directions and leave the product too long on the leather. Otherwise it’s a good lanolin product. Harsh cleaners are bad; they may take the dirt out, but they also took the fat out.
Conditioners have to be animal sourced, which contain fat, protein, collagen, elastin and moisture. Plant products do not. Even Alo Vera hand cream has protein added to work on skin.
When leather is made it goes through nasty chemical processing which dries out the leather. So, it then gets a bath in fat, the process known as fat-liquouring, to restore the leather. The best products on the market for leather preservation are similar to this.
Waxes and silicones are bad for leather because they are repellents, effectively sealing the leather from absorbing emollients. That’s like putting rubber gloves on and trying to apply hand cream. When you wax your car, water beads up on it; good for paint, totally wrong for leather. The whole idea is get the product to soak in. Some good animal-based products on the market add silicone or wax if intended for outdoor use where a repellent would be useful, such as army boots that will walk through water. Saddle soap contains beeswax because riders do get caught in the rain. But for interior leather, we believe this to be wrong. Countless times I’ve applied our product to a customer’s seat, only to have it bead off like oil on water, due to repellent products having been used previously.
Unfortunately, product labels don’t tell you much in most cases, they just claim it’s great stuff.
A simple test of a product would be to try it on your hands. It should not sting, or feel slippery.
So, buy products that only have animal product ingredients, and avoid wax or silicones.
Good luck,
Rob
Andrew,
Great job on those MKII seats! That was extensive job!
I’m just finishing my XJ6 seats:
Rob
One factor contributing to lack of consensus on how to condition leather seats is the variation in leather product used in cars. Leather surface finish (the surface) can range from bare to a finish coating which is impermeable. A surface application of a conditioner on an impermeable surface will not penetrate or condition the hide overall. Cleaning and conditioning results will vary depending on the leather and its surface finish, products used, patience, and elbow grease applied.