Hello guys. I was just wondering about this. What are the differences bet. MB-tex and leather?? How can you tell which is which? For MB-tex, which Meguiar's product should be used? Any info would be much much appreicated. Thank you so much.

The MB tex is a heavy duty man made vinyl type product, not made from empty cows! There is usually a code number on the plate under the hood (101-108 for 202C class, 171-178 for my w124)that indicates that the interior is MBtex (the 1xx part of the number) and the color (the x01-x08 or x71-x78 number). I have had great luck with the Vinylex product on the interior - much better than the MB product.

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JCE
87 300E, 65k miles
Smoke Silver

[This message has been edited by JCE (edited 10-29-2000).]

JCE,

Hello. Thank you for the time you took to answer my question. I appreciate it. What kind of Meguiar's product would work best for cleaning MB-tex interior(seats, mainly)? Thank you again for your support. Take care.

ps: What about the door panel? Are those made with the same kind of stuff as the seats? The door panel material looks and feels different though. Thanks.

[This message has been edited by AMGCKlass (edited 10-29-2000).]

Hi:
The side panels are also MBtex vinyl, and the Lexol Vinylex works great on them as well. I used the MB vinyl cleaner, which is made for MB by Meguir's, but the vinylex is better IMHO. Everything else I use on the car finish is a Meguir's product, but the MB vinyl cleaner didn't clean as well as the vinylex, didn't last as long between cleanings, and each time I used it a sticky "fog" developed on the inside of the windows a couple of days after use. I haven't seen that problem yet with the Vinylex.

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JCE
87 300E, 65k miles
Smoke Silver

JCE,

Hello. Thank you very much for sharing your experience with me. That helps a lot. Yes, I will look for Vinylex at auto parts stores this week=). Oh yeah, while i am at it, let me ask you about how to clean other parts of the car. Please don't hate me for asking so many questions=).

a. dashboard area(factory Wooden trim kit)
b. Steering wheel
c. area right below front windshield?(the area that covers the whole instrument area and the area where the passenger's side compartment and airbag are.

Phew! sorry about such a long post. I want to stick with Meguiar's products. I haven't had much success with M-Benz cleaning kit(over $100 or something)...that's expensive and doesn't really work too well IMHO. I know it's also prepared by Meguiars but... oh well. Thank you again. Have a nice day.






[This message has been edited by AMGCKlass (edited 10-29-2000).]

Hi:
On the top of the dash and the steering wheel center I use the Vinylex - I spray it on one side of a folded cotton towel and wipe the dash with the towel, dry side up to keep it off the windshield. I use a slightly damp towel (water only) on the rim of the steering wheel and on the wood trim. I don't like anything on the steering wheel rim as it gets too slippery. I understand thet the wood trim has a plastic coating on top of the wood, and can be polished with Mequir's plastic polish, but I have never tried this myself. Good luck on the cleaning!

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JCE
87 300E, 65k miles
Smoke Silver

JCE,

Hello. Thank you very much for everything. You've answered all of my questions=). I think I am ready to go out there and start cleaning the interior~.. Thank you again for your sound advice. I am very thankful for it. I am gonna get that Vinylex soon!.. Thanks again. Take care.

Best thing about Vinylex and Back-To-Black is that you can buff both out after feeding surface to whatever consistency you like (shiny - leave more on and it looks greasy, or flat - buff more and the material stays fed but less "wet look"). I made the mistake of steering wheel once - bad idea.

makakio:
Hello. How are you? Thank you for your input. I appreciate your time. Oh yeah, I was wondering what you were saying about the steering wheel. Did you mean to say you buffed it out too much with Vinylex? I am also afraid of using any chemical solution on the steering wheel. Thanks again for your commments and suggestions.

Well from what I understood from makakio's post is he used it on the wheel rim once, and it probably made it very slippery for a while.

I did that oce myself, and had to buff the wheel for quite a while before it would nto slip anymore.

Alon

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'92 300CE
Metallic Black (Blue Flaked) on Parchment
Clear Corners
94-95 Tail-Lights
Black Grille Insert
78.5k Miles

Future Upgrades:
Sportline Suspension
17" AMG Monoblocks or EVO II's
Euro Headlights
Performance Chip
AMG Exhaust

Click here to Go To My 300CE Page

Alon,

Hello.Thank you for your reply. I appreciate it. Yeah, now that i re-read it, i know what he means now=). I will be carful with my steering wheel. Thank you for the warning. Take care.

I've had some success using Meguiar's #7 and then #26 on the wood trim of my SD. I did my ashtray insert when I had it out of the car for repair. (The wood had broken off the front of it.) Almost a year later, it still seems shinier than the rest of my dash wood, which I haven't done yet. Never tried the Meguiar's plastic polish yet, though.

Robert,
Hello there. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. That helps a lot. I will take that into consideration. Yeah, i might try Meguiar's plastic polish product since I can see a few hairy scratches on the wooden dash kit. Thanks again for your sound advice.

The main difference between MBtex and leather is, MBtex is made out of Nauga hide and leather is made of cow hide.

Those little naugie's are harder to find than cows in Germany...He he sorry couldn't help myself.

Actually, I'm a bit of an expert in leather. I was a manufacturer's rep for a leather furniture manufacturer for over ten years.

MBtex is a very high quality vinyl. It is engineered by man to stand up against sun,heat and abraision for a long time. You can generally tell if a MB car has MBtex because the seats have channels sewn into them that run all the way to the end or edge of the seat bottom and back.

Leather is engineered by God, to protect an animal from sun, heat and abraision...while they are alive. You can generally tell a leather seat because the channels or perforated panels are framed by mitered unperforated panels.

The easiest way to tell though, is if a car over ten years old's seats still look good, is almost certainly MBtex.

This is because durnig the tanning process, the natural oils and nutrients in the hide are extracted due to the chemicals used. Modern processing can artificially replace most of those oils and nutrients. It's a process called "fat liquoring".

Anyway, in the harsh environment of an automobile, those oils and nutrients will begin to diminish causing the leather to , tear and generally look bad. You can slow this process down by "feeding" your leather seats, Lexol, Leathertique are specially designed for this purpose. The best thing you can do to protect your leather is put UV film on the windows.

Mtex is the most durable material used in the auto industry, it's one of those rare instances where the cheaper alternative lasts longer and is easier to take care of.

This might e more info than you were looking for, but what the heck.

Mr. BILL

90 300SE leather
85 300D MBtex
84 300SD (sold)

Mr. BILL,
Hello. LOL~.. hehe.. Thank you for the infomative info. Actually, I really enjoyed reading your reply. Very educational for a newbie like me=). Thanks again for the time you took to help me understand the whole process. I have noticed that MB tex seats(light beige color, for example) tend to get little darker in some spots after like 4yrs. Will lexol's vinylex get rid of those dark spots? I think MB factory Vinyl cleaner(by Meguiar) doesn't get rid of the dark residue that have accumulated on MB tex seats. Thank you again for your comments and suggestions. Take care.