I just recently purchased a '92 400e. The car has had good, but definitely NOT enthusiast, care. Going thru all the posts here helped me in formulating a plan of attack for both the interior and the exterior. I thought I would share my experiences:


I decided to go with Leatherique for the interior. It worked spectacularly. Following carefully the instructions what I thought was a pretty clean and decent interior literally came to life with their products. As suggested in their literature I used the Pristine Clean on the vinyl ... exterior as well as interior. The best results I have ever seen. No oily, dust magnet finish. I also used the PC on the door and window rubber ... the difference in suppleness was noticeable. The key here is to follow the instructions to the letter. The longer you can let the interior "bake" the better. It really "lifts" out the accumulated gunk and hastens the softening of the leather. Very pleased.

I went with Car Care Specialties products and recommendations for the outside. The car had a lot of swirl from the frequent car wash visits suffered at the hands of the previous owner. The car is White by the way. The paint looked very bright, but I had some pld Meguiar's Finish Restorer and did a small patch ... yikes ... what I thought was white was really beige by comparison. I talked to Larry at CCS at length ... he was very willing to spend time with me and made some really good suggestions. I used P21S Total Auto Wash as part of the initial wash to get started. I then went after it with 3M Hand Glaze and P21S Multi Finish Restorer. This process removed all the oxidation and discoloration. I would judge I reduced the surface scratches and swirls by maybe 70%. I'll take another whack at it in a couple of months ... these 55 year old shoulders just don't recover like they used to, oh well. I finished it off with a coat, applied literally by hand, of Blitz wax. It looks like a different car and has prompted a number of comments from both those who saw the car at the time I got it and others who'd never seen the car about how incredible the paint looks.

I must tell you that after I'd ordered the stuff from CCS I spoke to Sal Zaino. What a great guy. The man listened to what I was concerned about and sent me a 5 page email loaded with good suggestions, tips and specific solutions to specific issues I'd raised. I will, on the next pass, definitely use the Zaino process and products. It should provide for a very interesting comparison.

I picked up all this stuff from here. All of you who contribute to this forum make the MB experince so much richer ... Thank you.

I certainly agree with your assessment of Leatherique, it is incredible. I will never use Lexol again. I have to also recommend Zaino's products as well. They are very easy to use and leave a brilliant shine. I love to experiment with different products and believe that Zaino is by far the best. It comes off so easily that you feel that you don't deserve the shine that you are leaving behind.

I agree Leatherique and Zaino is the best. I found out about leatherique after I joined rolls royce owners club.

I was shocked about being able to talk to Zaino over the phone or email. On mothers day, I wrote an email about using Zaino on a repainted benz, I got a response in less than 30 minutes on a holiday. Needless to say, I was impressed. Try talking to Barry Meguiar about car care on the phone or via an email, lol.

I finally got around to doing the Leatherique treatment to my 500E interior this weekend. I used this first on my previous 400E, so I knew it was good, but I wanted to take this opportunity to put in another endorsement for a great product. My seats were already in good shape, with a few little "spots" here and there. Now they are definately cleaner and you can tell they are a bit more supple.

No, Leatherique is not the easiest stuff to use but I certainly feel the effort is worth it. Great stuff.

tv

Johnson - you have a RR?

__________________
... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

I have a 1987 300E with leather seats. The back look nice, but a bit dry. The front are very wrinkled, dirty, and dry, however, they are not cracked. I would like to restore as soon as possible.

where can i buy this wonderful stuff and can someone post instructions on use.

I am located in the Washington, DC area.

Eli

__________________
| Eli Collier | Personal
Page | eli_collier@yahoo.com |
| Cars: 93 300E 180K Smoke Silver on Tan |

I managed to lose the instructions they sent, so I just refer to their website. They have the same instructions online. Here is all the contact information you need:


http://leatherique.com/


Telephone
904-272-0992
FAX
904-272-1534
Postal address
PO Box 2678, Orange Park, Fl. 32067-2678
Electronic mail
General Information: lrpltd@bellsouth.net
Sales :lrpltd@bellsouth.net
Customer Support: lrpltd@bellsouth.net
Webmaster: lrpltd@bellsouth.net

I sent my 126 in for a professional leather clean using Amway products. Cost me about USD20 for a 2 hour thorough cleaning job. I must say the leather looks and feel like new. All the black lines disappeared and it feels/smells like new.

Well worth it.

__________________
... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

ymsin,

I do not have a rolls royce yet. I joined the club to learn more about these cars, which model to buy/avoid, learn how to fix em, etc. So far I am very happy with it.

I am looking for a corniche or 60's Silver Cloud II LHD must be black or silver.