Is Leather used in Aston Martins Different??
Discussion
As per above, is the leather used by AM different to most other manufacturers?
Went to give my leather a wipe down today. I use Leatherique (only used pristine clean today), which if you google, is used by many enthusiasts, F car owners etc.
Used on my 2015 Full Fat Range Rover, BMW's Ive had, my old 911 Turbo, and it was all fine, great in fact.
Used it on my V8 Vantage today and it looked really streaky and took me ages to wipe everything off. Being as OCD as I am about the interior (and exterior), it was rather worrying.
Wondering if the leather used by AM is somehow different, or if it could be down to a product used by the previous owner
If its of any relevance, it has the soft touch leather, which I have been told was only previously available on the One-77 (and now on all the Centenary Edition cars i.e. mine too)
I enjoy cleaning my car inside and out, and the stuff Ive been using for years now doesn't seem to agree with my new pride and joy
Anyone any ideas?
Thank you
Jkay
Went to give my leather a wipe down today. I use Leatherique (only used pristine clean today), which if you google, is used by many enthusiasts, F car owners etc.
Used on my 2015 Full Fat Range Rover, BMW's Ive had, my old 911 Turbo, and it was all fine, great in fact.
Used it on my V8 Vantage today and it looked really streaky and took me ages to wipe everything off. Being as OCD as I am about the interior (and exterior), it was rather worrying.
Wondering if the leather used by AM is somehow different, or if it could be down to a product used by the previous owner
If its of any relevance, it has the soft touch leather, which I have been told was only previously available on the One-77 (and now on all the Centenary Edition cars i.e. mine too)
I enjoy cleaning my car inside and out, and the stuff Ive been using for years now doesn't seem to agree with my new pride and joy
Anyone any ideas?
Thank you
Jkay
johnnyBv8 said:
It's Bridge of Weir leather as far as I know - they provide leather to various car manufacturers, so I doubt there's anything "different" about it.
Didn't think it would be, just really curious it was so different when cleaning this time. Maybe a previous product perhaps
There are 3 grades of leather available on Astons - https://www.astonmartin.com/colour-and-trim/palett... - click on "interior".
The Strathmore is the free option whilst OK, is really only just of the standard you would expect in an Aston.
The Caithness upgrade is much nicer quality, and given it has the most colour options is probably the most commonly seen leather grade.
The Balmoral upgrade is even better still but due to the limited colour choice and additional cost is rarely seen.
If you pop over to the specification section in your local dealer they will have samples of all 3 grades hung up side by side in various colours so you can compare for yourself.
The Strathmore is the free option whilst OK, is really only just of the standard you would expect in an Aston.
The Caithness upgrade is much nicer quality, and given it has the most colour options is probably the most commonly seen leather grade.
The Balmoral upgrade is even better still but due to the limited colour choice and additional cost is rarely seen.
If you pop over to the specification section in your local dealer they will have samples of all 3 grades hung up side by side in various colours so you can compare for yourself.
Don't confuse the 3 new lines of leather mentioned above for new cars with the 2 grades of leather previously offered. Top of the line cars like the DBS used the softer semi aniline leather while other car lines used regular leather as standard. The semi aniline does not behave the same when it comes to treating the surface. It is more porous and one reason it gives off that great smell which is far stronger than the regular leather.
Aston sells a leather care kit, but IIRC, it is specifically not to be used on semi aniline. Perhaps that is the reason for your streaking since 'soft' leather option sounds like you have the more expensive semi aniline. A dealer printout should confirm what leather you have.
Aston sells a leather care kit, but IIRC, it is specifically not to be used on semi aniline. Perhaps that is the reason for your streaking since 'soft' leather option sounds like you have the more expensive semi aniline. A dealer printout should confirm what leather you have.
No, it's basically the same urethane coated leather everyone else uses, it is just of high quality.
This topic has been covered before:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Don't ask me why a substantial industry for oil based leather 'conditioners' persists; I guess it's because people think the results of these products are good. But from a chemistry point of view they are the wrong product and may harm the leather over the long term by attracting dirt. Same with Leatherique - it was developed for vintage leather AFAIK, seems pretty oily/viscous to me, and their application instructions make no sense for coated leather.
This topic has been covered before:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Don't ask me why a substantial industry for oil based leather 'conditioners' persists; I guess it's because people think the results of these products are good. But from a chemistry point of view they are the wrong product and may harm the leather over the long term by attracting dirt. Same with Leatherique - it was developed for vintage leather AFAIK, seems pretty oily/viscous to me, and their application instructions make no sense for coated leather.
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