Hi All,
I have owned my 1992 500E for the last 8 years and have managed to try most commercially available leather treatments to maintain/soften the seats and leather interior trim, all with varying degrees of success. When I bought my 500E, the driver's and passenger's seats were stiff due I believe in most part from having been neglected and then painted to appear restored. Most products I have tried over the last 8 years under-performed in the area of restoring the leather's original softness/flexibility.
Some products had a "leather" smell but offered little to improve the softness. Others imparted a temporary sheen but only marginal improvement in improving softness/flexibility of the leather. I was fearing that I would have to somehow remove the painted surface on the seats or at least scuff them up to allow the products to penetrate and soften the leather.
I had recently had the occasion to use a product called Leather Better that is made with beeswax and what I think is lemon oil. I have applied a thin layer twice over the last 3 weeks and have seem a noticeable improvement in softness. The application was pretty simple - work in with a clean cloth and wipe off any excess. The leather now looks considerably better than before with a slight sheen and much more supple. The lemon oil emulsifier helps the wax penetrate the leather and leaves a nice scent. It also works well on shoes and surprisingly wood products too. We have a large Douglas Fir slab dinning table that now looks new. Got mine on Amazon.
All the best,
Joe
I have owned my 1992 500E for the last 8 years and have managed to try most commercially available leather treatments to maintain/soften the seats and leather interior trim, all with varying degrees of success. When I bought my 500E, the driver's and passenger's seats were stiff due I believe in most part from having been neglected and then painted to appear restored. Most products I have tried over the last 8 years under-performed in the area of restoring the leather's original softness/flexibility.
Some products had a "leather" smell but offered little to improve the softness. Others imparted a temporary sheen but only marginal improvement in improving softness/flexibility of the leather. I was fearing that I would have to somehow remove the painted surface on the seats or at least scuff them up to allow the products to penetrate and soften the leather.
I had recently had the occasion to use a product called Leather Better that is made with beeswax and what I think is lemon oil. I have applied a thin layer twice over the last 3 weeks and have seem a noticeable improvement in softness. The application was pretty simple - work in with a clean cloth and wipe off any excess. The leather now looks considerably better than before with a slight sheen and much more supple. The lemon oil emulsifier helps the wax penetrate the leather and leaves a nice scent. It also works well on shoes and surprisingly wood products too. We have a large Douglas Fir slab dinning table that now looks new. Got mine on Amazon.
All the best,
Joe
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