Help: leather wearing, headlight lens foggy

[AlanS]

1. What's the best leather conditioner? I'm starting to see wear on the side bolsters.
2. Best Headlight lens refinisher? Foggy lens.

[mrbrian200]

For the leather, Mothers "VLR" is the best I've found to date. Automotive leather has a vinyl barrier/coating to make it more durable. The leather tanning oils are locked into the leather underneath that, so you want to use a conditioner compatible with vinyl. Most 'fine leather' conditioners such as Lexol don't do anything for the vinyl coating, and can even damage it making problems worse.

Trick is: if it soaks in after 20 minutes to an hour or so it's designed for automotive (vinyl coated) leather. If the conditioner just makes an oily film that sits on top forever until you wipe it off it's not compatible.

Headlamp restoration: Dupli Color HLR-100 kit. All of the others I've seen don't adequately protect the acrylic lens after you've polished it which will just cloud up and oxidize again in short order.

[abscate]

I'll go with CONNOLY leather conditioner. Makes your Volvo smell like a Rolls Royce, on a Yugo budget

[mrbrian200]

I keep a squirt bottle of cologne in the door pocket or glove box. Don't need to squirt it. Just leave the top cap off and put it in there. I love the look/feel of the leather seats. But I don't seem to appreciate essence of dead cow after being closed up on a hot day. The bottle of cologne seems to cover it subtly but effectively. Smells pleasing as opposed to any of those wretched auto air fresheners I've ever tried. And lasts several years. Tried several different ones I had on hand and decided the Tommy Hilfiger cologne was just right in the Volvo. Similar to Drakkar but not as sharp and doesn't grab your attention when you enter the vehicle. From their website: "apple, spearmint and citrus...accented with cinnamon, cranberry, and orange".

Well, once in awhile I will squirt it...on myself.