Gtechniq L1 Leather Guard

[TimST2]

Has anyone used Gtechniq L1 Leather Guard?

https://gtechniq.com/products/auto/l1-leather-guard-ab

I've noticed a very small amount of wear on the driver's Recaro seat in my ST. It cleans up completely with a fresh application of Autoglym Leather Care Balm but it quickly attracts dye from my jeans as it's slightly rough and it's the bit you slide in over every time you sit in the car.

I was looking at protective coatings and found Gtechniq L1 Leather Guard. The 100ml bottle is reasonably priced and after a bit of research looks to be the best product to protect it from further wear.

Quote

L1 Leather Guard forms a durable abrasion resistant matte finish which offers the best ever protection against abrasion damage ... Friction protection is particularly important on seat bolsters, seat piping and any other high wear areas ... L1 gives 3 to 12 months durability depending on how high-wear the area protected is.

 

[The_Venom]

It's good stuff but I personally use dodo juice supernatural leather cleaner and sealant, out of all the ones I've tried it's the best I've found in my opinion

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[TimST2]

It's the friction protection and abrasion resistance that I'm after so I've ordered some of the Gtechniq. Will do a quick review once I've used it...

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[zain611]

Check out colourlock they have a foam cleaner, conditioner and sealant which says prevents friction damage and jeans dye transfer. 

 

Before and after 

[TimST2]

Right, so the Gtechniq L1 arrived this morning and I've just finished applying it.

The wear:

After applying Autoglym Leather Care Balm:

After applying Gtechniq L1 (to the entire upper and lower bolster):

The Gtechniq says to apply another coating after 24 hours so I'll do that tomorrow afternoon.

So looking good, but of course the proof will be in the protection it provides...

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[TimST2]

Okay, so exactly three months have passed, and remember I commute in this car every day...

I gave the car a full interior clean today, including Leather Care Balm on the seats, and some more Gtechniq L1 on the drivers seat.

I didn't bother taking any photos because essentially it looked exactly the same as before. The difference was, although you could see the wear again, it felt smooth to the touch. After treating the seats it was invisible again.

So it looks like the Gtechniq L1 does a good job of protecting it. I'll still bring it up with Ford at service (just before the end of the warranty) and see what they say, but assuming they don't want to replace the seat, it looks like it won't get any worse if I keep it protected.

[zain611]

@TimST2 that's something I noticed when I use the colourlock products. On my car the driver side right bottom gets shiny quickly but goes back to matte when cleaned.

I try to clean, condition and seal the leather every 3 months if I remember. 

[TimST2]

L1 doesn't make it shiny, no more than untreated anyway. It adds a low friction matte coating to stop wear without changing the appearance.

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[TimST2]

On 2/24/2019 at 6:44 PM, TimST2 said:

I'll still bring it up with Ford at service (just before the end of the warranty) and see what they say, but assuming they don't want to replace the seat, it looks like it won't get any worse if I keep it protected.

So that service was today, and incredibly they're going to replace it under warranty! 

[TimST2]

So one final update:

The leather cover on the drivers seat was replaced 8 months ago, and after applying L1 to that, 6,000 miles later there's no sign of any wear.

I'm going to keep using L1 every 6 months on both the ST and the Caterham (which will have leather seats and a leather centre tunnel) when it arrives.

[zain611]

On 12/7/2019 at 7:33 PM, TimST2 said:

So one final update:

The leather cover on the drivers seat was replaced 8 months ago, and after applying L1 to that, 6,000 miles later there's no sign of any wear.

I'm going to keep using L1 every 6 months on both the ST and the Caterham (which will have leather seats and a leather centre tunnel) when it arrives.

Good to hear. Might keep my eye on this stuff as my local detailing shop has it and not the colour lock stuff I have. Need to clean and protect my seats again in the Christmas holidays