How should I care for the leather in my Ferrari?

Ferraris are special cars, and special care must be taken to keep them in excellent condition. Since so much of the interior of most Ferraris is covered with leather, proper leather care is crucial to the upkeep of your car's interior.

The leather for Ferrari interiors is manufactured by the English company "Connolly." Connolly has been tanning hides for use in high-end automobiles such as Rolls Royce, Jaguar, and Ferrari for many years, and has been a leather tanner and currier since 1878. Off-the-shelf leather conditioners that may be suitable for leather interiors in more common cars are not suitable for the restoration and preservation of your Ferrari leather. There are a few options that contentious Ferrari owners employ to keep their leather in great shape, as well as restoring damaged leather.

Connolly Hide Food
The "official" product to use on Connolly leather is a cleaning and conditioning agent sold by Connolly called "Connolly Hide Food." It is a lanolin waxy cream containing white spirit, intended for conditioning and cleaning your leather surfaces. Many Ferrari owners use this product with much success to keep their Connolly hides in top condition. It is not, however, the best choice for restoring Connolly leather. If your leather is in good shape and you want to keep it that way, then Connolly Hide Food might be a good option for you.

Hide Food comes in a small round container, and is available at most Ferrari dealers. To apply Hide Food, the container recommends you use a soft cloth, changing cloth surfaces frequently. Many Ferrari owners, however, report better results if the cream is applied with your bare hands. Apply the cream evenly, but sparingly, to all the leather surfaces in your car. Leave overnight, then buff with a soft, dry cloth.

Leatherique
Leatherique products are becoming more and more popular among Ferrari owners as the leather products of choice for restoring, cleaning, and conditioning leather interiors. Leatherique has a Web site at http://www.leatherique.com/, and offers special discounts to Ferrari owners. The fact that Leatherique can restore damaged leather in addition to maintaining the appearance of healthy leather has caused many Ferrari owners to switch to using Leatherique instead of Connolly Hide Food (the author of this FAQ included). There are other benefits to using Leatherique as well, including the absence of wax build-up that is common among Hide Food users.

Leatherique's leather cleaning system is comprised of two products: Rejuvenator Oil and Prestine Clean. The Rejuvenator Oil penetrates the pores in your Ferrari's leather, restoring suppleness and driving dirt to the surface. It should be liberally applied to all leather surfaces with your bare hands, and allowed to soak in overnight. Best results occur if you cover your leather surfaces in plastic, park the car in the sun with the windows rolled up, and allow a "steam room" effect to heat the oil and allow it to penetreate deep into the pores of the leather. If the leather is very dry or brittle, multiple applications over a few days will create astonishing results.

Once your leather has been treated with Rejuvenator Oil and left at least overnight, Prestine Clean should be applied to the surfaces with your bare hands. You may use a toothbrush to rub extra dirty areas. Let Prestine Clean stand for 10-15 minutes, then rub the surface in a circular motion with a clean terry cloth towel to remove dirt. For best results, you should warm your bottle of Prestine Clean (either in the microwave or under hot tap water) before applying the solution.

Leatherique also sells compound to fill cracks in leather, as well as water-based dyes for Connolly leathers. The water-based dyes are a perfect color match, and are easier to apply and better for your leather than the older laquer-based dyes. For more information, visit their Web site.

Contributions to this FAQ by: Steve Jenkins