I have been researching different detailing products recently, and the one area where I was completely stumped was on how to take care of the leather. My 986 has no-vinyl, everything is leather, even the air vents. While I have not found a definitive answer the seats appear to be coated leather, but my dash has a different texture. I even emailed Porsche to ask about the different types of leathers used, but received a boilerplate response recommending their car care kit. Then I stumbled across
this on Rennlist in their 996 forum.
Quote:
The leather Porsche uses on the dash contains almost no moisture - it is specifically dried so there will be less "movement" as it goes through the big temperature changes that can occur on the dash. Introducing moisture back into the leather by using a conditioner will cause the leather to "move" with temperature changes and possibly break loose from the surface it is glued to. Here's what Porsche has to say about the leather used on the dash...
"All leather is not the same. We work with classic upholstery leather, but we also work with low-shrinkage leather. The instrument paneling, for example, can get extremely hot in summer. If the material starting tightening, what would that look like after a while? So we're talking about leather whose residual moisture has been largly removed, which means that it won't be able to shrink later." (Christophorus, No. 276 January 1999)
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It would appear you shouldn't use anything other than a damp towel to care for any leather you don't regularly touch, like the dash. I wish I had found this out years ago, I have been applying leather conditioner to the dash, which apparently has been doing more harm than good. Luckily, my 986 has been garaged for most of it's life and I always use a windshield reflector. I will no longer be using leather cleaner/conditioner on anything I don't touch, but I may use a light interior cleaner like 1Z Cockpit Premium to give the dash some extra UV protection.