The Most Expensive Leather Conditioner In The World

I don't think there's anything that goes missing as much in car cleaning life as a crevice tool. Now I just wanted to jump in before the main body of the video with a very brief intro, which I forgot to do in the moment, just covering the importance of preparing your leather prior to conditioning it. Now it probably goes without saying but obviously, you know, if you go on apply something like a creamy leather conditioner on leather that hasn't been at the very least treated to a vacuum to rid it of loose dirt and debris, it can potentially go on to create a bit of an abrasive paste that, you know, might rub through factory applied coating, might degrade the colour a bit and just get in the way of the process that you're trying to perform, you know, prevent the product from being absorbed, allow some of it to sit on the surface. So, you know, obviously go ahead and at the very least thoroughly vacuum with the likes of a soft dusting brush, a crevice tool, maybe a soft detail brush to get into the nooks and crannies, maybe wipe down your leather if it requires it. Mine doesn't, it's been thoroughly deep cleaned many times before and that will just ensure that when you go on to apply your conditioner, you know, it can do its job in the Right, now that I've spent the best part of an hour, I think, on and off camera, thoroughly vacuuming the cabin out just to ensure, as I say, it's loose, free from loose dirt and debris, let's get going with the application of some of this expensive but super nice to use Swisswax leather milk and I'll chat my way through what it is, why I like it, how I use it, why you might like it and want to use it as I go. Unfortunately, it's not really a kind of video environment in which I can kind of professionally present my way through it, so I'll just have to put it to use as I usually do and, as I say, just talk my way through as I'm doing it and hopefully you can get the general gist in that respect. So, for the sake of transparency, from what I can remember, I got sent it as part of a Swisswax care pack with a bunch of other products to feature probably two and a half years ago now. I think it was mostly exterior based stuff, so this never saw the light of day until I got this car. So, I think it was the first interior video of this, the sort of mega clean where I took the seats out and put it to use and it worked really well, so it's sort of, my point is, it's been sort of semi-directly and maybe even indirectly featured a couple of times before, but I've never seen it spoken about or featured elsewhere, you know, for whatever reason. So, I thought it was worth kind of giving its own video here, because it's a really nice product and it's quite a unique product. It's a unique feeling, it's unique smelling, leaves a nice finish, as you can hopefully see on camera there, and dead easy to use. I'm probably making more of a meal of it for the sake of the video here than I need to. It's really, it's just a wipe on, either leave and wipe on product, and that's it, look at that here. So, there's not a huge amount of information about it that I can find online. The ingredients aren't listed on the bottle, but on Swissvac's website you've got a sort of a brief rundown, you know, glycerin, vitamin E, I think they were the main two sorts of, not active ingredients, but you know, the main selling points of the product. I think there's UV inhibitors in there as well, it's a sort of, helps maintain the suppleness of the leather, protect it from any further degradation from the sun, replenish its colour, albeit temporarily. It's not a permanent product, you know, it's not a protectant or a coating, but then most of Swissvac's products are traditional, aren't they, you know. As you can see I utilize, I think this probably was it, an old Swissvac's microfibre applicator, either way that seems to spread it over the surface nice and evenly, doesn't leave streaks or anything. I think you can let it soak in for as long as you want really, and then just lightly go over with the towel. So what I would recommend doing, if you're not filming a video trying to get all the shots as quickly as possible, is get it on the surface, let it sit, move on to the next part. Once you've done a, you know, the rear of the car or everything, then go back and gently wipe off just to remove any excess. I'm just working a section at a time here, but I have done that multiple times in the past where it's had a good hour or two to soak, you know. I think when I took the two front seats out they were left to soak with a couple of coats overnight, so now it's just about routinely maintaining it with a microfibre wipe over and then a microfibre buff off. I suppose you could apply it directly like this if you really wanted, you know. You can spread it by hand if you've got any tight nooks and crannies you wanted to get it into, you know. But yeah, generally speaking I'll use a soft microfibre applicator pad to spread it over, you know. You're colouring in your leather essentially, and you can see where you're going with it because I guess it's the glycerin constituent that helps recolour, not recolour, but you know, like waxing your car, sort of enhance what's already there. I haven't got any gloves on at the moment because it's, despite being late September, it's pretty sweaty betty, so a black pair of gloves will make it even sweatier. But it's a nice product, you'll get a bit of residue on your fingertips but it's not going to do any damage, so yeah, good to apply it in naked fashion if that's what tickles your fancy. And a little goes a long way, obviously you want to sort of, for the first few sections, prime the pad, but once it's sort of semi-loaded with product you only need a little bit more to keep it going. So, you know, despite it being 50 plus quid, I've had this for, as I say, getting on for three years now probably. What is it, 250 ml bottle, and there's still probably a third left there, so you know, you can argue you'll have your money's worth out of it if you use it sparingly. I certainly have, and despite how it might look here, it's not about rubbing it into the surface, there's no cleaning, you're just spreading it over. I'm just trying to be as methodical as I can, making sure I get into all the tight bits and the folds, because this will probably be it until, well, New Year maybe, this will see it through the winter. So I'd rather be a little bit more detailed and methodical than I arguably need to be. Just to make sure everywhere's been covered, you know. But maybe I'll, once we get to the front, I'll just do a few quick swipes to show you how quick and easy it can potentially be. I don't know if you can see that, you know, it's all to a layer, it just looks great. It adds a bit of sheen, but it adds depth more so than shine and gloss and doesn't feel greasy. There's a little bit of slickness to it, but yeah, it just looks great, especially on this leather, this red and black contrasting leather. Mega. Now some of you might be watching thinking, well hang on a second, that's just making the leather glossy and greasy looking, you know. Leather's not supposed to be like that, which yes, technically is true, but at the same time, with leather of a certain age, whether it be it wasn't coated with protectant from the factory, which this being 30 years old, I'm not sure whether it will have been or not in the Pininfarina. Let's say it was, you know, 30 years on, is that still there? Is it still as robust as it once was? Has it degraded? To what extent has it degraded? My point is, leather gets to a point where it needs something other than a light clean or a protectant, you know. So obviously, yeah, if you've got a really well-kept car, a brand new car, a relatively modern car, then your leather shouldn't really need conditioning. Just keep it topped up with a protectant, but for a car like this, might have been neglected, you know, for a certain amount of years. Well, it has been, I know that for sure. Something like this, just help breathe that little bit extra life back into it, that makes all the difference, you know. Because if I was just to apply a sort of invisible transparent protectant on the leather, it might prevent it from getting any worse in terms of UV damage, it might waterproof it, but in terms of the look and finish, it'd look exactly the same. If it's covered in or sporting some kinds of scuffs and scrapes and scratches and things, they're still going to be, you know, as visible as before. Whereas with a product like this, it can just kind of mask them to an extent by, you know, enhancing the surrounding colour and just draws the eye away. All I can say, really, is that, you know, this leather definitely looks a whole lot better for it. You know, I don't go out of my way to smother leather in sort of conditioning products, I understand, you know, in an ideal world you don't want to do that, but at the same time, you know, there's certain cars and certain leather types and conditions that warrant it. Now, some parts of this old Fiat leather are pretty battered and sort of beyond cleaning and conditioning, they need fully restoring. But at the same time, to prevent them from getting any worse, because the next stage of this is that, you know, sections of it start flaking off as you're getting in and out the car, it's just to keep it topped up with a product like this, you know, which works well because I have been in and out the car a lot since I've got it, you know, in getting on for two years and this certainly hasn't got any worse and arguably looks better than it did the day I picked it up, you know, so it might not be a cure but it can certainly be preventative in certain respects. Now, on perforated leather like this, I wouldn't advise applying it direct because you could clog those little perforations with sort of white product and that might dry and cause issues of its own. Even when you apply it to a pad like this, before going directly on, I'd recommend just dabbing the pad over itself like that before going in and then it should spread fairly evenly, you know. Now, a lot of leather will require a dedicated clean first, you know, that's not what this video is about really. This leather's been treated to a couple of dedicated more heavy cleans. I might include some clips of that as I'm talking now from previous videos to give you an idea of what's already gone down if you're not aware. But yeah, from this point on, it just really needs a vacuum and a top up with this kind of product, you know, maybe the odd little bit of spot cleaning here and there for the odd mark but it's nice when you can just vacuum your surfaces off and top them up, you know. And with this driver's seat that isn't as bad, I've opened these up, cleaned them and moisturised them multiple times but where the creases are gathering, you know, just ensure you get the product into those areas as much as possible, let it soak. Because if you just swipe over once or twice, it's not going to carry it into there, so it's like moisturising your face in the morning or whatever, isn't it, before you go to bed? I think you understand, you know, just work it into those those cracks that could potentially get worse if you if you overlook them. Yeah, it's kind of an addictive product, it's like so nice to use and leave such a nice finish that you just want to go over over it again, you know, and then you remember how much it is and probably you shouldn't. But yeah, sometimes after I've buffed, I'll just, once this is semi-primed but not clogged with product, you know, I'll just lightly finish up with one last pass and leave it there. Because it will go on to absorb and gas off to a point afterwards, you know. That's something I'll mention in a minute, actually one of the downsides I've found. But yeah, you know, as I say, it's a product that will just require a little bit of finessing to get that perfect look and feel. Now in terms of downsides and cons, which there are a few I've sort of discovered for myself, which to be fair might not apply to you, it just depends on your sort of opinion and preference, outside of cost of course, because I think that would be the main downside for most people. But cost aside for one second or one minute, I'd say for me one of the main downsides is the smell. It smells kind of like old-fashioned shoe or boot polish, you know. I don't think that's one of the main sort of advantageous ingredients. I think that's probably some sort of carrier or some sort of petrol-based hydrocarbon that gives it its consistency. It may be a scent that Swiss Vax have added and, you know, I just don't like it, but I don't know, it's just slightly off-putting for a product of this cost that, you know, is to condition your leather. Now on a car like this, it's old, musty, you know, it stinks of old car. It doesn't really matter, it kind of has to add to that vibe to be honest, but it just might be a bit off-putting for you if you're using it on something newer, a bit more well-kept. I just remember when I first cracked the bottle, I thought oh is that rice, you know, has it gone off or... but no, it's just the nature of it, I think. Smells quite chemically, which, you know, you wouldn't expect a nice, high-quality, slick, supple leather conditioner to smell like, at least not in my opinion, but yeah, for me that's one of the main downsides and then the other one is that it seems to gas off to the extent, in this car at least, where it leaves a bit of a film on the inside of the windows. So you're kind of sacrificing clean windows for nice-looking leather, which isn't really what you want, but I don't know, I've just noticed it. It might not be the case with all... it might be because this car's black, it lives outside, it sits in the sun, so it turns into a little oven, you know, and a certain amount of this product then evaporates off the surface and you can see it on the windows and it cleans off quite easily, but it's just a bit of a bummer when you catch it at certain angles a few days or a few weeks later, you know. There's not many products in my experience that do that. It might be because this is quite thick and, you know, the consistency of it, but it might be because I'm applying too much, I don't know. It's just something worth keeping in mind, you know, no product's perfect, is it? So, a few downsides are to be expected, but yeah, just to be honest and transparent, even if I am generally singing its praises, there are a couple of considerations. Yeah, that's looking nice. It doesn't smell bad. As I say, it kind of suits these old-school retro sort of robust looking and feeling seats. Maybe I'm just used to stupid, silly, you know, sweet scents and stuff, but I haven't got smell-o-vision technology yet, so I can't really transmute it to you, or relay it to you. Just imagine opening a pot of Kiwi shoe polish and that's what it smells like, really. Maybe not quite as potent, but it's there, you know. Now, I've had trouble with this dash since I got the car. It was quite heavily contaminated with water spots and streaks and things. I did do a dedicated video on that, I'll include some clips here, but after trying a multitude of different products from water spot removers, white vinegar, all-purpose cleaners, magic erasers, dressings, protectants, recolorants, nothing really seemed to work. So, I can't remember exactly how I got onto this, whether it was on camera or off, but I thought let's just try a bit of that over the surface, and this is what worked the best. So, I've continued on with that since then, which is a year, a year and a half ago, and with every application it gets that little bit better. I've hardly noticed the spots in the, you know, the right angles of the sun this year, which is great. You can hardly see them now, so I think the more you apply it, the better it gets, until it gets to a point where it's as good as it's realistically going to be, which is, if it's hardly noticeable, it's great. And again, I know a lot of people don't like a shiny dash, but I'd rather have a dash with a bit of sheen and no obvious visible water spots and stains than a non-shiny dash with loads of unsightly spots. So, you know, pick your poison in that respect. Also, it's the era of car, isn't it? 90s retro kind of max power era, where that kind of fits in, you know. Those were the products back then, and that's what you wanted, you know, shiny trim and plastic. So again, it kind of fits in with the car, I think. I'm not too worried about that. So, as long as I can't see the spots, which you can't really, I'm happy, you know. So, so I have had a fair few bits of interior trim from this car pulled out for various jobs and reasons, and one thing I noticed is, despite this being vinyl, you know, it's got that grainy leather look, because it's a hand-built car. It's got a bit of squish to it there, and you can see when you take it off, it's been hand-wrapped, and I can't remember whether it was either glued or stapled underneath, which is why I think it reacts quite well to a leather conditioning cream like this, more so than, you know, a water-based dressing or protectant, because it's quite decent quality, and so I was made up when I realised this would work quite well. Now, I don't dress all the trim, you know, it's pretty much just the dash and maybe a few of the lower parts of the doors where there's a bit of a scuff, maybe around the centre console, but it's good to know that potentially, you know, if you've got other areas of your car that, you know, might benefit from a similar finish, you can potentially use it on there as well. So yeah, like, look sitting here now, I don't know what the camera can see exactly, but that looks great. This bit of trim on the side of the centre console here always looks a bit faded and degraded. I don't know whether it's from previous passengers' legs rubbing up against it or whatever. I've cleaned it back multiple times before, put dressings on, they don't really seem to remedy it, but again, a little bit of this. So again, it's almost like moisturising your skin. First it goes on, you know, in creamy fashion like that, you know, you've got the white hue where you can see where you've been, which is good on dark colours. So to let that soak in for a minute or two, go in and then like lightly just finesse over it, whether it be the other side of the pad you're using, a separate towel and, you know, for a piece of 30 year old trim like that, it's probably about as good as you're going to get. I'll take that over a non-slick and glossy but worn looking bit of trim any day of the week. That bit's not getting any, just finish up there with a towel and that'll be it, yeah. You know, just round the edges off the new lease of life for the sake of a bit of leather conditioner and the excess. Nice! I'm guessing this is original, so it's worth trying to keep in decent nick, isn't it? There's a few marks around here from where a married man or a long fingernailed man's got his wedding ring and his fingernails caught in there, which is a bit of a shame, but outside of that, it's in pretty good nick considering its age and mileage, you know, well over 90,000 miles, so arguably should be a bit more worn and torn than it is. But I think once you've worked something like this over the surface just instantaneously makes that red even brighter and more more vivid and vibrant, you know, and your eyes aren't drawn to the little imperfections, it's just the overall, that looks clean, that's cool, yeah, you don't see old-school red leather inserts like that much anymore, do you? But yeah, either way, it's one of them that you can go as far as you want with really. As I say, I won't do this every time I tend to the interior, probably every third time maybe, so your eyes, anything for me? Anyway, I think that's probably it for the most part. Let's get that other side treated and I'll finish up off camera, colouring any last bits I've missed, grab some after shots to give you a decent idea of how it looks, and the light's quite nice now as well, so that'll probably help, and then I will probably jump in at the end maybe, if I haven't said enough here, just to sort of conclude and clarify my thoughts, so yeah. Right, I think that's more than enough dedicated leather conditioning for one car and one video. Now, while I'm not suggesting you run out and spunk 50 quid on a bottle of Swissfax leather milk, I just thought it was an interesting product that's definitely worked well for me and my car over the years, so it was worth a mention, especially considering the fact I haven't really seen it mentioned or featured much elsewhere. Now, Swissfax leather milk aside, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the leather conditioning process in general, you know, is it something you do, is it something you haven't done for years, and obviously what kinds of products you recommend if you're not a user of this one, but yeah, either way, thanks for watching. Obviously, I'll be back with more as soon as I realistically can be, so all I can say for now is, stay tuned for that.