2020 Corvette display/dealer tour car seats

[corvette1953]

As many of you may be aware I have been appalled at the condition/looks of the seats of these cars that are being shown around the country. I found some high resolution photos of theses seats and printed them out and took them to a small family owned tannery that has been producing leather hides since the horse and buggy days. I met with the owner and his son yesterday. I laid out the photos and asked what they though about these seating surfaces. The both said at the same time "Denim Transfer" what the heck is that I replied. With out going through the long explanation it boils down that the indigo ink used in "blue jeans" rubs off onto the leather causing the staining we see on these cars. The also noted high end designer jeans have more indigo ink than say a pair of 501 Levi's. There is really no way to prevent this from taking place, but ways to combat it. One way is to set the dye and remove excess by repeated washings. Years ago soaking them in vinegar would work but the dyes have changed and it really doesn't work any longer. The next way is to apply a leather protectant they mentioned a couple but I am reluctant to mention or recommend anything I myself have not tried so check the internet and read reviews on the products out there. They did point out the perforations in the seating surface needed special attention when applying a protectant. the basic seating surface of the leather is polished giving that smooth feel, when the perforations are installed the inside of the hole is not polished and has rough finish, as the punches become dull over time these holes become rougher when new. They recommended that you make sure the protectant gets into these little holes. They also recommended for the first year applying the protectant every 3 months, then follow the manufactures recommendations there after. The protectant WILL NOT STOP the transfer it will lessen it, but the key is that it makes the dye wipe off much more easily, they say a quality baby wipe will do the trick from then on. They also pointed out on dark seats don't be fooled into thinking the indigo dye isn't there it is. Take this article with a grain of salt, I have not tested any of this nor indorse it. I can say I will be putting some form of protectant on my seats and until I do I'm stuck with driving in the nude.

[John]

Terrifically useful thread post corvette1953. Thank you from us all.

I enthusiastically recommend Zaino Z-9 leather cleaner and Z-10 i(its leather conditioner cousin). They are both fantastic, and not only do they work outstandingly well, they have the best smell in the world (just imagine you are standing in the highest quality leather shop in the world). While a touch more expensive than some other leather products, they last and last (I have three cars all with leather interiors and I use a bottle of each every year).

www.zainostore.com

In fact buying another bottle of Z-9 is on 🥶my to do list before my C8 arrives (a self-granted, stocking stuffer for sure).

[jackfrostpdx]

I went with two-tone seats to help mitigate the "dirty" look with full grey seats but I hadn't considered the protectant solution offered by your leather experts.

Clearly whatever GM used on the test cars is not enough for auto-show type traffic.

[joemessman]

Thanks for the information. No denim in my car!

[dcbingaman]

I believe it. New blue jeans have stained a lot of stuff - like new rayon cloth chairs. Wash them in hot water first and it really cuts down on the dye shedding problem.

[MReid]

Good to know. No jeans in my cars.

[JB]

Black seats makes life easy. As beautiful as the other colors might be...for my cars black is beautiful too.

i would suggest with all the traffic on the show cars I do believe it was like 39,000 times an owner would have entered the car....

thats a lot of days...when you think about it that way...

anyways..i found leatherique to be a great cleaning product.

call them and ask for “pristine clean. “

Simple wipe on and wipe off. They use this on ferraris and rolls royces...and other exotics.

i find it to be excellent


http://www.leatherique.com/do_it_you...irections.html

[Ralston]

Tell your friend in blue jeans: "Just put them in the frunk."

[68roadster]

Thank you 53 for bringing this up. I would guess there is a difference between GT1 "Mulan" and the GT2 "napa" seats. From my experience with furniture, the composite leather is tough and less likely to fade. No idea about soaking up dye from clothing, but have not seen this.

[corvette1953]

Thank you 53 for bringing this up. I would guess there is a difference between GT1 "Mulan" and the GT2 "napa" seats. From my experience with furniture, the composite leather is tough and less likely to fade. No idea about soaking up dye from clothing, but have not seen this.

I have never seen the different seats myself yet. While I was at the tannery the subject of "Mulan", "Napa", and "Microfiber Suede" came up. Mulan has more grain to its surface where Napa is much more smooth no grain to it at all. The microfiber suede is man made, the rule of thumb is 68% polyester and 32% polyurethane, this combination is general and may not be the content of the C8's material used.

[Stevesam]

Having seen the gray seats recently in Texas the condition is very poor representation of GM s new flagship sports car interior .
In the past I had an issue with the fit and quality of a 2017 Z06 driver s seat. The dealership ordered and replaced the whole seat cover.
Chevrolet could have at least overnited
new seat covers and had them replaced on the travelling demo C 8 s .

[meyerweb]

Regarding Napa vs. Mulan: even on the GT2 seats, the side bolsters are Mulan. Probably because it wears better. Only the seating insert (the center, ventilated portion) on the seat and back are Napa. And if you get the suede inserts, there's no Napa on the seats at all.

My Mulan leather bolsters and suede inserts on my '15 C7 with 36,000 miles look pretty close to new. They're black, which probably hides some dye rub off, but that's OK. The leather on all Corvette seats, no matter Napa or Mulan, is coated in polyurethane (plastic), so shouldn't be too hard to keep clean as long as you do it before they get really filthy.

I suspect the seats in those travelling circus cars have the equivalent of 50 years worth of people getting in and out of the seats. Thousands of people each day they're shown. I might get in and out of my car 1,000 times a year.

Having seen the gray seats recently in Texas the condition is very poor representation of GM s new flagship sports car interior .
In the past I had an issue with the fit and quality of a 2017 Z06 driver s seat. The dealership ordered and replaced the whole seat cover.
Chevrolet could have at least overnited
new seat covers and had them replaced on the travelling demo C 8 s .

While the wear on the seats doesn't surprise me, it DOES surprise me than GM doesn't care enough about how the cars show to fix the seats.

[joehebertiii]

They should have made the gray a darker shade. I was disappointed when I saw it. It’s much closer to white however I will get there GT2 seats in gray two/tone.

[corvette1953]

Because there seems to be interest in this thread I have tried to contact Faureica who I understand is the OEM suppler for the seats. As of today I have not gotten any response back to my inquires. I will update should I gather any other information from them. I think it's only fair to get their recommendations on care of the seats they are providing for our cars.