Is the 2021 Laramie Interior Real Leather?

[Skyflyer]

Is the interior of the Laramie real leather or synthetic?

Thank you.

 

[4x4Laramie]

I'm also curious. I do not believe it is.
I'm curious about recommended treatment in addition to the mild soap and water

 

[Fatherof3]

I believe it’s leather on the seating surfaces not the whole seat .

 

[UnloosedChewtoy]

I cannot quickly find my references at the moment, but if I recall correctly, the Laramie's leather is all synthetic (and maybe on the common places you touch only). Similar to a lot of furniture, where the only places with leather are where you sit/touch 99% of the time, and the other spots have other material.

I don't believe you get "real" leather until the Longhorn and Limited trims.

 

[Ramtrx]

The center of the seats are real leather. The outside is a fake leather. Definitely two types of leather.

 

[4x4Laramie]

So what is the preferred way to protect these materials?

I am going to get 303 Aerospace for the exterior trim, and I suppose also for interior trim, plastic, and vinyl.

But I am unsure of what to use on the dashboard, seats, center console, and steering wheel.

Would 303 be good on these also? So far I'm just using mild soap and hot water to clean the surfaces, but I'm afraid as time goes by I'll wish I used a protectant of some kind.

 

[KCViper]

I use Adams interior detailer for everything inside (it has SPF and microban). Then their leather cleaner and conditioner. SPF will certainly help keep the dashboard in good shape over the years of sun!!

 

[mikeru82]

I don't use any products in my Laramie. Regular use of a dash duster, windshield screen, and 20% tinted windows is all I use. I haven't had to clean up any beverage spills, but when I do it will just be with a damp cloth. Time will tell of course, but that's been my routine in my 2010 Audi (which does have real leather), and the interior still looks new except for some slight wear on the driver's seat bolsters from getting in and out of the car for the last 95k miles.

 

[HAL9001]

So what is the preferred way to protect these materials?

I am going to get 303 Aerospace for the exterior trim, and I suppose also for interior trim, plastic, and vinyl.

But I am unsure of what to use on the dashboard, seats, center console, and steering wheel.

Would 303 be good on these also? So far I'm just using mild soap and hot water to clean the surfaces, but I'm afraid as time goes by I'll wish I used a protectant of some kind.

Warning: long post, but worth the read.

I have a Limited which is loaded with leather. So, I researched the bejesus out of what the best products were to care for it. I spent hours reading everything I could find about automotive leather and how to care for it. The results were surprising, here is what everyone needs to know.

There are a lot of products being used for automotive leather ranging from vinyl synthetics, to reconstituted leather, to actual leather. RAM uses real leather for the Limited, Limited Longhorn, Rebel, and the TRX, (not sure about the Laramie, sorry OP, but I think it does contain some real leather as well). This quality leather is supplied by GST AutoLeather. Is it the best leather you can buy? No, but it is good quality leather and better than a lot of leather and synthetics found in other vehicles.

The biggest takeaway from my research into this is that the vast majority of real automotive leather is "finished" as opposed to "unfinished" or raw leather. Quality unfinished leather is luxurious and skin-soft but it would be very prone to wear, staining, water saturation, etc. So, what they do is coat the leather with a special finish, usually a plastic or other synthetic coating. Although this makes the leather stiffer and less luxurious, it does not greatly diminish the overall quality of the leather. Rather it protects it and makes real leather much more suitable for use in a demanding environment such as a vehicle interior, much like the top clear coat protects automotive paint. Unfinished leather is still sometimes used in ultra-luxury vehicles, but it's very tough to care for. So, the vast majority of automotive leather is finished, making its care actually quite simple. All that's needed is to keep it as clean as possible to avoid friction from dirt particles that will wear it out and to avoid UV and high heat which will damage it over the years. The finished coating does the rest.

So, what products to use? The cleaning part is simple, any gentle, watered-down general-purpose detergent will do nicely since you're only cleaning the synthetic topcoat and not the leather underneath. Almost all of the auto care product manufacturers sell Leather Cleaner, or to save a bundle you can make your own from a few drops of gentle detergent diluted with water. That's all it takes. Once the finished leather is clean what should be used to protect it? Well, now here's a problem, and it's due to everyone's perceptions and preconceptions about leather.

There are a lot of excellent products meant for the care of unfinished leather. These products usually contain oils and/or lanolin to re-moisturize the natural, unprotected leather which will readily absorb it. So, when we think of leather care products, we naturally think of looking for products that contain oils. This thinking is so prevalent that manufacturers of automotive leather care products often use the same or similar formulations in their products meant for finished coated leather, even though they know better. It comes down to either trying to convince people that they're wrong about automotive leather care and losing their business, or simply letting people think what they want and selling them the products that they want and making money. As proof of this take a look at most forum threads about automotive leather care. People will absolutely insist on endorsing products that contain oils and/or lanolin and will not back down. This is why many automotive leather care products still contain oils. But unless you own a Bently with skin soft, unfinished leather, this is not the right formulation for plastic-coated finished leather.

The problem is that if you use products formulated with oils or lanolin meant to soak into and protect unfinished leather, they simply will not be able to soak much, if at all, into the oil and waterproof coating of finished leather. The oil will just mostly sit on top of the coating doing usually nothing (unless the leather is very old and the outer coating is worn). The products may make it shiner and some even contain leather scents which many people like, but the products simply can't moisturize coated leather well, if at all. Fortunately, some do contain UV protectants which do provide some protection, but most don't. To make matters worse, the oil sitting on top of the finished coating can collect and hold dirt and grime which is the exact opposite of what you want.

So, what leather protection products should be used for coated finished leather? This is the really odd part. Since so many people absolutely insist on using products meant for unfinished leather on finished leather, and this is where all the profit is, there are not a lot of products properly formulated exclusively for finished leather. In fact, I know of only one. It's a German-made product called Gtechniq L1 Leather Guard AB. Since the coating on finished leather does most of the protection, the only thing left is to try to protect it against UV rays, which can break down the coating and the leather, and friction which can wear it out. L1 Leather Guard contains a formulation that protects against both. The other problem is high heat and the best thing for that is a sunshade. Unfortunately, Gtechniq L1 Leather Guard AB is ridiculously priced at around $47 for 17 ounces (500ml). The next best choice would be a product that is ok to use on finished leather and that is known to provide effective UV protection. Aerospace 303 Protectant fits that niche nicely and you can get an entire gallon for around the same price as L1 Leather Guard, and it's also available in smaller quantities for much less. Given the prevalent preconceptions about modern automotive leather care, these products certainly are not what most people would first reach for, but they are probably the best products for finished leather. There may also be other good products for finished leather protection that I haven't yet found, but you should focus on products that do not contain oils or lanolin which may attract and hold dirt and grime. They may do more harm than good.

This will remain a controversial subject and people will still insist on their favorite oil-based leather care products. This is fine and other than the oils collecting dirt, this won't hurt finished leather, and hopefully, it may provide some protection, especially for worn automotive leather. But everyone should realize that finished leather requires different products for the best of care just like wood finished with polyurethane requires different care products than unfinished wood.

For additional information see this article.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Thank you for the info. It's not quite as flammable as the "oil wars" posts but hey, at least we know now.

So, what about real diamond care and fake diamond care? Hmmm. Should I say anything?
Maybe try the fog test on your faux leather...
https://www.diamonds.pro/education/how-to-tell-if-diamonds-are-real/
(begin copied article portion)

2) Fog Test​

For the fog test, hold the diamond or ring between two fingers and breath on it with a puff of air. A light fog will form on the diamond because of the moisture and heat in your breath.

If the fog dissipates right away, the diamond is real. If it takes several seconds for the fog to disperse, it is likely a fake diamond.

Diamonds effectively conduct heat and therefore disperse heat quickly.
(end copied article portion)

Does the seat leather conduct heat well? "When the seat heater is on, yes, so it must be real..."

 

[HAL9001]

I forgot to mention that if you have ventilated seats you should never use any leather care product containing oils as that could easily clog the tiny vent holes in the perforated leather. Even if you use Aerospace 303, don't spray it on the seat directly. Spray it on a microfiber cloth and then apply only a very light coat onto the perforated leather.

 

[Willwork4truck]

I forgot to mention that if you have ventilated seats you should never use any leather care product containing oils as that could easily clog the tiny vent holes in the perforated leather. Even if you use Aerospace 303, don't spray it on the seat directly. Spray it on a microfiber cloth and then apply only a very light coat onto the perforated leather.

Really good point there.

 

[Atkpilot6]

Very good points on leather care. Some leather care products will damage the coating. That happened to my leather steering wheel cover from Wheel Skins. I had to replace it.

 

[Code2medic]

dr Beasley leather cleaner and conditioner or swissvax

 

[HAL9001]

Here is an excellent video on car leather car from a great source. He also gives several recommendations for leather care products that use ceramics rather than oils.

 

[Atkpilot6]

Thanks Hal!

 

[bman77]

Is the interior of the Laramie real leather or synthetic?

Thank you.

The interior of the Laramie is a combination of synthetic leather, vinyl (PVC) and leather. You can always tell real leather from the synthetics by the grain. Your synthetics are embossed and therefore the grain is very uniform and if you look closely you can actually see the repeat of the grain. Leather on the other hand will not have a uniform grain and a lot of times you will be able to pick out scars in your leather. When I worked at Magna and did quality control for Chrysler and GM seats, the only part of the seat that was actual leather was the middle section of the upper bolster. Everything else was a synthetic leather which is just a fancy name for soft PVC, because it wears better.

 

[traveller09]

The interior of the Laramie is a combination of synthetic leather, vinyl (PVC) and leather. You can always tell real leather from the synthetics by the grain. Your synthetics are embossed and therefore the grain is very uniform and if you look closely you can actually see the repeat of the grain. Leather on the other hand will not have a uniform grain and a lot of times you will be able to pick out scars in your leather. When I worked at Magna and did quality control for Chrysler and GM seats, the only part of the seat that was actual leather was the middle section of the upper bolster. Everything else was a synthetic leather which is just a fancy name for soft PVC, because it wears better.

is the Laramie and Rebel the same level of leather/synthetic mix? Same quality? I know the Laramie is ventalated but just trying to decide between a Laramie and Rebel.

 

[AllenRam]

is the Laramie and Rebel the same level of leather/synthetic mix? Same quality? I know the Laramie is ventalated but just trying to decide between a Laramie and Rebel.

I have the same question. I used to drive a Limited, which is full leather throughout. I test drove a Rebel today, but was really disappointed by the leather/vinyl mix, especially on the back seat. It seemed pretty cheap for a truck costing $50K. Now I'm looking at the Laramie, but haven't seen/felt the leather in person.

 

[Brutal_HO]

I have the same question. I used to drive a Limited, which is full leather throughout. I test drove a Rebel today, but was really disappointed by the leather/vinyl mix, especially on the back seat. It seemed pretty cheap for a truck costing $50K. Now I'm looking at the Laramie, but haven't seen/felt the leather in person.

The Limited/Longhorn trucks are leather except for wear surfaces against plastic parts (like the lower side plastic bits) but those seat parts are clearly cloth and don't pretend to be leather.