[tracerit]

I'm not too flashy and i'd like to try to obtain a matte dry look. I heard that Meguiar's NXT is pretty good for giving the car a "darker" color exterior (i know i have TiAg haha).

As for the leather, i'd also like to keep a dry matte appearance. I'm not sure which part is leather and which is leatherette but i read that any leather product will be good for leatherette as well.

My steering wheel has gotten quite shiny, is there a way to mattify it without making it slippery?

I just want something good and inexpensive to wash and maintain the car, nothing fancy, i'll probably wash it once a month.

[bulldozer3]

I've been using Meguiars Interior detail (clean and protect - something like that) for the past month. It dosen't leave a shiny or greasy finish like the Armor All type products...been happy with it. Looks like the car just got home from the dealer - which I guess it has since its only been a month

[bma]

Try Einszett Cockpit premium for a matte look inside. For leather I like Zaino Z9 and Z10, but it does leave a little shine after you apply the Z10. I haven't tried it, but I bet Z9 would work on the steering wheel, to clean and leave a matte finish.

As for the exterior, I think you'll be hard pressed to get a matte look on the paint without laying down some vinyl

[jopa489]

Alright, you have presented three basic questions so I'll toss three responses back at you.

First up, the exterior. LSPs (last step products) produce different levels of depth, shine, and gloss. Megs M16 might be what you're looking for. It's a "brigher" wax, as opposed to a wax which offers tons of depth. If that's the look you're going for, M16 might be worth a shot. Unfortunately, it's not sold in the US anymore so you might have a difficult time finding some. Obviously, it's not going to transform your paint into a matte finish, but compared to some other LSPs it usually results in less depth.

If your car has leather, everything is leather - there shouldn't be any 'ette in the car. The Leatherique twins (Prestine Clean and Rejuvenator Oil) will leave your leather looking new as opposed to treated. PB Leather Stuff is great for maintenance cleaning too.

The shiny steering wheel is a tricky issue. I would recommend NOT using leather cleaner there, at least initially. You need to strip the build up of oils and dirt from the leather first, that's what is causing the sheen. You could use an APC (diluted accordingly) like Megs D103 and a toothbrush for starters. Some also have luck using dish soap like Dawn. Conditioners will make the steering wheel slippery, and that's dangerous.

Of course, prevention is always better than repair. I usually wipe my wheel down with a clean, damp (with water) MF every month or so. This removes the oils that have accumulated on the wheel and leaves it looking matte and new.

[tracerit]

the LEatherique items linked above looks quite nice. Description says they'll give a matte finish afterwards too. How long would an item that size last?

I was thinking about going with a bunch of Meguiar's products from Walmart but the cost isn't that much more for Detailed Imaging stuff. Is there a forum discount code we can use?

[jopa489]

The bottle of Leatherique will last you a long while if you're just doing your own car. It's only something you use occasionally, not every time you wash the car. There's a great tutorial on proper use of Leatherique here.

DI is a forum sponsor and the always-active 10% off coupon code is e90post. They also run sales and feature daily/weekly/monthly specials, so check their site often.