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I have experienced too much degradation of both leather and plastic material over the last twenty to thirty years to know what's what, leather needs feeding and
by vr46 2y ago
I have experienced too much degradation of both leather and plastic material over the last twenty to thirty years to know what's what, leather needs feeding and oiling to retain its properties, and plastic deteriorates in numerous ways from stickiness to brittleness. Leather that outlasts the car seems stupid, my friend and I have a complete set of Saab 9000 Aero seats that we salvaged from my car about 15 years ago, still waiting for either of us to turn them into useful seating for the home.
- donatj 2y agoI've had trouble with cheap bonded leather, but never with real full leather.
- vr46 2y agoYou’ve not foolishly neglected a Billingham bag’s straps over 33 years, like I did. They need replacing now because they became so dry and brittle.
- userbinator 2y agoUV is the biggest enemy of both. Also be aware that ozone generators, which some people like to use periodically to deodourise their car, will also accelerate the degradation.
- zokier 2y agoThe problem with plastics is that they encompass such huge range of materials that you can't really make any reasonable generalizations for them. The most you can say is that they are mostly hydrocarbon based, which is almost completely unhelpful.
- vr46 2y agoIndeed. My 1999 Crumpler is sticky, as are similar things from that era, but the clear windows on my ski jacket’s helmet cracked into pieces. My old 1980’s Walkman case did both on the same case with both materials as you suggested.