Sun damage to dash

[Las Palmas]

3 hours ago, Rabbers said:

 

Same here.  No discolouration whatsoever.  But the backs of the rear headrests and the tops of the seatbacks feel a little harder and drier to the touch than the unexposed surfaces.  Also, the surface of the black leather-covered "dome" on the dashboard seems to want more frequent "moisturising" after routine dusting than it originally did.

Is it real leather you have in your car? Thought that since 2005 Lexus was using synthetic leather.

[steve2006]

Having spent the first 12 years in Japan and the rest here in the UK these were my front seats after 25 years.

 

[Rabbers]

1 hour ago, Las Palmas said:

Is it real leather you have in your car? Thought that since 2005 Lexus was using synthetic leather.

Insofar as the material in question absorbs the cleaning liquid I occasionally use on it, the level of porosity thus evidenced is so akin to that of real leather as to lead me to believe it actually is. This, to all intents and purposes, is good enough for me regardless of whether or not it came from a dead animal. 🤔

[Bluemarlin]

13 hours ago, NemesisUK said:

Automotive leathers are all coloured with UV resistant dyes and PU coated. I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Agreed. Also the windscreen/windows block UV light.

[Las Palmas]

5 minutes ago, Rabbers said:

Insofar as the material in question absorbs the cleaning liquid I occasionally use on it, the level of porosity thus evidenced is so akin to that of real leather as to lead me to believe it actually is. This, to all intents and purposes, is good enough for me regardless of whether or not it came from a dead animal. 🤔

Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean that synthetic leather is worse (or better) than leather. Just mean that it is more correct to find another name than leather to a fabric that is not leather.

The ventilated material in the seats of our CT is far more comfortable than the leather we have had in several cars before. That the seats in top level cars from MB are not leather, but leather seats can be ordered is something I find good. Here, where temperature is between warm and hot all year, real, not ventilated leather is not at all comfortable. When leather is in cars in cold climate it is not comfortable either. Leather is comfortable in desires house temperature between 18 and 24 degrees Celsius and some old leather chairs are comfortable and seems to last forever if treated well.

 

[Las Palmas]

8 minutes ago, Bluemarlin said:

Agreed. Also the windscreen/windows block UV light.

Windscreen block UV rays. Side windows do not. They block no more UV than any kind of glass does of same thickness. Not much. Have installed Llumar UV blocking folie in all windows except windscreen. Also Moon/Sun-roof. Transparent in front doors, slightly dark in rear doors.

Toyota promised in 2000 that they would put UV filter in all windows, but have not done so.

[NemesisUK]

2 hours ago, Las Palmas said:

Windscreen block UV rays. Side windows do not. They block no more UV than any kind of glass does of same thickness. Not much. Have installed Llumar UV blocking folie in all windows except windscreen. Also Moon/Sun-roof. Transparent in front doors, slightly dark in rear doors.

Toyota promised in 2000 that they would put UV filter in all windows, but have not done so.

The glass in my RC is all UV filtering. Listed as such in the build spec and by etching on the glass itself.

[Rabbers]

11 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

The glass in my RC is all UV filtering. ….[and described as such] by etching on the glass itself.

And already was in the 2016 model too.

[Las Palmas]

15 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

The glass in my RC is all UV filtering. Listed as such in the build spec and by etching on the glass itself.

Lucky you. I have an UV detecting device and door windows blocked less than 5% UV without folio from Llumar. Only windscreen block 100%.

[Rabbers]

6 minutes ago, Las Palmas said:

 … door windows blocked less than 5% UV… 

Which could well explain why one sees so many cars, even quite decent ones, with side-window screens of the type held by suction-cups.

[Las Palmas]

23 minutes ago, Rabbers said:

Which could well explain why one sees so many cars, even quite decent ones, with side-window screens of the type held by suction-cups.

Why they do not have UV protection folie installed is more than I can understand. I paid 350€ for having UV protection in all door windows, rear window and sunroof; it is not possible to see that there is folie on and it is scratch proof, does not start to bubble like a lot of the home installed folios in cars and may last as long as the car. How would I know?

https://llumar-me.com/what-we-do/automotive/clear-window-films/

Truck drivers in the US have a lot of skin cancer problems in their left arm. In UK sun is not that harsh, but with ozone layer deteriorating due to human mistreating of the planet it will come.

Children are having more soft skin so rear windows; children are normally seated on back seats, should be protected and it is a disaster that car companies are not telling the truth about how much UV protection they have in the windows. 5 - 25% is better than none, but 100% is easy to achieve.

 

[Winston]

17 hours ago, NemesisUK said:

TBF sofas aren't designed to survive extreme heat and UV.

I have red leather interior in my RC and it sits in the full sun, the rear screen faces the sun in the hottest part of the day. The rear head restraints are still the same shade as those parts not in direct sunlight. OK, only 3yrs old but I doubt I'll see a change in my lifetime.

Automotive leathers are all coloured with UV resistant dyes and PU coated. I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Thanks again for your comments everyone, it seem from what you have said that I needn’t worry too much, but I will think about having something in the boot for when it’s left directly in the sun on those (now seemingly more frequent) hot summer days

[Rabbers]

 

4 hours ago, Las Palmas said:

….I do not mean that synthetic leather is worse (or better) than leather…

Horses for courses, Each to his own, etc., etc.  Evidence for me that faux-leather can be a good choice in terms of physical durability and long-term appearance, especially in cars that see a lot of use with cabins subject to soiling and wear, is provided not by any car I have personally owned (though I once had an otherwise very nice Opel GT with vinyl seats and the less said about them the better) but by a sofa in tan “Naugahyde” that stands in the reception area of a hotel where I sometimes stop, more out of habit and sentiment than preference, when driving through Germany.  This truly hideous specimen of American-influenced Fifties taste probably originated in a  military base and already qualified as a vintage piece when I first clapped eyes on it more than thirty years ago.  Unlike the hotel’s owners, their guests and the rest of the furnishings, this monstrosity still looks in pristine condition, and when one thinks of the abuse to which it must have at least occasionally been subjected down the years, one can only admire the survival capability of a high-quality low-maintenance easy-to-clean industrial product.

[Bluemarlin]

3 hours ago, Las Palmas said:

Windscreen block UV rays. Side windows do not. They block no more UV than any kind of glass does of same thickness. Not much. Have installed Llumar UV blocking folie in all windows except windscreen. Also Moon/Sun-roof. Transparent in front doors, slightly dark in rear doors.

Toyota promised in 2000 that they would put UV filter in all windows, but have not done so.

Obviously I can't speak for all models, but my side windows say "Lamisafe", which from a quick google search suggests they block up to 99% UV rays.

"Lamisafe consists of two glass layers and a UV-blocking resin film in between. The design, in addition to blocking up to 99% of UV rays, effectively prevents fragments from scattering during breakage and objects from entering vehicle interiors. Lamisafe is used for the windshield and/or door glass of cars worldwide. Going forward, AGC aims to increase the number of car models that use this product."

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131021006669/en/AGC-Automotive-Window-Glass-Products-Earn-The-Skin-Cancer-Foundations-Seal-of-Recommendation

 

[Las Palmas]

11 minutes ago, Bluemarlin said:

Obviously I can't speak for all models, but my side windows say "Lamisafe", which from a quick google search suggests they block up to 99% UV rays.

"Lamisafe consists of two glass layers and a UV-blocking resin film in between. The design, in addition to blocking up to 99% of UV rays, effectively prevents fragments from scattering during breakage and objects from entering vehicle interiors. Lamisafe is used for the windshield and/or door glass of cars worldwide. Going forward, AGC aims to increase the number of car models that use this product."

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131021006669/en/AGC-Automotive-Window-Glass-Products-Earn-The-Skin-Cancer-Foundations-Seal-of-Recommendation

 

That is what Toyota promised Danish importer in 1998 would happen in year 2000 for all models. The CT we have has somewhere between 5 and 15% reduction on door windows and 100 in windscreen. I knew that Toyota had promised UV protection long ago and was surprised to see that the 2017 model CT did not have real protection only slight reduction. With UV meter reading 7 outside in the sun, through the windows of the car it would be above 6.

VW Golf also has no real UV protection in door windows. All glass has more or less UV reduction.

Cars without laminated windows will not have UV protection only reduction.

[Las Palmas]

22 minutes ago, Rabbers said:

 

Horses for courses, Each to his own, etc., etc.  Evidence for me that faux-leather can be a good choice in terms of physical durability and long-term appearance, especially in cars that see a lot of use with cabins subject to soiling and wear, is provided not by any car I have personally owned (though I once had an otherwise very nice Opel GT with vinyl seats and the less said about them the better) but by a sofa in tan “Naugahyde” that stands in the reception area of a hotel where I sometimes stop, more out of habit and sentiment than preference, when driving through Germany.  This truly hideous specimen of American-influenced Fifties taste probably originated in a  military base and already qualified as a vintage piece when I first clapped eyes on it more than thirty years ago.  Unlike the hotel’s owners, their guests and the rest of the furnishings, this monstrosity still looks in pristine condition, and when one thinks of the abuse to which it must have at least occasionally been subjected down the years, one can only admire the survival capability of a high-quality low-maintenance easy-to-clean industrial product.

So you had a GT. Nur Fliegen ist Schöner. Wish I had kept it.

[Rabbers]

47 minutes ago, Las Palmas said:

So you had a GT. Nur Fliegen ist Schöner. Wish I had kept it.

Yes indeed, a 1973 1900cc acquired in Germany together with my Danish wife.  I subsequently concluded it was better suited to a bachelor lifestyle and sold it in Denmark (with my wife’s consent) very gratifyingly at three times the original German price after getting my first company car - another Opel, a Commodore,- which made me understand just how nice a drive the GT had been by comparison.  Ours was originally yellow and resprayed anthracite grey after a minor but unsightly accident we had in Hamburg.  Although it was unkindly known as “the poor man’s Corvette” and was frankly downright uncomfortable and a bit noisy, I too wish we had kept it.  No question that it had a lot of personality. 

[Las Palmas]

5 minutes ago, Rabbers said:

Yes indeed, a 1973 1900cc acquired in Germany together with my Danish wife.  I subsequently concluded it was better suited to a bachelor lifestyle and sold it in Denmark (with my wife’s consent) very gratifyingly at three times the original German price after getting my first company car - another Opel, a Commodore,- which made me understand just how nice a drive the GT had been by comparison.  Ours was originally yellow and resprayed anthracite grey after a minor but unsightly accident we had in Hamburg.  Although it was unkindly known as “the poor man’s Corvette” and was frankly downright uncomfortable and a bit noisy, I too wish we had kept it.  No question that it had a lot of personality. 

I did not find it noisy and also not uncomfortable. It was a perfect little fun car. Were on a couple of tours through Europe and one down through Morocco in it. Had the plastic on the seats changed to first class leather and that rather cheap in Rabat or Casablanca (long time ago).

[Rabbers]

1 hour ago, Las Palmas said:

…Had the plastic on the seats changed to first class leather …

Great move, that would have made me a lot more reluctant to part with the car.  Did you also get the platform behind the seats re-lined?  I remember  carpeting it because the surface got so scratched.  I guess I was always sensitive to hard suspensions because I remember not being able to sleep after a long day’s autobahn drive in the GT because I would be trembling all over for several hours. 

[Las Palmas]

1 hour ago, Rabbers said:

Great move, that would have made me a lot more reluctant to part with the car.  Did you also get the platform behind the seats re-lined?  I remember  carpeting it because the surface got so scratched.  I guess I was always sensitive to hard suspensions because I remember not being able to sleep after a long day’s autobahn drive in the GT because I would be trembling all over for several hours. 

As I remember there was roof for our luggage in a room behind the seats, and it must have been looking pretty well as my wife would have mentioned it.

Suspension in the GT was just fine for that kind of car. Hard suspension: Lancia EVO 2 without rubber parts in the suspension made for rally, loud noise and very stiff but extremely easy to drive as it went directly where it was pointed. Bought from one of the pro drivers in southern Germany. He needed the new model.