So I've sat in a lariat but not a king ranch so I don't know the thickness of it and all but I do know that with saddles for horses you can apply kneets foot oil?? I think that's what it is called. To help condition the thick leather saddles.

Is the leather here the same and do I need to apply this same oil? And with it being perforated seats....(I assume cause of heathed and cooled seats?) would I need to stick to only liquids not gels?

 

I use the king ranch leather conditioner. It has worked great for years on my 2009KR. I just treated my 2017 KR with it today.

 

Lexol. Use it on all our leather including the motorcycle seats. Awesome stuff, cleans penetrates and protects.

 

The leather in the king ranch isn't much different than the leather in the other series trucks, just a different color and inlays. Ford stopped using the king ranch saddle leather pre-2011...evidently people said it was too hard to care for...I think it was probably just eating into their profit margin.

 

Chris,

You are going to paralyze yourself with over analyzing this truck! There is a true thing as paralysis by analysis. At some point, pull the trigger and get what you want. Go get some seat time in everything you are considering and get it over with.

You obviously want one, just decide which is best for you. None of us can make that decisions for you.

 

I would not recommend Neatsfoot oil for the interior of a KR or any other auto for that matter. Its an OIL made from the shin bones and foot bones of cattle (but NOT the hooves). Sure works well on a saddle, but a saddle take hard outside exposure wear.

Neatsfoot is oily and attracts dirt and dust, hence you use Saddle Soap, before you apply the Neatsfoot...

 

I second this. Bought some when I had my previous 2016 King Ranch, and continue to use it on my Lariat today. It is really not that expensive, and it smells great. I have noticed a very small amount of the black dye (my leather seats are black) coming off on my light-colored microfiber application cloth when I clean the seats with this KR product.

I've used the Lexol product, but Ford seats typically do not use a high-quality enough leather for Lexol to be worth the money. Lexol is a two-stage product, one bottle for cleaning...another for conditioning. I find it works better on harder, thicker leather...like a Connolly leather found in some upscale British cars. Worked great on my Range Rovers.

 

I use Lexol on my non-King Ranch seats. I really like the conditioner, but the cleaner never did much.

I think that the 2017 King Ranch seats are a thinly coated aniline-dye leather, much like my 2009 seats. I say this because they still absorb the conditioner (my cars with surface coated pigmented leather don't really absorb much), have the less slippery surface than the surface-coated Lariat (I like less slippery), and will leave a little of the aniline dye on the rag when conditioning them. (I've never had a treated seat leave dye on the cloth.)

Does anyone know for sure what leather style is in the King Ranch? Whatever it is, my 2017 King Ranch sure feels comfortable to my and my family!

 

Your analysis is interesting. Having examined the leather in a 2017 KR truck, and owning a 2017 Lariat truck, and having owned a 2016 KR truck, I'm observant to the leather. I believe the 2017 KR leather and 2017 Lariat leather is identical leather with different dye, but the KR seats are covered with more leather whereas the Lariat seat offers some parts leather and some parts vinyl. I use the KR leather conditioner as I mentioned, and it is interesting to note where the conditioner absorbs into the leather and where it just shines the surface and remains on top as a greasy coating. Here is a pic of one of my seats and what I feel is leather vs vinyl. All of the sides and rear of the seats are vinyl, and the headrest covering is vinyl as well:

 

Spray 303 Aerospace protectant on every few months and you'll be good to go.

 

Glad I got up early this morning to check the site as the wife and I are going out today to compare the King Ranch and Lariat interiors. This info on the seat comparison is very helpful.

Comfort is a much higher priority for us with this purchase than with our previous truck.

I appreciate your aptitude and detail in reporting tm, it's been a great asset in selecting our next Super Duty.

 

Chris, im all for asking questions, but you really need to get down to a dealer and at the least take a look at all the trucks. It will make the decision much easier. Youll actually be able to see the little things that we all talk about.

 

Thanks, f350ktm. Glad to be of any help. I think you'll find both the KR and Lariat interiors to be nice. The KR seats do feel a little more special, in my opinion...but not necessarily any more comfortable to me. But individual results will vary, so you're doing the right thing by checking out both.

 

The current King Ranch leather is nothing like the leather they used back in 2004-2008. That was the more like real saddle leather. Folks complained about the flaws, But real leather has flaws. Animal skins have brand marks, scars, stretch marks, etc. When Ford started to Air Condition seats, this older style of leather was no longer used.

The new truck use a leather that is more manufactured and less natural. Hence they can control the material and not have flaws in the surface. They also needed to perforate the seats for the A/C and true saddle leather was too think for that to work effectively.

Neats Foot oil works well to lubricate leather. But it will DARKEN the leather. If you use Neatsfoot, expect to see your leather darken with each use.

If you want to maintain your exisiting color use the King Ranch leather care or stop by a tack store and buys some BICKS4 leather care.

 

Appreciate the info.

Some of you are saying the seats are the same. I have sat in a king ranch and lariat.., I don't see how it's the same??

the KR leather is thicker to me. At least feels that way. I'm also assuming has less viynl... or none.