That's really interesting. I remember the old school KR's and the leather looked like awesome distressed cow hide almost.

 

yes it is just fake leather now like most vehicles. i think 08 or 09 was the last year for the true leather

 

I don't know if the KR gets a different leather, but I know in the care/cleaning instructions in the 2018 owners manual, the products and procedures for caring for the KR seats are different from the Limited, Platinum, and Lariat. It may not be "real" cowhide, but it is not exactly the same as the rest of the leather seats offered in the F150.

 

One way to find out is to take some leather cleaner in a hidden area, provided of course it is the same leather in the hidden as the rest, and if it darkens when applied, then it is an Aniline dyed leather, and not the same leather as all the others. Aniline die is like saddle leather, the rest of the trims use coated leather that has die and a covering coat sprayed on.

 

The care instructions have just been carried over in the manual from earlier models. Seems to be some type of internal disconnect within Ford. The new King Ranch is absolutely a coated leather just like the Limited or Platinum. I believe the reasoning for the change had more to do with customers complaining about the scaring and inconsistencies in the real leather.

 

can I ask a question about king ranch leather? in the middle of a household move my wife packed a plastic bottle of rubbing alcohol which'd leaked and left a stain on the rear seats. any idea how to clean this?

 

That probably isn't a "stain" as much as a bleached spot where the IPA removed the dye in the material.

 

Exactly as above. If you can find a good leather worker at an upholstery shop, they can die the area to a color that is very, very close to the original.

 

Here you go https://leathermagic.com/ford-interi...terior-colors/ and https://leathermagic.com/leather-dye...oringpainting/

looks like 2013 is when Ford switched to Urethane coated leather in the KR, prior leather was Analine dyed, and porous.