Hello all, I have been reading on here for a while but this is my first post. I own and operate a mobile detailing company here in Houston. I work on everything from Toyotas to Ferraris, the majority of my clientele is the higher end though. I have a client with a Ferrari 458 Spyder and the interior is, what I am guessing, suede. There are a lot of terms on here when I am reading, that I do not understand. I don't really know the difference between any of the leathers out there. To me, its either leather that is smooth, perforated, or suede/nubuck. I never really used any proper products for the interior leather, I didn't buy over the counter crap, but it was either Zaino or Leather Masters products. Now I really want to get into proper care for leather and how to clean, maintain, and restore it. I am not sure if I want to get into actual restoration such as dyeing, fixing rips etc.

Anyway, is there a place I can go to learn about the differences in these leathers and how to tell by looking at them? I also wanted to ask about "coated" leather. There is a lot of talk on the detailing forums on how its pointless to condition most of the leather on cars that are out there now because there is a coating on them. I hear it is actually worse to condition them, because it will deteriorate the coating and lead to premature wear. Is this correct?