bureau13

One of my goals for the cooler weather season was to address some issues with my leather seats. They're generally in good condition, although the leather is a bit tight from shrinkage, and not too soft. I've been putting Soffener on it. There are a few scuffed up places so I got some matching black color to touch it up with. The only place where there's actual wear is the typical driver's side seat bolster wear, so I thought maybe I'd get the Color Plus products for repairing that and give it a shot. Unfortunately, I may be too late, as I noticed that at one small point, it's worn all the way through and there's a hole in the leather. It's a little smaller than a dime, but I'm sure it will get bigger if I do nothing.

Is there a way to repair this without removing or replacing the seat covering, or is the best thing to do for now to slap a patch over it until I decide to redo the whole seat?

FredR

The repair process is typically to deal with a tear in the leather, usually on a fold or crease. The initial trick is to insert a patch of leather behind the tear using specific adhesives. Then the crease is covered with a filler and any small perforations and then a refurbishment is applied for the colour.

As to how far the repair goes is down to whoever does the repair. The entire seat can be refurbished as mine were recently. The technology of the products used in this process is also improving tremendously. As you can imagine a hot climate is not friend of leather and this time when the job was completed the leather felt completely refreshed presumably because of the products used.
see pic below of finished job- pity I did not take any before snaps.

Rgds

Fred

dr bob

Take a look at a thread on seat repair from almost ten years ago now.

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...ng-wheels.html

My contribution starts at post #50 or so, but it's worthwhile reading the whole thing to maintain some perspective on project development.


My seats are still fine, after a few touch-up repairs over the years. At some point I'll put new leather on them, which is what they really need to look and feel perfect. For now the repairs I did are more than satisfactory.

bureau13

Thanks, I will take a look at that thread.

Fred, your seats look fantastic!

Randy V

https://www.pepboys.com/product/details/85333/00742

Available at PepBoys.

bureau13

Is there anything Loctite doesn't make?? I'll check that out too..

FredR

Jeff,

They look and feel almost like new leather. I was blown away by the quality of the finish given I had more or less written the leather off. My friend who runs a franchise polishing business suggested we try the latest products and so glad we did.

How long it will last remains to be seen but I am quite optimistic so far.

Rgds

Fred

MainePorsche

Very true.
If you have a through and through tear/hole, it must be backed from the underside. Smaller tear/holes are harder to deal with (while in situ), for you can't really get under it to back it. Watch some YouTube videos on this subject to pick up tips should you want to under take this. It may involve enlarging the defect so you can get under it. You're at a no loss situation for the hole is already there - if done right then the re-surfacing and re-finishing of the seats can be accomplished with success. See dr bob's, Fred's, or even my thread on the how to.
For those oblique linear scrapes that we put on the base of the side bolster from our belt loops, I did this (provided you are at the point to re-color/re-surface) - clean off the existing color well with acetone - then I used a Mr Clean Magic Eraser - very fine, soft, form fitting abrasive sponge - many not heavy pressure strokes along the same line as the scrape - once smooth, clean off with acetone again - soft heat with hair dryer then apply Soffener (my choice) - let sit - clean off with acetone again - hair dryer again - then lightly brushed on my Colorant. Leather will take up agents better when warm. Looks new now.

PS: Don't do this work in the cold. Leather will cooperate better when ambient temps are warm.

Bertrand Daoust

Here's a nice thread from Nicole on this:

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...ther-seat.html

bureau13

Well this is all very encouraging. It seems a great number of folks have managed to repair stuff like this very successfully without going to crazy expense.

Wisconsin Joe

The seats unbolt and come out fairly easily. Take them inside where it's warm.

MainePorsche

Hah ! Shame on me.
That too.

bureau13

It is a bitterly cold 61 degrees this morning where I am

MainePorsche

That's cold !
6 deg AND windy up here.
Yeah, you'd probably get away with doing them in the garage.