Repairing a tear in your leather seat
05-07-2006, 03:46 AM
#1
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Repairing a tear in your leather seat
I inherited a scuffed side bolster from the previous owners, and ignored it for the longest time - I just covered it with a bit of dye every now and then to make it less obvious. Well, that did not last forever, and a few weeks back the leather gave way. A trip to a local upholstery shop yielded a quote of $400 for the leather repair, and $600 to redye both seats. Ouch!
So I decided to try a home remedy first. And it actually came out quite nice.
1. I assembled the following materials:
a rough fabric to reinforce the torn area
b. leather glue
c. scissors
d. a smal screw driver
2. Then I glued the fabrick to the back of one side of the tear, usint the screwdriver to help position it.
3. The other end of the fabric was subsequently glued and positioned with the help of the screwdriver.
4. I filled the tear with a bit of glue - it was a bit too much and I later had to sand it down.
5. (not shown) I used Leatherique crack filler to fill the cracks in the leather.
6. Using disposable brushes I applied thin layers of Leatherique dye. Problem is that they seem to have a problem matching the classic grey exactly. My first delivery included a dye that was far off. Then I sent them a swatch, and now we are close but still a bit on the purple side. I plan to see how this wears and then go over it with the airbrush in a few weeks.
So I decided to try a home remedy first. And it actually came out quite nice.
1. I assembled the following materials:
a rough fabric to reinforce the torn area
b. leather glue
c. scissors
d. a smal screw driver
2. Then I glued the fabrick to the back of one side of the tear, usint the screwdriver to help position it.
3. The other end of the fabric was subsequently glued and positioned with the help of the screwdriver.
4. I filled the tear with a bit of glue - it was a bit too much and I later had to sand it down.
5. (not shown) I used Leatherique crack filler to fill the cracks in the leather.
6. Using disposable brushes I applied thin layers of Leatherique dye. Problem is that they seem to have a problem matching the classic grey exactly. My first delivery included a dye that was far off. Then I sent them a swatch, and now we are close but still a bit on the purple side. I plan to see how this wears and then go over it with the airbrush in a few weeks.
05-07-2006, 12:03 PM
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Nicole,
That turned out very well. I also am going to try that on my seat. With my size, the drivers seat has to go through a whole lot of torture compared to yours.
Rob
That turned out very well. I also am going to try that on my seat. With my size, the drivers seat has to go through a whole lot of torture compared to yours.
Rob
05-07-2006, 02:22 PM
#6
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I saw the result in-person last weekend. It looks better than in the photo. I don't recall noticing what looks like a little evidence of the tear (whitish viens) at all. The camera flash can exaggerate things that aren't visible under daylight. Makes me look 10 years older!
Nicole did an excellent job. There is essentially nothing wrong with the seats that spending $100s of dollars now makes little sense. If Leatherique could get the dye to match, I've found that just wiping the seats with the dye on a cloth remarkably freshens up the surface and can make the seats look like they had a professional refininsh.
Nicole did an excellent job. There is essentially nothing wrong with the seats that spending $100s of dollars now makes little sense. If Leatherique could get the dye to match, I've found that just wiping the seats with the dye on a cloth remarkably freshens up the surface and can make the seats look like they had a professional refininsh.
Last edited by Bill Ball; 05-07-2006 at 10:05 PM.
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05-07-2006, 07:29 PM
#9
Race Director
I gotta concur with Bill...after seeing this repair in person last weekend....it turned out better in person than it looks in the photos (the photos still look good!)....a far cheaper solution than the same repair I had done professionally for about $600. But my tears were worse than Nicoles & the leather was a bit to thin to fix IMHO
https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...seats+restored
https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...seats+restored
05-07-2006, 07:35 PM
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I'd say the main shortcomings of the repair is that I was not able to reproduce the grain of the leather, and the slight mismatch of the dye (too purple, and a little too light).
When you use the crack filler and subsequently sand the area, you lose grain and it becomes rather "flat".
I hope I can find someone who can better match the dye, then I'll consider doing both seats or even the whole interior for nice, even color.
When you use the crack filler and subsequently sand the area, you lose grain and it becomes rather "flat".
I hope I can find someone who can better match the dye, then I'll consider doing both seats or even the whole interior for nice, even color.
05-07-2006, 07:54 PM
#11
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The camera flash can exaggerate things that aren't visible under daylight.
Nice cosmetic surgery, Nicole. You're ready for an office in Beverly Hills. It must be gratifying to look at that bolster and not see that scar.
We should combine our bolster d.i.y.'s and send them to Greg for his site (if he's still actively posting tech how-tos).
05-07-2006, 08:36 PM
#12
That looks really good, thanks for sharing.
Once again, another thread showing the worth of this forum.
Once again, another thread showing the worth of this forum.
05-08-2006, 05:29 PM
#13
Race Director
Nicole
You should get an estimate from the shop that did my car....for only a restore-redye it should be far cheaper than what I paid (since almost $200 was leather)....my guess is it would be about $300 for both front seats?
209-823-7184 ask for Adam, he is the owner and did the work to my car.
You should get an estimate from the shop that did my car....for only a restore-redye it should be far cheaper than what I paid (since almost $200 was leather)....my guess is it would be about $300 for both front seats?
209-823-7184 ask for Adam, he is the owner and did the work to my car.
05-08-2006, 07:24 PM
#14
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Originally Posted by JPTL
I agree 100%. If it looks that good with a closeup flash, it looks much better in natural lighting conditions.
Nice cosmetic surgery, Nicole. You're ready for an office in Beverly Hills. It must be gratifying to look at that bolster and not see that scar.
We should combine our bolster d.i.y.'s and send them to Greg for his site (if he's still actively posting tech how-tos).
Nice cosmetic surgery, Nicole. You're ready for an office in Beverly Hills. It must be gratifying to look at that bolster and not see that scar.
We should combine our bolster d.i.y.'s and send them to Greg for his site (if he's still actively posting tech how-tos).
05-08-2006, 08:14 PM
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Turned out real nice - good job.
Must be the same stuff you used to dye my Jager shifter and shift boot. I finally installed 'em last week and they do have a purplish hue to them.
Originally Posted by Nicole
I'd say the main shortcomings of the repair is that I was not able to reproduce the grain of the leather, and the slight mismatch of the dye (too purple, and a little too light)...