I have a link to the intake im doing http://www.flickr.com/photos/26227918@N05/

 

Hi George, welcome back I hope that this is a new beginning for you,
From the pictures you have linked to it looks like your finally getting to some of the more complicated systems on your car. I hope that the repairs your making go well, take your time and if you cant find answers by searching just post and you questions should be answered pretty fast.
Oh another suggestion if your asking questions say about leather seats and then are wondering how the vacuum lines get routed it would be best to post a new thread so it will be easier to find your progress.
You might try posting a thread about repair to the intake on a 89 S4. As others may be more interested in intakes than seats, good luck with your project

 

I have touched-up my side bolster with leatherique products, but it did not last very long. There was a preping agent, a filler, and a dye, and despite thorough preparation, it came off after a few weeks.

Not sure what I'm going to try next...

 

New leather

 

Leatherique's Rejuvinator Oil and Prestine Clean are amazing products. I've tried many and the only product that has ever really deep cleaned the leather without harming the dye is leatherique.

I haven't used their color products but I've heard that color plus offers a better solution if you need to recolor the leather.

Good luck and post some before after shots

 

+2

It's all I use.

 

The Leatherique Rejuvinator oil worked well for me too. I believe it to be a superior product.

I tried their dye matched to a swatch and was disappointed:
1) Their fault: The swatch was not returned with the dye. You can only carve off so many pieces of non-essential seat leather.
2) Poor results with debatable cause: I was refinishing bolsters. The matched dye looked nothing like the midnight blue color of the seats (or swatch) once applied. This could be a cause of my inexperience with the application. Still, I would not use the dye even if I was coloring the entire seats, as the applied dye had a purplish tint to it. I later cleaned the bolsters and recolored them with a swatch-matched premium, outdoor quality latex enamel paint. I've been very pleased, as the results were amazing and have been durable.

 

+1 on Lexol and the advantage of heading to the local tack shop to buy it!

Since you shouldn't drive the car while your softening the seats,
pull the seats and bring them in the living room for a couple of days.

Not to mention that the "goodies" sometimes found under the seat of used cars are better found by you then your local LEO.

 

Leatherique's Rejuvenating Oil Is great but I found it works best if the leather is rather hot. This time of year it would be best to bring the seats inside the house in a a small WELL heated room to soak fro 24 or so hours. I did mine in the summer and wrapped everything in clear Saran wrap to keep it from evaporating....the seats cames out as soft as new.

 

Hatch.

I went another route and tried a product called seat restore from a guy in Minnesota Ronn Stark. He was great to work with and was able to match my sample of Linen pretty dead on.

He offers a crack filler and dye.

My passenger seat was pretty bad off, bolsters just looked awful. I figured whats the worst that can happen? Considering my car is not going to win any awards and I was tired of looking at the worn seat............Not sure what to do about the PO stitching effort on the seat bottom there, might try and re-stitch that myself and see what happens.

Here is his email:
seatsrestore4u2@gmail.com

Now mind you this did not do much for the "softening" the leather, just restoring the bolsters.

 

Thanks for the replies,well see what happens,with these.

 

Neatsfoot oil is all I ever use. You can use it on any leather. Be sure to clean the leather first (I use a damp cloth). Then apply a nice coat of neatsfoot oil with a sponge. Wait a few minutes and wipe the excess off. Give it a try.

 

Lots of moisture had to be involved, I would expect. I wouldn't feel too bad if at 30 years, it was time to re-leather the seats. 1 year after painting the 22 year-old bolsters, they look as they did the day after application. I would honestly suggest owners try other options first, but can honestly say I feel no disappointment in the outcome of the bolster treatment.

 

You have a thread about leatherique, why are you posting pics of your intake?

 

We got off subject,looks like that happens in every post on here,why are you so surprised?