FiveElements

I've been looking at old threads on leather seat care and restoration, but haven't found anything substantial. My 89 car has nearly white seats and carpet. It's kind of milk colored. Who knows the correct color code? (if there is one)

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Anyone have suggestions of restoring the color? The seats are not damaged really, just faded and cracking. The carpet is still in great shape even with 140K miles. Should I risk trying that vinyl / leather color spay paint they have at the auto parts store on these seats? I don't want to re-leather the seats for $800 to $1000 each, plus they don't really look the same after. White seats are not exactly available all over eBay and Craigslist.

Any suggestions for a paint or coating that will make these seat shine and look nicer?

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NoVector

I think you might find this thread interesting:

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

Your seats look like excellent candidates for just cleaning and applying the latex paint. You can take a piece of your leather to Sherwin Williams and they can do a perfect match. I did it years ago and it never flaked, peeled, etc.

There's also a couple companies that sell leather dye discussed here on Renlist: Color Plus and Leatherique.

mickster

First I would try a good cleaner like Leatherique. You may not even need to dye them or paint them.

Then you may want to look at ColorGlo: http://colorglo.com/ Or another local leather repair/restoration company. I know the guys in Dallas/Ft. Worth have a great guy they go to.

FiveElements

This is one of the threads I reviewed. It just seems odd to put wall house latex on the leather. But I guess that is what the seats have on them already. Thanks!

whiteNSXs

At a glance, your seat color looks like Linen 923 to me. A picture showing the entire interior would help further.
Steve

FiveElements

I looked at the ColorGlo.com and will give them a call. But seems more like a service you bring your car into rather than self restoration or product I can buy directly.

Here's a wider shot of the entire car with seats:

jpitman2

My white seats were past saving when I got it, but the rest of the full leather interior wasnt as bad, but not pretty, and everything needed something done to it. I had the seats recovered with new leather - finding white not easy, but a bit of patience paid off - I called several businesses who handled leather every now and again, and in the end one had some German white hides left over from a contract, so that did the seats. I then asked around other people who had restored interiors and was directed to a leather specialist who had been in business since 1948. I pulled the door skins off, and delivered the car to him, and he refurbed EVERYTHING inside except the seats. He removed the rear quarter panels and cleaned up the damage where the seat belt tang had been allowed to smack back into the panel, fitted new speakers into the quarters for me, did a fabulous job - roof, sunroof, dash, cassette cover, steering wheel, horn push, the works. Wasnt cheap, but the improvement makes the car a knockout. 6+ years down the track, it looks as good as new.
Anyway, See if you can find a professional leather man and talk to one, its amazing what they can do - my guy is kept busy fixing ladies shoes and accessories every time I have visited him.
jp 83 Euro S AT 54k

mickster

It is a service-but I know James Morrison and El Greco had it done and both liked it (2 different people in two different states).

I don't think in either case it was outrageous amounts of money and the results looked fantastic.

Ninespub

The little photo of the corner of your seat does not help view the actual condition of your seats for a opinion, but judging by the excellent condition of the carpet, I would hope that you probably just need an extremely thorough cleaning and reconditioning/softening. There are excellent products (and detailed instructions) from Color Plus, Leatherique and Leather Magic online and would only cost you a $100 for the necessary material and your time to find out. Either way, you'd have to do it anyway to re-color. You already have one seat out (and that is also a best practice for the job) so just do it!

mickster

Yup. Leatherique or Color Plus. I didn't realize 1 seat was already out.

FiveElements

Here is the seat before I took it out to clean the carpets. The driver side is a bit more faded and cracked. But overall they are not so bad. Up close, the color is definitely cracked and fading. I probably just need a decent new coat of color on them. Thanks for all the tips!

j.kenzie@sbcglobal.net

I have refinished similar light colored seats with Leatherique. It is a lot of work, but it came out great. You need to strip the existing color from you seats with acetone (yeah, it's scary). Then the leather is conditioned with their Rejuvenator Oil (not an oil), then cleaned with their Pristine Clean. After a couple of days drying the leather is sanded with 300-400 grit. Then I applied their custom matched water based dye, which is similar to a paint. To get a good result, series of very thin coats are applied so there is minimal film thickness and maximal absorption. I found a sea sponge from an art store to work best for me. When you match your color, they ask you to send in a piece of leather from a hidden area. I would not do this, unless you are doing the entire interior. If you want to match a clean but aged interior, you need to send a scrap of leather that represents that color. If you send a hidden scrap it will be new looking and your seats will look newer than the rest of the interior.
Good luck,
Dave

j.kenzie@sbcglobal.net

Here's a stripped and refinished picture.

dr bob

To the OP--

White/linen seats gather all kinds of crud in the creases and folds of the leather. Since you are thinking of repainting to solve the problem of what you think is paint damage in the cracks, I strongly recommend a thorough cleaning of the seats you have before you think about any redye or paint refinishing. If the leather is anything short of butter-soft, your first job will be some rejuvenating with something like the Leatherique Rejuvinator oil. No matter what you determine to be your last step, the first will be to soften and prep the leather you have.

Then clean with an appropriate cleaner. Leatherique sells a product call Pristine Cleaner that does a good job. For a long time I've used a thick mixture of Ivory dish-washing soap, and a good sponge. Lots of options, depending on what has contaminated the seats. For really tough cleaning, I use a spray made with non-ammonia window cleaner concentrate (ZEP product by the gallon from Home Depot), diluted 1/4 in water, and a VERY SOFT brush that doesn't scratch the leather finish. Or a sponge. Let it soak in a bit in the surface to free the deposits, then brush gently in the direction of the surface deposits to lift them out. Then a good rinse with clear water to get the detergent out.


Last but certainly not least, don't be afraid to spend a little with a good pro detailer to get the seats cleaned well. Services range from a thorough cleaning and conditioning on to more serious restoration. If you are in a metro area, there are undoubtedly more than a few local people offering this kind of service. Start off with your local PCA and their newsletter (support our sponsors), look in the detailers forum here on RL. etc. At a Sharktoberfest a couple years ago, a local expert demo'd some of his techniques. He'd done some excellent work for Rob Edwards on his GTS seats, and showed that he knows his stuff and really cares about his work.

Randy V

That was the thread I was going to reference - excellent results.