my leather seat restoration *PIC HEAVY*
05-22-2012, 04:51 PM
#1
Advanced
Thread Starter
my leather seat restoration *PIC HEAVY*
Hi all,
I recently had my seats restored and thought that I would share the results which I think are outstanding.
My seats were not in bad condition having benefitted form a bolster re-trim a few years ago by a previous owner, it was the inserts that bothered me as they were original and looked to have been washed over with a dye leaving them badly matched to the new leather.
I elected to have Paul Tregunno of LeatherCraftsman do the work, he has been published in Porsche mags and I had also seen his work in a 993 which I was really impressed by.
Paul set to work removing my seats carefully:
Here is the drivers seat, you can see how the base/back inserts were poorly matched to the new bolster leather from Southbound:
Both seats relocated to the back of Paul's van for work to commence:
Paul started off by thoroughly cleaning the seats of any dirt and grime, really taking his time to get into all of the deep creases, seat backs and even the plastic base/buckles.
Next he used a strong stripper to remove old paint and provide a good base for the new paint to take to. Here you can see how the leather looks after this process (the yellow spots are the original hide coming through)...at this point I was getting a little nervous!
Paul does not believe in sanding back the leather unless it is badly damaged as this can affect the finish...a sigh of relief on my part!
Then it was time to mix up some fresh paint, Paul used a process of elimination carefully testing on a bolster, drying it off and then comparing. What impressed me here was his knowledge of colour, i.e. he was able to spot yellows/reds in my linen seats which in turn ensured a perfect match:
Once the colour was perfect he commenced the paint process. Starting with a roller he applied a coat, dried the seat and then repeated until an even match was achieved across the seat. A good few costs were applied, Paul believes that using a roller in this way for the first few costs ensures a really even/flat finish:
coming together now:
At this point my son's arrived home and so no pics of the final stages however these involved a spray gun to give a finishing layer of paint followed by a dry off and then another spay of a protective matt gloss which completed the process.
Results after the work was complete and my seats look like brand new with a nice OEM matt finish:
The leather has been left feeling soft and not harsh/gritty or painted. I've done a few long trips now and it has not altered since the restoration, still looking like new.
Paul can be contacted in the UK on 07885638377 or 01375361188 - no affiliation just a very happy customer. Cost was £240 for both seats and the work took 4.5 hours in total.
I recently had my seats restored and thought that I would share the results which I think are outstanding.
My seats were not in bad condition having benefitted form a bolster re-trim a few years ago by a previous owner, it was the inserts that bothered me as they were original and looked to have been washed over with a dye leaving them badly matched to the new leather.
I elected to have Paul Tregunno of LeatherCraftsman do the work, he has been published in Porsche mags and I had also seen his work in a 993 which I was really impressed by.
Paul set to work removing my seats carefully:
Here is the drivers seat, you can see how the base/back inserts were poorly matched to the new bolster leather from Southbound:
Both seats relocated to the back of Paul's van for work to commence:
Paul started off by thoroughly cleaning the seats of any dirt and grime, really taking his time to get into all of the deep creases, seat backs and even the plastic base/buckles.
Next he used a strong stripper to remove old paint and provide a good base for the new paint to take to. Here you can see how the leather looks after this process (the yellow spots are the original hide coming through)...at this point I was getting a little nervous!
Paul does not believe in sanding back the leather unless it is badly damaged as this can affect the finish...a sigh of relief on my part!
Then it was time to mix up some fresh paint, Paul used a process of elimination carefully testing on a bolster, drying it off and then comparing. What impressed me here was his knowledge of colour, i.e. he was able to spot yellows/reds in my linen seats which in turn ensured a perfect match:
Once the colour was perfect he commenced the paint process. Starting with a roller he applied a coat, dried the seat and then repeated until an even match was achieved across the seat. A good few costs were applied, Paul believes that using a roller in this way for the first few costs ensures a really even/flat finish:
coming together now:
At this point my son's arrived home and so no pics of the final stages however these involved a spray gun to give a finishing layer of paint followed by a dry off and then another spay of a protective matt gloss which completed the process.
Results after the work was complete and my seats look like brand new with a nice OEM matt finish:
The leather has been left feeling soft and not harsh/gritty or painted. I've done a few long trips now and it has not altered since the restoration, still looking like new.
Paul can be contacted in the UK on 07885638377 or 01375361188 - no affiliation just a very happy customer. Cost was £240 for both seats and the work took 4.5 hours in total.
05-22-2012, 05:28 PM
#3
Advanced
Thread Starter
yes thats right, previous owner decided not to go the full re-trim, think the work was done by another trimmer using southbound sourced leather.
05-22-2012, 08:14 PM
#7
Three Wheelin'
Did he use a brush in the crevices? Very nice results.
