Leather Seat Restoration
#1
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They look great. I got a pro in but it hasn't proved a good job, seat rails sprayed and some peeling now after 8 months.
Wish I'd done this myself now seeing your results.
Wish I'd done this myself now seeing your results.
#2
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One of my winter projects this year was to do something about the condition of the seats. After a ton of research I opted to restore the seats vs. replacing the leather and decided on the use of Color Plus products. I figured it was a lot cheaper and if, in the long run, I was't happy with the quality or longevity of the job I could always replace the seat covers later.
Overall I'm pretty happy with the results. I won't post a ton of pics here other than a few shots of the refreshed seats back in the car and a before and after shot of the worst area (the driver side seat outer bolster).
If you want to see more pics you can check out my album here.
Here are the seats back in the car after refinishing them.
![](https://rennlist.com/forums/members/hamah-albums-964-seat-restoration-picture21071-seats-reinstalled.jpg)
And another shot...
![](https://rennlist.com/forums/members/hamah-albums-964-seat-restoration-picture21072-all-in-all-im-really-happy-with-how-the-refinishing-of-the-seats-went-and-at-this-point-id-highly-recommend-the-color-plus-products-would-i-do-it-again-im-not-sure-about-that-the-amount-of-prep-time-i-put-in-was-substantial.jpg)
The before shot of the driver side bolster.
![](https://rennlist.com/forums/members/hamah-albums-964-seat-restoration-picture21056-here-is-a-closer-look-at-the-driver-side-bolster-i-thought-it-was-pretty-bad-and-this-area-was-the-main-reason-i-wanted-to-restore-the-seats-and-figured-i-needed-new-covers-as-i-researched-my-options-i-discovered-that-re-dying-the-seats-after-properly-prepping-them-was-a-viable-option.jpg)
And the after pic...
![](https://rennlist.com/forums/members/hamah-albums-964-seat-restoration-picture21073-the-driver-side-bolster-after-applying-the-dye.jpg)
There was another thread here on interior colour that I was posting to and if you want to see the differences that ambient light will make to how the colour appears in the picture I'd suggest looking at the album. This colour is apparently called "Raspberry" according to Color Plus after they did a colour match to my shift boot. A local manufacturer of high end leather seat covers also called my colour "Raspberry". You might think it is "Light Grey" or "Linen" but after seeing leather samples of those colours from World Upholstery I would disagree with you.
Overall I'm pretty happy with the results. I won't post a ton of pics here other than a few shots of the refreshed seats back in the car and a before and after shot of the worst area (the driver side seat outer bolster).
If you want to see more pics you can check out my album here.
Here are the seats back in the car after refinishing them.
![](https://rennlist.com/forums/members/hamah-albums-964-seat-restoration-picture21071-seats-reinstalled.jpg)
And another shot...
![](https://rennlist.com/forums/members/hamah-albums-964-seat-restoration-picture21072-all-in-all-im-really-happy-with-how-the-refinishing-of-the-seats-went-and-at-this-point-id-highly-recommend-the-color-plus-products-would-i-do-it-again-im-not-sure-about-that-the-amount-of-prep-time-i-put-in-was-substantial.jpg)
The before shot of the driver side bolster.
![](https://rennlist.com/forums/members/hamah-albums-964-seat-restoration-picture21056-here-is-a-closer-look-at-the-driver-side-bolster-i-thought-it-was-pretty-bad-and-this-area-was-the-main-reason-i-wanted-to-restore-the-seats-and-figured-i-needed-new-covers-as-i-researched-my-options-i-discovered-that-re-dying-the-seats-after-properly-prepping-them-was-a-viable-option.jpg)
And the after pic...
![](https://rennlist.com/forums/members/hamah-albums-964-seat-restoration-picture21073-the-driver-side-bolster-after-applying-the-dye.jpg)
There was another thread here on interior colour that I was posting to and if you want to see the differences that ambient light will make to how the colour appears in the picture I'd suggest looking at the album. This colour is apparently called "Raspberry" according to Color Plus after they did a colour match to my shift boot. A local manufacturer of high end leather seat covers also called my colour "Raspberry". You might think it is "Light Grey" or "Linen" but after seeing leather samples of those colours from World Upholstery I would disagree with you.
Last edited by hamah; 04-12-2013 at 12:16 AM.
#6
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It did feel a little rough (almost like tiny pebbles) when it first dried and before I buffed them up. Now they are not as rough but still not quite like original (as I recall them feeling). I'm not going to blame the product though as it was my first time using a spray gun. Some areas feel just like normal to me so I'm sure the fault is mine.
All in all though the improvement in looks is worth it.
All in all though the improvement in looks is worth it.
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#8
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I did it myself using lots of elbow grease, rags, thinners, sandpaper, and compressor/spray gun as tools.
The products I got from Color Plus (cost about $250 but I didn't actually use some of them). I used their Super Cleaner, Soffener, and Surflex (custom colour). If the seats had been badly cracked I would have also used Flex-Fill (bought it but didn't use it)
The products I got from Color Plus (cost about $250 but I didn't actually use some of them). I used their Super Cleaner, Soffener, and Surflex (custom colour). If the seats had been badly cracked I would have also used Flex-Fill (bought it but didn't use it)
#9
Burning Brakes
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Just had Leathercare in Warrington refurbish my seats. The two guys are ex Connolly Leather, really impressed with their work and not expensive at all. Excuse the crappy mobile pics
#10
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both jobs look great Ras you got any before pics? and did they do your seats in the car or remove and do them on a work bench ? also did they break down the seat into two parts like original poster ? something I may need to do some time in the future.
#11
Burning Brakes
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The seats look great, not new though as that wouldn't look quite right.
#13
Three Wheelin'
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The seats showed the usual wear, especially the drivers bolster which was cracked like OP's pics. The seats were taken out and the backs removed and then swapped on reassembly so the drivers backrest is now on the passenger side. Cleaned, treated, filled as required, treated again, painted twice, laquered twice.
The seats look great, not new though as that wouldn't look quite right.
The seats look great, not new though as that wouldn't look quite right.
Looking good
![Smilie](https://rennlist.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif)
Are you able to use a leather cleaner on your dye'd seats now (to keep them clean) or do you have to use water?
Ta
Chris
#14
Burning Brakes
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O/P sorry for the thread hijack
![ducking](https://rennlist.com/forums/graemlins/icon107.gif)