Hey Guys,

I am in the middle of a seat re-dye using Surflex and other color plus products. For those of you that have re-dyed your seats, how much of the color did you actually remove prior to applying th dye? I have been working for about 4-5 hours (on one seat) trying to get the old dye out. I have been able to get it off in places where there was the most wear (bolsters etc.), but its pretty stubborn on places like the head rests and centers that aren't as directly worn. I am wondering how much you guys took off before you stopped. If any of you have tips with regards to dye removal that would be helpful as well. I will post some pictures of before and after when I am done. Thanks!

Regards,

Kevin

P.s. It's amazing how much of the color actually contributes to the stiffness of the leather.

 

I only remove as much as necessary to give a clean base for the new color. You only need a clean surface for the new color to adhere. Surflex works great...

If there are cracks or hard spots you have to go further. On the cracks, you are only trying to remove the sharp edge... which is usually not the leather but actually the color.

 

I've got to do my seats. Where do you get Surflex? Any websites to read up on it?
John

 

I got it from www.colorplus.com... supposedly its the best from what I read. Originally I wasn't going to do the seats just my steering new carbon wheel but then I got that itch...

 

Try Larry at Car Care Specialties. I have been using them for many years. They really know their stuff and the are Porsche guys too.

 

Mark,

I also have a brand new, never installed steering wheel that I need to re-dye. Do you have any suggestions for prep? Should I just do a wipe clean or do the conditioning step as well?

 

I bought new black seats for my 5-Seriers BMW. The interior was tan so I used Surflex on the back seats, parts of the door panels and the top of the console. The below photo is one from the early stage. The low part of the B-pillar is now colored too. Still a lot of detailing (by wifey) has to be done. I did very little prep work. I mean very litttle. I used Surflex on my 993 six years ago and it has held up well.

 

Yes, I did exactly that for the 3 spoke wheel in my cab... I had a classic grey wheel that needed to be black. I put on 2 coats and you'd never know it was classic grey. It also works on vinyl but do not use a thinner to clean. That will destroy the vinyl since it is an oil based product.
Making sure you don't leave brush strokes is the one and only key to success. Airbrush also works well if you have one.

I didn't worry about conditioning for the same reason you are asking... it doesn't need to flex since it is stretched tight on the wheel.
I suppose if I had a wheel that was dry and cracked I might condition it first. I've never seen one that bad

As Chuck said, this stuff holds up very well. I've used it to freshen up a number of cars. Good stuff.

 

I used the citrus degreaser to clean and sanded down the rough edges on the cracked bolster. See my other post from today for before and after pics.

 

Hey Guys,

Thanks for your help. I made some good progress today on the seats and ended the day with putting the softener on. The whole cleaning process took about 8 hours and was VERY messy. I used lacquer thinner in a spray bottle and a number of different methods. As the end the most effective to remove the dye was the following:

1. Spray lacquer thinner on until it stops evaporating and you get a nice wet coat.
2. Take a stiff bristled brush ( I used a golf club cleaner) and rub the leather in a circular motion while continuing to spray the thinner. The dye will start to come off and the area will start to get granular and chunky with dye that has come off.
3. Spray additional thinner and wipe with a clean rag, the dye will come off on the rag.
4. Spray again to get any excess dye off.
5. After doing this, apply sandpaper after the thinner is evaporated.

I discovered this method with about 4 hours left and it worked pretty well. I posted some pictures below of the original seats, after color removal as well as the softener applied. Not the pictures of my finger on the leather and the difference in the stiffness, it's almost immediately noticeable.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kmassed0...eat=directlink

I am going to apply a second coat of the softener this week and will probably spray the seats in a couple of weeks. I haven't sprayed before so I need to practice first. If any of you have tips for spraying (PSI etc.) that would be great. Thanks for the tips guys.

Regards,

Kevin

 

Last fall, Rome gave us all a clinic in seat refurbishing. While the exact details on materials aren't disclosed, I wouldn't be surprised if Color Plus or Surflex was used...
http://www.autopia.org/forum/pro-det...ess-hours.html

Then there's all this, none of which seems to be a dye that can address deep cracks in bolsters, etc.:
http://www.detailersdomain.com/index...TS&Category=34