Hi, our 2004 Porsche 996 Turbo Cab has black leather. On the drive'rs side door the leather is shrinking and has pulled away from the very top of the door panel.... so much so that a little tear has started and a small bit of the door panel itself is starting to show.

I saw some videos on removing the door panel and did so without a problem.... i even tried hydrating, heating and stretching the leather back and applying some new adhesive but unfortunately a month later the leather has shrunk back and the tear is slowly extending. I just don't think there is enough leather to pull/stretch, so it's time to replace this segment of leather.

Wondering if anyone has any experience doing this?
Is there a safe/easy way to remove and replace the leather. There are a lot of plastic tabs on the back side, i would imagine i'd have to melt or sever them to remove the whole leather panel prior to replacing with new leather...The question then arises how to re-establish the plastic securing tabs or what to employ in their stead?

I know there are places to ship the panel to for repair however, if it's a reasonable DIY it would surely help us a lot.

I appreciate any help.

 

It's usually easier and cheaper to just find a new door panel on ebay unless you have a rare interior color like red or Metropol.

 

^ This.

 

The door panels from non-turbo 996's can be used as well. Just make sure that it's really leather, as some non-turbo cars had vinyl door panels.

 

thank you, I'll definitely search but so far i've only found options that were kind of beat up....or exorbitantly priced.

still hoping perhaps someone had some experience with a DIY repair...the leather doesn't seem to be much of a problem sourcing, just trying to figure out how to deal with the attachment points/hardware.

 

You can try to use a steamer to relax the leather and something like 3m super 77 to adhere it back on, but if it's really bad, it probably needs to be recovered.

 

The problem with repair is the leather used by Porsche has been specially treated for its application ( see here: https://rennlist.com/forums/concours...-products.html ). I remember when I visited the Porsche Factory in Stuttgart, I witnessed how they literally dried the leather to remove most of the inherent moisture before they coated it. This is why you should never use typical leather conditioning products on the leather for the dash board or similar areas. It will be very difficult to "match".

 

So we shouldn't use things like Griot's Leather Rejuventor on the dashboard?

 

i've been trying to find a replacement as well. my door has the stitching i'm trying to match so it makes it harder to find.

 

Correct. Aero303 with UV protection would be a better choice. You don't want to add moisture to that leather.