champignon

My new-to-me 2003 996 TT, with 76,000 miles on it, has an interior in pretty good condition, however the black leather "color" is worn off in some high wear areas such as parts of the steering wheel, handle grips, on some parts of the door handles, and on the emergency brake handle. The leather itself appears to be sound.

I have ordered some leather cleaner and black ("Porsche colored") leather dye from these people:

http://www.leatherworldtech.com/default.asp

Has anything tried this kind of minor leather "repair" on the interior of a black interior colored Porsche? Has it worked?

thanks!

mffarrell

I used plain old shoe dye on my BMW, and it was a perfect match. I not sure how it would look on a p car.

Oak

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911mhawk

I've been thinking of doing this on a tan BMW I have.
How did it hold up?
Any dye transfer to your ***?

mffarrell

I applied it 8 years a go, and it is still holding-up. I used it only on the seat bolsters, and no *** transfer. lol

champignon

Just to be more precise . . . . are we talking about your ***, per se, or your pants? You can always throw your pants or shorts out, or use them for painting or some such, but your ***? You're stuck with it.

autobonrun

Black should be fairly easy to match although I've found the pigment in fresh dye will appear brighter. That's why for seats, I do the entire interior. I've done 2 seven series BMW's and a 911. For the parts you describe you should be able to just tape them off well and use a brush. Test on an inconspicuous area first.

Here's my procedure for dyeing entire seats. I documented the results over a 10 year period. The key to longevity is prepping the leather, not just wiping it on.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...procedure.html

champignon

Thanks for your input and the link. I am not trying to make the car look "new" inside, rather there are just a few things that really stand out as worn that I'd like to work on. I'm OK with the wear/patina on the rest of the interior.

Thanks again.

bugeyemilo

small spot of wear on my graphite steering wheel. interested if anyone has had success in restoring a steering wheel?

champignon

"Success" is not a word I would use at this point, because the proof of the "restoration" will only be evident with actual use over a long period of time.

I did use the cleaner with a scrub pad alluded to in my first post on this thread, then followed this up with multiple (and I do mean multiple) applications of the leather dye to the parts treated (grips on the doors, steering wheel, hand brake.

At this point I would guess that the "restoration" has been mostly successful, but only time will tell if the repair lasts. So far, so good.

bugeyemilo

Thanks for the follow up @champignon . glad to hear it worked out.

911mhawk

Good to hear, I'll just wear tan shorts and pants the first few drives after trying this out

napoleon1981

This thread needs some pictures desperately.

champignon

There was an earlier thread with a link given to it in this thread, showing some pictures.

The defects/wear areas that I fixed were subtle enough that I don't think they would have photographed well, so I didn't do that.

There are threads on various automotive enthusiast forums showing before and after leather restoration pictures. Unfortunately, these photos are usually taken right after the "repair" is done, and long term follow-up, the only real follow-up that matters, is generally unavailable.

The stuff I bought is billed as being "professional quality." Professional leather restorers are capable of doing long lasting repairs with leather dye, and I have seen and experienced that first hand in cars. Assuming that the stuff that individuals can buy is similar, I can't see any reason why the repair would not be reasonably durable. The biggest risk to doing a real, and long lasting repair, with dye, is inadequate surface preparation before the dye is applied. If the dye is put on top of dirt and body oils, it is not surprising that adherence would be a problem. With adequate cleaning beforehand, however, there is no reason why the dye would not adhere, unless the dye is of poor quality or there is some other issue with the leather.

autobonrun

Uhh. The link I attached to this thread contains documentation and photos of the restoration over a 10 year period. Most would consider 10 years with no additional work as long term. Not sure of your definition of long term.