Leather door panels - possible WTB
05-13-2024, 04:54 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Leather door panels - possible WTB
Had a small amount of damage on one of my 7.1 full leather door panels. I know a leather expert can make this look 90%+. Does anyone have minty 997 GT3 (non-deviated stitching) door panels laying in their basement? I know some of you may have converted to a track car and have spare parts which is why I asked.
Not sure the direction I’m going to go. Whether leave it, buy minty used panels, buy new, or repair. But want to put it out there. If I get no replies it makes my decision easy. PM me if you have something.
Thanks!
Not sure the direction I’m going to go. Whether leave it, buy minty used panels, buy new, or repair. But want to put it out there. If I get no replies it makes my decision easy. PM me if you have something.
Thanks!
05-13-2024, 05:05 PM
#2
Nordschleife Master
I do not have an extra panel laying around but let's see the damage. Also don't limit yourself to the 997 panels as the Cayman panels are the same, iirc.
Last edited by RAudi Driver; 05-13-2024 at 05:08 PM.
05-13-2024, 05:15 PM
#3
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
In normal lighting it’s pretty subtle (pic below, to the left of the door handle). When you apply conditioner and use bright lighting is when you see it more. Local guy that my dealer uses can fix for $125. But I’m also concerned with making something that is minor, worse. Shop was installing my leather door spears and my guess is they taped around them and when they removed the tape it pulled some of the finish.
05-13-2024, 08:00 PM
#4
Nordschleife Master
Yea, looks like they pulled a little bit of the coating off. I'm wondering if something like that Swisswax shine removed in a few layers will make it less noticeable. Looks curable and I'd be giving it a nice DIY before I pulled and replaced.
Gloss corrector.
Gloss corrector.
06-10-2024, 07:10 PM
#5
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Figured I'd close out this thread, mostly. I ordered two kits, one from Colourlock and one from SeatDoctors. Colourlock is in the UK, so the product will take about a week or two until you receive it. Their customer service was good and they gave me a lot of good info. Seat Doctors also had great customer service. Colourlock is pretty well known. I had found SeatDoctors online and also a friend of mine and his dad who is very particular about cars recommended them. I had already ordered the Colourlock kit ($100) and figured I'd order the SeatDoctors kit too ($30).
What I ended up doing in the end was finding a local guy in town that has been in business for over 30 years and came highly recommended by many. I brought my car to him and he said in under an hour he could make it disappear for $100. I scheduled my car for two weeks later and waited while he worked. He was able to get it to 90%+. Most normal people wouldn't notice it. If you're looking for it, you'll see a slight outline where the material got pulled up. But the lighting also needs to be near perfect and at the right angle for this to be noticeable.
Colourlock had told me that really I need their FluidLeather product which fills in the defect, then to sand the area, then apply the dye. My fear at this point is making it worse, so I will probably leave it. If I try it, I would buy a scrap piece of leather and test my technique on it first, maybe a winter project next year. If a set of excellent condition door panels come up for sale and ideally they aren't out of a wrecked car (a bit superstitious with that stuff), then I'll probably jump on them.
At the end of the day, this is one of the downsides of older cars and also leather. I'm a bit of a condition nut and leather doesn't help, given that it is a natural material. Even a new piece of leather can have small defects in it. As our cars age, we need to either not drive them (which I'm not willing to do) or accept some level of flaw, or have deep enough pockets to just replace every component that shows any bit of wear.
What I ended up doing in the end was finding a local guy in town that has been in business for over 30 years and came highly recommended by many. I brought my car to him and he said in under an hour he could make it disappear for $100. I scheduled my car for two weeks later and waited while he worked. He was able to get it to 90%+. Most normal people wouldn't notice it. If you're looking for it, you'll see a slight outline where the material got pulled up. But the lighting also needs to be near perfect and at the right angle for this to be noticeable.
Colourlock had told me that really I need their FluidLeather product which fills in the defect, then to sand the area, then apply the dye. My fear at this point is making it worse, so I will probably leave it. If I try it, I would buy a scrap piece of leather and test my technique on it first, maybe a winter project next year. If a set of excellent condition door panels come up for sale and ideally they aren't out of a wrecked car (a bit superstitious with that stuff), then I'll probably jump on them.
At the end of the day, this is one of the downsides of older cars and also leather. I'm a bit of a condition nut and leather doesn't help, given that it is a natural material. Even a new piece of leather can have small defects in it. As our cars age, we need to either not drive them (which I'm not willing to do) or accept some level of flaw, or have deep enough pockets to just replace every component that shows any bit of wear.
Last edited by Bxstr; 06-10-2024 at 07:48 PM.
06-10-2024, 08:21 PM
#6
Rennlist Member
Figured I'd close out this thread, mostly. I ordered two kits, one from Colourlock and one from SeatDoctors. Colourlock is in the UK, so the product will take about a week or two until you receive it. Their customer service was good and they gave me a lot of good info. Seat Doctors also had great customer service. Colourlock is pretty well known. I had found SeatDoctors online and also a friend of mine and his dad who is very particular about cars recommended them. I had already ordered the Colourlock kit ($100) and figured I'd order the SeatDoctors kit too ($30).
What I ended up doing in the end was finding a local guy in town that has been in business for over 30 years and came highly recommended by many. I brought my car to him and he said in under an hour he could make it disappear for $100. I scheduled my car for two weeks later and waited while he worked. He was able to get it to 90%+. Most normal people wouldn't notice it. If you're looking for it, you'll see a slight outline where the material got pulled up. But the lighting also needs to be near perfect and at the right angle for this to be noticeable.
Colourlock had told me that really I need their FluidLeather product which fills in the defect, then to sand the area, then apply the dye. My fear at this point is making it worse, so I will probably leave it. If I try it, I would buy a scrap piece of leather and test my technique on it first, maybe a winter project next year. If a set of excellent condition door panels come up for sale and ideally they aren't out of a wrecked car (a bit superstitious with that stuff), then I'll probably jump on them.
At the end of the day, this is one of the downsides of older cars and also leather. I'm a bit of a condition nut and leather doesn't help, given that it is a natural material. Even a new piece of leather can have small defects in it. As our cars age, we need to either not drive them (which I'm not willing to do) or accept some level of flaw, or have deep enough pockets to just replace every component that shows any bit of wear.
What I ended up doing in the end was finding a local guy in town that has been in business for over 30 years and came highly recommended by many. I brought my car to him and he said in under an hour he could make it disappear for $100. I scheduled my car for two weeks later and waited while he worked. He was able to get it to 90%+. Most normal people wouldn't notice it. If you're looking for it, you'll see a slight outline where the material got pulled up. But the lighting also needs to be near perfect and at the right angle for this to be noticeable.
Colourlock had told me that really I need their FluidLeather product which fills in the defect, then to sand the area, then apply the dye. My fear at this point is making it worse, so I will probably leave it. If I try it, I would buy a scrap piece of leather and test my technique on it first, maybe a winter project next year. If a set of excellent condition door panels come up for sale and ideally they aren't out of a wrecked car (a bit superstitious with that stuff), then I'll probably jump on them.
At the end of the day, this is one of the downsides of older cars and also leather. I'm a bit of a condition nut and leather doesn't help, given that it is a natural material. Even a new piece of leather can have small defects in it. As our cars age, we need to either not drive them (which I'm not willing to do) or accept some level of flaw, or have deep enough pockets to just replace every component that shows any bit of wear.
I've got some nicks in my leather at the right rear, probably from roll bar install or removal. Only on the right side. I'm looking to clean that up.....good info. thanx, M
06-11-2024, 06:55 AM
#7
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Colourlock says that their leather fresh dye kit should take care of scratches.