earossi

My 993 has the "partial" leather interior, and the color of the vinyl and leather portions of the seats are quite different from one another. I also have some abrasion damage to the driver seat back bolster that needs to be redyed.

My question is if I can do this type of repair and if I really need to redye the entire seat in order to get a satisfactory result, particularly if the vinyl and leather seat areas were originally the same color.

Also, if possible I would like to make this a DIY project. Can you provide some advice on how to proceed and whose products and techniques to use?

MoeMistry

I'd personally leave this to the pros. However, I think Afshin has re-dyed his leather before, so maybe he can chime in.

Marine Blue

Cashmere and Champagne colors do fade in the sun and the only way to correct it is to have the entire seat re dyed or recovered. Can you post pictures of the seats showing the differentiation in color as well as the worn seat bolster?

I know the seat bolsters can be easily repaired but if the rest of the leather is faded it might be tough to match. I'll dig up a link to a thread I had posted a couple of years ago which explained how to eliminate scratches to seat bolsters.

earossi

I've attached some photos that show the differences in color between the leather seat bolster and the vinyl that wraps around from the back of the seat. Not only are they shaded differently, but the rear of the seat is more like cashmere, while the leather fronts of the seats is closer to bamboo color or tan.

I've also attached several photos of the damaged bolster. The only "tear" damage is to the beading where the vinyl attachs to the leather. All of the area that is discolored almost black is NOT torn; rather, the dye has been worn through. The color was not as dark until I cleaned the area with Leatherique Pristine Clean, which when it seeped into the leather, turned it that dark color.

TOGWT

The only way to rectify this finished leather is to re- apply a suitable pigmentation (colour)

Marine Blue

Agreed, you will probably need to re dye the entire seat but before you do I would suggest the following. Pick up some Leather Masters Strong Cleaner, a boars hair brush and follow the instructions on the bottle. The leather may have darkened due to clothing stains over the years and I've found that this can often be removed with a good scrub using a proper cleaner. For reference I used Leather Master after Leatherique and the cleaning abilities of the Strong Cleaner are definitely better.

Once you've finished the cleaning process you can use http://www.leathermagic.com/Pages/porschecolrchart.htm which is what I used on my 928 Linen Leather. The results were perfect and the dye stayed in place even after scrubbing the area again. Note that you can buy just the dye without the entire kit but you'll need to call them and ask for this.

Marine Blue

The vinyl on the seat bolster may need to be replaced, the tears in the seams will eventually open up completely.

earossi

The problem is that the vinyl wraps the entire rear portion of the seat so, you would have to remove the entire seat cover to effect the repair. The local shop said that to that would be almost as costly as just redoing both the leather and vinyl. Of course, they wanted to do both seats at a cost of $2600 which is waht started me on this hunt.

earossi

I could swap the seat backs from the driver and passengers side of the car. Then redye either part or the entire seat on both sides. This would put the "repaired" bolster on the inside of the passenger seat where it would be less noticeable than having it on the outside of the drivers seat. Since the passenger seat is seldom occupied, there would be negligible wear ever again on that bolster. So, if I can come up with a recommendation on repairing the beading where it is slightly torn, I might be good to go.

Any suggestions on a good way to repair the cosmetics of the torn beading?

TOGWT

Holes or Slits can be repaired by cleaning any rough or frayed edges and then placing a sub-patch of backing material that is larger than the hole must then be secured in place by means of a sub-patch and adhesive to give the leather patch something to anchor to. Before you insert the backing piece cover it with adhesive, allow the adhesive to become tacky.

Take a piece of circular leather cut to a half inch larger all round than hole and hold it in place with adhesive applied to the sub-patch backing piece. Pro Stick 65™ Hi-Strength- spray adhesive for bonding foams, carpet and upholstery