What to do with my seats

I have a tan 328 and I have dyed the seats twice. I bought the car new and the seats started losing their dye along the edges in the first year. The dye job has failed again along the edges and I am contemplating changing the upholstery to new. Reoriginals has replacement upholstery for the car for $1800 and the local shop wants $800 to put it on. The install price is probably negotiable but the upholstery kit is not. First, anyone had any experience with www.reoriginals.com and the quality of their product. Second, anyone ever redyed tan seats successfully where the dye actually stayed on -- I actually drive the car and want to use the seats. Third, anyone redone the seatcovers with anyone besides reoriginals. All input is appreciated.

 

You can also check out World Upholstery... http://www.worlduph.com/

Gahh... http://gahh.com/

and Lyle Tanner... http://www.ferraripartsexchange.com/interior.htm

I haven't done any of it yet just been researching for my 308. GAHH seems to be about the best price and I've heard nothing but good about thier products.

 

Just installed new seats/interior from Matt at Re-originals. They look great, and those guys could not be more helpful.

Carpets are from world upholstery. The rest is from reoriginals.

Here's a picture, before and after.
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Gorgeous! Looks great, congrats.

 

Nice job - that looks incredible!!!!

 

Remember those plastic slipcovers your mother had on the livingroom furniture? I wonder .........nevermind.

 

My two cents.......

Most car upholstery shops can do the whole job from scratch. I have had Leather interiors replaced many times, and had cloth interiors upgraded to leather ..... typical cost is around $ 1,300 to $ 1,800 for the seats, door panels, etc. I've even used small hole in the wall shops for this ... always was pleased with the results. Depends on the quality of the leather, how fancy the stiching is, and the size of the seats. Even a new 3/4 ton truck with big seats costs less than what you're paying for the leather kit alone, and that's installed. Plus you have someone to blame if there's a problem at some later date. Never done this to a Ferrari ..... but a seat is a seat ...... just take them a picture of the finished look you want or tell them to match the originals .... I'm confident if you use a good shop they'll give you as good a product ... maybe even better because they cut the leather to fit and it'll be custom ... not mass produced as with interior kits ... and there's no room for comments like ... "the kit didn't fit perfectly". And if you want the good-guy price .... spend a couple hours, pull the seats yourself and tell them they're out of a "Pinto" ..... so you don't get nicked because they're for a Ferrari.

 

DON'T GET NEW LEATHER ! ! ! RECOLOR YOURS ! ! !

Check out my earlier thread. http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25456

I recolored my tan interior with Leatherique several months ago and daily drive mine, and it's still like new. I know that's not exactly the experience of several years, but it feels great, and I am sure it's gonna last. I mean, I can't believe nobody suggested you color it again!?!

Whether you chose Leatherique or someone else, I'm sure the other applications were simply not well done in the first place. If you only need to do the seats you can easily do them yourself and they will look like brand new! Plus, if you ever scrape them or something, you have the stuff to fix it.

Cost is less than $200 (way less) and you don't have to worry about "do the seams line up" etc.. Plus, I just love that I still have the factory stitching which is perfect on my 328.

If I can be of any more help, let me know. I would really encourage you to recolor it.

Best!
Wes

 

Depends on the condition of the original seats. I did the Leatherique thing to my black daytona seats first, but, the leather was in such bad shape that it just wasn't going to hold up.

Certainly made them look presentable, but wasn't going to make them look great. And, tended to rub off because of the overall condition of the leather.

The other problem I had was that the seat foam was beat, and very expensive to replace. So, I stuffed them as best as I could, but, they just were not cutting it.

Here's before and after.
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Wow that really dresses that interior up very nicely. I really prefer the new color combination.

 

I stripped & redyed my seats using Leatherique 2 years ago. See:
'Redyed Seats Look Great':
http://www.ferrarichat.com/discus/messages/256120/134850.html

Two years later, They still look great!

The car is my daily driver from mid-spring into fall, as long as the weather's reasonable.

By the end of last year a thin wear stripe developed in the usual spot along the driver's l.h. bolster. This summer I touched it up with a few coats of the left-over dye. You can't spot the touched-up area. Another nice thing is that the dye takes the wear, not the leather!

 

After lurking around these chat sites for the entertainment factor. I recently came out of the closet. Not to promote the shop, but to help those that don't have understanding wives or own large corporations. I know very few people that have the skills or equiptment to fabricate leather seating at the level your cars require. True some peoples expectations are lower than others, but, generally, this is a tough crowd. I usually don't do kits at my shop. this includes convertible tops. Everything is built from scratch. The leather I currently use has so much waste that my cost is close to what Matt charges for a set of Dino seat covers. Then there is the foam and webbing in most cases to restore the frames to the original look and feel. A few hundred more. I think very highly of all Matt's efforts in reguard to our hobby. And depending on your frames and the degree of deterioration of your supportive materials 800.00 is bottom line. I'm not going to waste anyone's time arguing about a seats a seat or what you paid the local shop, these cars demand a high degree of skill at all aspects of repair or restoration. Over ten years ago I did a tech lecture for the Mid-Atlantic region of FCA on "How to keep your car out of my shop" . Which includes tan. If there is interest at a later date, I can go over the fine points. As, far as dying is concerned. I don't recommend color changes even on Pinto's. I clean surfaces with fast drying lacquer thinner, SEM soap, or SEM vinyl prep. I turn the air and material down to a fine mist and apply several thin coats. The major problem with most dye jobs is the thickness of the application, and the gloss. If you can't flatten your dye don't buy it.

 

Coatchtm,
I disagree on two of your points. Changing color and high degree of skill on these cars.
If you prep the leather properly you shouldn’t have any problems. I have learned the hard way but it was all my fault. I didn’t prep the leather the way I should have. With some help of members of the board and the suppliers I was able to correct my mistakes with fantastic results. I went from black to Mercedes light ash and it looks fantastic. I was advised by some professionals not to do it. When they saw the results they were amazed. As for the skills the job does not require any. Just follow suppliers instructions carefully and be VERY patient. There is a lot of support on this board to achieve a great finished product. High degree of skill on these cars is no different than any other car. If you work on a Pinto you will treat it just like one. As for our Ferraris???
I will post pictures over the weekend.
Tommy A

 

TommyA-
I'm never closed to new products or ideas. I look forward to your pictures. And believe me I 'm aware of the fact that nobody wants to be ripped-off just because they want their ferrari work on. In the past thirty years of restoring show cars not just the Italian cars. I have found it alot easier to put a dash pad on a 69 firebird than complete leather dash in a 400sa. Or seat covers on your old mustang as opposed to a set of Matt's Dino seat covers. And the equiptment and tools I would use are also a lot different. Even my old Alfa Quad is more difficult to work on , than my TR4.
Coachtm

 

Eric,

How did you redye the seats in the first place?

If done properly, with the right stuff, it should last well.

Here are my Gliptone "colourwashed" seats from my 330:

 

They were sprayed with some dye by a "pro" who comes to the house. His prep was lacquer thinner, I think. We did take the seats apart and do a good job of cleaning what was there but I cannot tell you what kind of product he used -- it may have been junk. I am getting encouraged to try it one more time. Anyway, the worst thing that can happen is I screw up the upholstery to where I need to replace it.

 

I did some tests on a scrap of leather I had in order to figure out my approach. I found that lacquer thinner or mineral spirits were pretty strong medicine, and I ended up not using strong solvents on the seats at all.

However, such stuff may be necessary to remove any build up that was sprayed on. (In my case, I was lucky and my leather was in quite good condition without any re-dye build-up.)

I really learned a lot by trying different approaches on the scrap piece of leather, and I'd recommend that you try the same thing, too. See what effects solvents, saddle soap, leather shampoo, etc. have on the leather itself, and how each cleaner effects the absorbtion of the dye. You can also try different dye application techniques, like spraying, brushing or blotting. (I ended up blotting with a simple wadded-up paper towel!)

If you don't have any leather lying around (I happened to have some for another car project) you can use leather tennis racquet grips. They should be available at any tennis pro shop, or you can get them online here:
http://www.atssports.com/ats/reference_product.asp?dept_id=3&parent_dept_id=3004&pf_id=AGLG

I think you're right, Eric, to tackle them yourself. If it works out well, you'll be pleased and proud. And if it doesn't, as you said, the worst outcome is that you'll have brand new upholstery!

--Matt

 

Hi Eric
I have just purchased a kit from ......... http://www.woolies-trim.co.uk
I havent done the seats yet am leaving it for a winter job, but I have seen the results on a mates car and they were very impressive and woolies are very reasonably priced too.
As TommyA says tho preperation is EVERYTHING and patience is needed to get the job done right so I plan to take my time
Good luck from Simes
P.S. I know my mate doesnt use his 348 every day so I have no idea of its longevity.

 

I have used the kit from woolies and would recommend it. I re-dyed my 308 gt4 seats about 7 yrs ago then treated them with gliptone. I have redone only the side bolsters on the drivers seat since and fed them. The kit lasts for ages. Good prep is the key. Worth getting this kit its not expensive. Best of luck.
Gavin