Seats restoration. DIY.

Hi everybody!

I've been considering restore the interior of my 348 for a long time. The worst thing by far were the seats, the rest of the parts are really in a good shape. Sometimes I thought about re-upholstering the whole interior, but I couldn't afford it then, and now even less. Then I thought about re-upholstering the seats only, but it's expensive too. So time passed by and the seats looked like crap inside of an increasingly rejuvenated 348.

I found the best solution for me definately; leather dye. I know it's not the best looking solution but it fits my actual budget (remember I live in Spain )

Here you will see pictures of the before and after, but unfortunately I didn't took pics in the process. My fault.

I used a re-dye kit from Gliptone (Liquid leather) that contains a cleaner, a conditioner, a degreasant, a gloss enhacer and a color match dye that can be applyed by sponge, brush, or what I choosed, spraying.

The job is very easy, but you need to be patient, and apply everything as instructions suggests.

Here we go:


First, remove the seats out of the car, and everything you want to dye.


My seats were very cracked, so I used a fine sandpaper very gently for smoothing the surface. It worked well, and made a better finish, but you must be very careful not to damage the leather. This step is not essential, don't do this If your interior is not as bad or if you don't want to take the risk.


Clean the seats (or anything you want to dye) with the special cleaner and a brush. Later with a damp white cloth. Repeat the process until the leather is really really clean.


Next step, use the conditioner with a dry white cloth. Let it dry, and repeat a few hour later or next day. I did this step 3 times until the leather was soft, it's very important because once the dye is applied it's recommended to not conditionig the leather in the next months.


Repeat the cleaning again.


And very important, use the degreasant. It's some kind of solvent (smells like thinner). It's going to remove any residue, oil or grease that could make the dye to don't stay well in leather. I must say that this step is the point of non return; you can see how the colour fades as this degreasant is applied. Do this if you're sure you're gonna dye the leather.


And the last step is to apply the dye. I took the seats to a professional for spaying the dye the best way for the best results. It worth the price. The dye is water based and it must be thinned with 10% / 15% of water for using with a spraygun. Apply very thin coats and let it dry thoroughly, and mix some gloss enhancer for the last coat for building the preferred gloss.

 

Seats removal:
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Driver seat front screws were a nightmare to unbolt; they were rusted and deformed.

I replaced them with hex head bolts for easy future removals.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Now it's a good time for some cleannig
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Thi is how looked the seats before the restoration process
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Repairing some rusted areas of the seat rails
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Dyed seats
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

And everthing back in place... Looks good?
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Wow, what a difference. They look great. Thanks for the tips and information.
Mike
Reading, PA

 

Great job!

 

looks good!

 

Taking your time really shows with great results. They look really nice.

 

Wow Moises - That looks the business. You'll be challenging me for the Concours soon the way you're restoring your car. It looks great.
You've chosen exactly the same process and product that I used on my 348 a few months ago. Gliptone is a great product.

Here's a pic of the way mine turned out.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

That's an incredible transformation! Great work!

 

Thank you guys for your kind words

I'm glad you like it.

 

Hi Clive!

Brilliant job! So you used Gliptone too, your car looks much better than mine. I would believe you put new leather in the whole interior If you don't tell. Honestly, it's one of the best looking 348 I've seen ever.

Get ready for the next Concuors, My car might be there