Doing the leatherique redye thing

Here are some before and during pics of my work so far. I stripped the seats with lacquer thinner and did a small test section on the bottom of the bolsters. Seats are much softer now. I really hated the thought of doing this to the original seats but due to a large cut in one of the seat bottoms my hands were tied. I figured if the redye doesn't work I could always pick up new ones. So far I think they will turn out pretty good.
I will post pics of the end results in the next few weeks. Just waiting for better weather and free time to finish this project.
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The stripped seat is the one with the blue tape on it in the top pic and the one on the right

in the bottom pic. When stripped the seats are kind of like a chocolate color. When I dye

them I am going to try for the patina look if possible.


It's funny, I did strip the other seat tonight and it is not as dark as the first one was. I

guess it is just variations in the leather.

I have only seen original 308 seats in saddle with black stripes, red with both red or black


stripes, blue with blue or black stripes, and of course just plain black. I am sure they


probably came in other colors as well. I have to assume that they are all a brownish tan


when stripped. I'm sure someone knows all of the facts about original seat colors and I


would love to hear what they have to say on the subject. I would also like to know what


the exact process was as far as dyeing goes when these seats were made.

Thanks

 

Trying to make a little progress here. I am almost finished with the drivers side seat back. This seat back was in much worse shape than the passenger side. I hope that the rest of the project goes a little more smoothly. I feel that I had to put on more dye than I wanted to due to some areas of the leather not really taking to the dye. I'll tell yah, I really like the chocolate color of the stripped seats. I am kinda tempted to just leave them natural like that. PS- The camera flash makes the end result look shinier than it really is.
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After speaking with one of the top experts I believe that the previous owner probably had applied Connelly lacquer spray dye many years ago. Leatherique does not really penetrate into the leather because of this. The lacquer thinner removed all of the previous dye and allowed the rejuvinator oil to really soak in and soften up the leather.
The expert I talked to also explained to me that I cannot duplicate the original processes that Connelly took. Right now I am not happy with the color (saddle) and have once again restripped the seat back with lacquer thinner. I am currently waiting on the repaired seat bottom from my upholsterer and thinking about matching up the color of the leather I used for the repair. It is hard because my original color is not saddle or tobacco but, probably something in between the two.
Due to my obsession to try and keep the car original I will also do a test with another product that is a spray on dye since the Connelly lacquer dye is no longer available. The only reason for me not giving up and ordering new hides is that I think a new interior would in my mind, not match the patina of the rest of the car.
Just to clarify, I am happy with the leatherique dye and the way it works. I am just getting very picky about the color I want to go with. I probably will end up having them do a color match for me but I wanted to see if there was another option.

 

Well I have finally finished the seats. To recap, I needed to address a tear in the seat bottom of the passenger seat. Since I was doing that I figured it would be a good time to redye the seats in order for them to match up better with the repaired one. I tried Leatherique's dye kit and I was not completly happy with the results. I was not a big fan of the saddle color or how it absorbed into the leather or the piping. After restripping the seats I decided to try a product by SEM. I went with their camel color 15173 flexible coating since that was the best match to my original color. When using the SEM color coat you really have to pick a day with low humidity to make sure it goes on just right. In one of the pics you can see the leather from the torn seat bottom I replaced and a little swatch of the replacement leather I used. You can also see the original color that was located under the black stripes in the seats.
I was told that I would never be able to replicate the original process that Connelly used back in the day. While I might have not been able to replicate the process I do think that I made the seats look as close to the originals as possible. At the end of the day I can definitely say that I am happy with the results now and that is all that really matters. Now I have to get out and drive as much as possible to add some patina to the seats before the next show.
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My uhpolsterer who works on all kinds of seats everyday recommended Color Coat. After I removed the Leatherique with Lacquer thinner I then used the Leatherique prepping agent. I also used the lacquer thinner to remove my first try with the SEM dye because the end result came out a bit dry and sandy to the touch. Just so you know, I was not trying to make the seats look brand new. I left all of the imperfections and wear areas in the seats exempt for the three inch tear in the passenger seat.
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