Leatherique - My skin is peeling | FerrariChat
Buy

Leatherique - My skin is peeling

Discussion in 'Detailing & Showroom' started by Stephen C, May 8, 2016.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. Stephen C

    Stephen C Rookie

    Nov 10, 2013
    25
    Calgary
    Full Name:
    Steve C
    #1 Stephen C, May 8, 2016
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I acquired a 348 Spider a couple of years back and decided to treat the leather over the past winter using Leatherique. I removed my seats and slathered them in Rejuvinator Oil about 4 times over the winter and stored the seats in warm room. Through the course of the treatment the seats developed a tacky finish whish I assumed was the remainder of the Rejuvinator Oil that did not get absorbed.

    As it has warmed up, I am preparing the seats for re-installation. I have sprayed the seats with Prestine Clean and have been wiping the seats down. I have found that the tacky finish is being removed however I am also removing what appears to be a layer of leather finish. It is much like peeling sunburned skin. Take a look at the attached photos.

    Having said the above, the surface under the peeled skin is much softer and supple and looks to more closely match the color of the remainder of the interior.

    My questions:
    Is this normal with the Leatherique process?
    I am concerned that a previous owner had the seats re-dyed/finished, and the Leatherique process is removing an aftermarket non-factory finish. I suspect this maybe the case as it looks like the drivers seat bolster has some scuffing that concealed by a paint like finish over top. Is this a practical concern?

    Thanks for your thoughts
    Steve
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  2. Dave rocks

    Dave rocks F1 World Champ
    BANNED

    Nov 23, 2012
    16,047
    Orchard Park, NY
    Full Name:
    Dave Lelonek
    #2 Dave rocks, May 8, 2016
    I'd say you are removing a prior dyed finish.
     
  3. ///Mike

    ///Mike F1 Veteran

    Dec 11, 2003
    6,097
    Bugtussle
    #3 ///Mike, May 8, 2016
    Looks like the leather has been redyed at some point and you are uncovering the original finish by removing that coating.
     
  4. blackbolt22

    blackbolt22 F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 25, 2007
    5,798
    Boca Raton, FL
    Full Name:
    Mr. Anderson
    #4 blackbolt22, May 8, 2016
    I agree. I've used Leatherique many times without this result.
     
  5. SizzleChest

    SizzleChest Formula Junior

    Dec 15, 2014
    255
    Naples, FL
    Full Name:
    Scott
    #5 SizzleChest, May 9, 2016


    I agree with the above...
     
  6. JoeTSI

    JoeTSI Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 16, 2015
    1,433
    Huntsville, AL
    Full Name:
    Joe K.
    #6 JoeTSI, May 10, 2016
    Most definitely re-dyed sometime in the past and not prepped correctly. If applied correctly, the dye wouldn't peel like that with leatherique. If I had to venture a guess, someone used an oil based product prior to the re-dye.
     
  7. Mondial83

    Mondial83 Formula Junior

    Nov 8, 2014
    685
    #7 Mondial83, May 10, 2016
    Last edited: May 10, 2016
    You skipped the most important first step. Remove all old dye by rubbing and wiping with lacquer thinner. Yes I know how it sounds but in order for leatheigue to work you must remove all old surface dye as much as you can without creating suede. This result is what you get from not removing all old dyes and it is not going to be fixable without starting over and doing that process first. I did my entire interior and it's beautiful look up my post on it and that's the process you have to do to make it work.
     
  8. Stephen C

    Stephen C Rookie

    Nov 10, 2013
    25
    Calgary
    Full Name:
    Steve C
    #8 Stephen C, May 10, 2016
    Thanks for the feedback. As at least the third owner of the car, and with no significant records/history it was not clear that the seats had been redone and that a strip of old material was required....so we'll see where this goes. This likely explains why the Rejuvinator oil became tacky. It probably had a hard time being absorbed by the leather.

    Clearly a Murphy's law situation in that this was discovered at the start of the driving season!!!
     
  9. ///Mike

    ///Mike F1 Veteran

    Dec 11, 2003
    6,097
    Bugtussle
    #9 ///Mike, May 10, 2016
    The OP didn't say that he is trying to redye his seats, he was simply trying to treat them. Apparent someone has previously sprayed on a coating that was either inferior or incorrectly applied.
     
  10. ///Mike

    ///Mike F1 Veteran

    Dec 11, 2003
    6,097
    Bugtussle
    #10 ///Mike, May 10, 2016
    Rejuvenator oil becomes tacky anyway if you leave it sitting long enough or in high enough temperatures. Leatherique says heat is good but I found out the hard way that too much heat makes the oil very difficult to remove.

    Seems to me that your next step has pretty much been chosen for you. There's really no option other than continuing until the coating is removed. If you're really lucky the finish underneath will be good, but even if it's not you would have still needed to remove the bad dye job at some point. Hopefully you can drive the car as-is and worry about a redye, if one is needed, in the off-season.
     
  11. dm_n_stuff

    dm_n_stuff Four Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Dec 10, 2003
    43,606
    26.806311,-81.755805
    #11 dm_n_stuff, May 10, 2016
    that looks like a spray on refinish, not exactly a stripped off dye job. Could even be Leatherique's color on top in a slightly different shade than the original.

    Having used Leatherique (to do a black over black re-dye) my guess is there wasn't ANY prep, so the die didn't penetrate at all.

    Looks like a long haul of peel and redye ahead.

    D
     
  12. spirot

    spirot F1 World Champ

    Dec 12, 2005
    14,993
    Atlanta
    Full Name:
    Tom Spiro
    #12 spirot, May 10, 2016
    Yes - its old paint being pulled off. continue to do it until you get it all off, and use a brush around any stitching so you don't wear the threads through.

    good news is that using new leatherique will be easier and you will have a great finish.

    bad news - its a bit of a job to do right... but if you have them out now is the time to do it.

    in the mean time you can always mount some Sparco seats while you are fixing these.
     

Share This Page