restoring leather seats..

seats in my 355 are showing some wear...is it possible to restore them or do I need to get new covers? I have seen some youtube videos where guys have restored some pretty messed up leather...but never in person

 

Depending how bad they are, you can re dye them or you can have them recovered. Best to send these to someone in your area that has experience.

 

Call a professional. They oftentimes will come right to your house and perform the work. If they have to remove the seat they'll take it to their shop and reinstall. The reputable ones do amazing work.

 

I cant find anyone in my area that does it..can anyone recommend a good dye kit?

 

If there is a Ferrari dealership near you trying calling them as the dealership probably uses someone local for leather refurbishing and / touch up.

 

Didn't want to make a whole new thread for this, but the dye on my headrests is starting to crack so is there a way to completely remove the dye and reapplying new dye while also keeping the embossed logo on my headrests?

 

Sorry to here I just don't like the dye stuff it's a quick band aid for a broken bone

 

Haha yeah. Any other solutions? Starting to get pretty bad.

 

I did the whole interior of mine myself including dash, dooorcards etc. I used acetone and some 800 gtit wet and dry to "sand down" the cracked surface then reappied the dye. Nerve wracking to do at first but results are very impressive. Before and after pics below...

Whole story here...

348 DIY "Restoration" - Page 52
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Jeff, you did an amazing job. Excellent!

 

Thank you !

The nice thing about doing it yourself is that you ever scuff anything you can just whip out the liquid and have it repaired in 5 mins. Great for the thin strips in the door openings which get scuffed all the time.

I even had enough to convert my black 348 parcel shelf t a 355 cream look

NB Centre piece wasn't screwed back yet - it does fit properly - honest!
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times 10

 

Amazing. What brand dye did you use?

 

I bought everything from here but mostly because they are only 10 mins away so I can pop in and get advice/bits and bobs. ust be something in USA of a similar nature

Cars - Leather Repair Kits and Products

The main "secret" is the rubbing down of the original surface to get rid of cracks but it isnt for the faint hearted! LOL

You can see in pic below how a combination of acetone and wet and dry has removed previously applied coatings (which crack) which makes the surface ready for the new fresh (flexible) coating.
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The product/system most used in the 308 community is Leatherique.

Home Page | Leatherique Restoration Products

 

Stay clear from Leatherique. The worst customer service on the planet. They matched my seats 3 times and never got it right.

 

I have done two cars with Leatherique products and swear by it. never have had an issue. I would highly recommend them.

the leather matching is tough however. if yousend them a sample that is from under the seat etc.. chances are it will be a different color than the seats that see the sun... so you have to almost go by eye - which is hard.

the best thing is to re do the color of the entire seat at one time. the results can be amazing.

Pristine clean & rejuvinator oil are Awsome products to use to keep your seats looking brand new.

 

I sent them a perfect sample and they could not even get it to match the sample - the actual peice they were provided. My leather felt a bit softer after the rejuvinating oil, just a bit. I'd never use them again. Griot's leather care has been better in my eyes and the shelf life is much better than the crap from Leatherique

 

Jeff, how long ago did you do this and how is it holding up?

 

Contact Color Plus visit their web site. I have used it to refurbish my Porsche seats. Used by all the Porsche experts. They can color match perfectly with their Spectophometer

 

I did it in April 2012 so just over 2 years ago. I use my car quite a bit (almost every day in the Summer months and any day its not raining/icey in Winter). Apart from the drivers bolster which Ive given an extra top up coat its all original so I'm more than happy with its longevity.

 

Good to know. When I purchased my "pristine" 430 spider the dye on the bolster started wearing out after a few weeks. It had obviously been hastily and poorly re-dyed (and not disclosed). So I am looking to attend to this after the current driving season.

 

What about saddle soap and polish? My drivers bolster cleaned up nicely with saddle soap but replacing the dye/finish is still in question. Saddle soap got all the blue denim stain out of my tan seat bolster.

 

Sadly mine is cracking. I detailed the entire car in and out last weekend including cleaning the leather so it actually looks a bit worse now. I got a lot of dye off.

 

In the SF North and East Bay areas there is one "go to guy"; he's done 3 or 4 jobs for me, but he scared the hell out of me one time. I had a small job for him, and he asked for me to come the a dealer where he was working rather than him coming to my home.

When I got there he was working on an old Volvo convert. One seat had some of the worst cracking I have ever seen. The other looked almost new. Seeing that almost made me swear off used cars.