Leather restoration

[Blitz]

What product do I need to restore the leather, not sure if it needs recolouring.

[HartgeH27]

Gliptone cleaner and then Gliptone conditioner (AKA liquid leather).

The stitching at the rear is past its sell by date though, sorry to say and if you start by putting a patch in it will blatantly obvious. Either a full retrim or find a close match to replace.

[essexboy]

yeahgliptone i'd say my stitch has gone there too

[ImysE30]

yeahgliptone i'd say my stitch has gone there too

Sorry for hi-jack
Is ebay best place to get the product? Need to do mine as well. My stich has also gone in the same place

[B7]

Easiest way out of that rear seat issue is source a new seat back. A good repairer MAY be able to stretch that back and re stitch but it would take some doing.

[ImysE30]

I tried myself but was hopeless, leather is too tightly fitted. I've put some black cellotape over it

[d6dph]

www.cleanyourcar.co.uk

[Blitz]

Thanks guys, I've seen some rear seats now and again on ebay.

[essexboy]

i had a guy try and restitch mine but he said the sun had heated it up and made it too tight but i think he was a wimp as he was moaning his fingers was sore but i'll take a second opinion as i've had people tell me they have had worse repaired

[HartgeH27]

i had a guy try and restitch mine but he said the sun had heated it up and made it too tight but i think he was a wimp as he was moaning his fingers was sore but i'll take a second opinion as i've had people tell me they have had worse repaired

Lee, I had a similar problem with the stitching on a car a few years ago. One of the problems is that where the leather has come unstitched it becomes exposed to the elements and dries up. As a consequence it is nearly impossible to (a) stretch the leather or (b) the leather is to brittle to take the stitching.

Defo recommend looking out for a replacement upright section of rear seat.

[Blitz]

How about the rusty bits on the runners?

[mattsbmw]

A careful rub down and re paint i would say (for the runners)

[h7fal]

I had the same problem and as described above the leather could no longer be stretched. You can see the split in the photo below.



Instead of buying replacement and struggling to match colours etc (my console is all leather as well) the trimmer took a piece of spare leather from the underneath of the bench (I think) and stitched like this:




Cost about £50 I think but worth considering?

[DaveD]

it can be stretched but it might take a few months...mine was done when the car was off the road and was soaked in hide food for months before restitching

[robbo86]

I like that patch idea, its simple but effective and makes it look a bit more finished!

[neamem]

looks like a factory job as well. may have to look into it for mine.

[ImysE30]

I like that patch as well, doesn't look that much out of place. Definitely worth a go

[e30-unit-soldier]

I saw on the new weeler dealers series Edd got the leather refurbished on a bentley the geezer rubbed down the leather with a special abrasive pad and then with over it with a flexible liquid leather paint on a sponge, the leather came up like new.

[neamem]

have a look at www.dynamixdyes.com got some stuff on there for cracks etc. will be getting a kit after payday.

[DaveD]

got mine from these people ..they will supply dye to match whatever colour you want

http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/

[leeparkes]

Has anyone 'changed' the colour of there leathers using dye?

[toby]

it can be stretched but it might take a few months...mine was done when the car was off the road and was soaked in hide food for months before restitching

I think this is the best way. Hide food is amazing stuff.

Cost about £50 I think but worth considering?

That's bloody clever and if you decide to take this route it would probably be best to source a bit of leather from a seat but if you want me to find some leather for you in a similar colour let me know. You could make up the patch yourself.

[Blitz]

I tried the Gliptone stuff but it does not seem to be working.

[DaveD]

Has anyone 'changed' the colour of there leathers using dye?

this is mine ...keeps needing topping up now and then

[toby]

Gliptone is a bit thin perhaps. Hide food would recondition the leather more deeply but as Dave said, it takes time. Dave's interior is amazing - I saw it at Ace cafe some years back.

[leeparkes]

Has anyone 'changed' the colour of there leathers using dye?

this is mine ...keeps needing topping up now and then

what colour were the seats before?

[DaveD]

black

[leeparkes]

I have black sports seats in my 325i that need refurbing,no rips just cracked,
was going to dye black again but theres something about oxblood leathers i like!
not sure if it would go with lachs silver though.

[Chase007]

got mine from these people ..they will supply dye to match whatever colour you want

http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/

what size did you go for DaveD, all i want to do is touch up the colour mine is black so just back to black really seats and panels in a cab with Bubble interior? Cheers.

[DaveD]

I went for the biggest and I still have a lot left but I changed the colour completely.....you will only need a small one but I thought the bubble was two colours so you would only want to do the edges anyway

[Chase007]

I went for the biggest and I still have a lot left but I changed the colour completely.....you will only need a small one but I thought the bubble was two colours so you would only want to do the edges anyway

Yeah that's what i mean i only need to do the sides and back of seats then the back seats same again and door panels so i was thinking what size i can get away with using and is this stuff better than that other link as it looks it as it comes with the spray as the other does not. Cheers.

[JamOnIt]

Hi guys, Ive been reading this thread and still unsure what route to take, Ive got beige sports interior and want to keep the original colour. The seats have the usual wear on the bolsters and grazing/cracks in the factory original finish. So how about some feedback on whats best... the furniture clinics or the Gliptone scuff-master colouring kit?

Has anyone used either and what are the results like, are they long lasting and hide the years of use and abuse our interiors have had to put up with?

[DaveD]

As you are keeping the colour the same it really does not matter which one you use as they will both match the colour you have The gliptone is OK for smaller areas and the furnitureclinic one has been OK on mine but it does rub off on the bolsters and has to be renewed from time to time ...but then mine was black originally Neither is like new leather which is properly tanned but it is certainly more cost effective than re upholstery especially if the leather is not worn out.

One tip however ..both these products are spirit dyes and will take a day to dry and in this weather the pores in the leather will be closed and it will not soak in properly...unless you have a heated garage

[Chase007]

Time to start thinking where i can get heat from then? I will do it next year but it's going to be cold for ages