restoring my black leather

[sandyd]

hi guys

was wanting some advise on the best way to restore my faded,cracked black leather

been told boot polish....but not sure

any help is greatfull

cheerrrs

[Jim320i]

You can buy Leather filler kits from Ebay...Someone recommended something called 'Leather forever' to meet at Santa pod. Havent tried it yet...


If you want to darken up the cracks, I used Morrisons Scuff remover for the price of 89p...Stopped them standing out, although they are still there... Just make sure you give them a good clean after to get all the excess off...

[sandyd]

cheers jim ill have a look on ebay the now!!

[sideshowbob]

Try Gliptone, they sell a range of products that cover all aspects of leather care from restoration tio just touching up.

[Jim320i]

Oh yes... Gliptone is good... I got the cleaner & conditioner, doesnt remove the cracksor stain them, but gives it a good clean and smeels amazing after... But they do some dyes too... I just never brought one though as dont know what the e30 black colour is called on the gliptone chart. Bloody loads of them.

[suchy]

Did you ever find out the black colour on the Gliptone chart Jim or did you not bother?
Search function hasn't brought up anything on here either regarding it.
Also whilst I'm hijacking and as you've used the stuff Jim, just wondered how far the cleaner and conditioner goes as I have two interiors I wish to do.

[beemerbird]

Gliptone do something they call 'E30 mid 90s Black'. Could be that they colour matched some black leather from an E30 for this. Oh, hang on. I've just stated the bleeding obvious

[suchy]

Kool cheers Fi
I did have a scout on their website but didn't find much info- just a load of Trade stuff. Perhaps wrong part of their site
E30 mid 90's black may well suffice then.
Now then I don't suppose you know how much cleaner and conditioner is needed per interior and how often it should be re-done?
Or is that too many questions + laziness from me??

[beemerbird]

If it were me, I'd buy a 250ml bottle of the cleaner, and a liter bottle of the conditioner, which can be applied every three months (I guess they assume once it's clean, it's clean). That's guessing by me, but they only do the two sizes.

Actually, if I was doing this, I'd give them a bell. E30 black will be a colour match which they may not have in stock, and they must deal with lots of enquiries so should be able to advise you better on quantities.

01706 819365 for advice and help

[suchy]

Many thanks Fi, I did try the search function first...honest!!

[beemerbird]

Hang on. . . .

They also have
1992 Black
1989 Black (not deep)
M3 1989 Black Scwartz 0203
1992+ Black

You being an arty type would probably notice any colour variations, but again, these will all have been colour matched and possibly not available now. They may, however, just have a universally accepted shade of black that they know keeps E30 owners happy

Success would depend, I guess, on whether you are touching up or doing the whole interior.

[beemerbird]

And M3 1988 black

[suchy]

Being the pedantic arty type loaded with OCD's I would obviously do the entire interior to eliminate hue differentation!!! So a close match would probably suffice
Now my Cardinal Red interior.......

[beemerbird]

Easy. Cardinal Red 80s; standard stock

[suchy]

Haha thanks- I think my Cardinal is kool for now... although it will be cleaned and conditioned

[Jim320i]

Only just spotted this, sorry I didnt reply mate. Gliptone cleaner & conditioner, it goes a long way mate, I brought some off Ebay last year and still have half of each bottle left over and done it about 4/5 times now...

So just get both cleaner & condition 250ml bottles and it should go far.


As for the black... I gave up... Going for Cardinal Red too once christmas is out the way...Gonna look Freeeeeeessssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh

[suchy]

Only just spotted this, sorry I didnt reply mate. Gliptone cleaner & conditioner, it goes a long way mate, I brought some off Ebay last year and still have half of each bottle left over and done it about 4/5 times now...
So just get both cleaner & condition 250ml bottles and it should go far.
As for the black... I gave up... Going for Cardinal Red too once christmas is out the way...Gonna look Freeeeeeessssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh

Hey no worries Jim, Fi was bored in-between feeds and nappy changes and jumped in your abscence
I'll try a black whilst I'm ordering stuff from them and will give both interiors a clean and condition whilst I'm there.
Looking forward massively to getting some time to put the Cardinal Interior in- hope I like it as much as I think I will. It's just staring at me in my office getting impatient!!

[Jim320i]

Wish I had a cardinal red interior ready to fit! I emailed them as I was a bit concerned about trying to dye black to red but they said its fine and will work. I asked about door cards aswell as they are vinyl, they suggested I buy something else with it (Cant remember what)to mix in with the leather dye to make it stronger and said I can use that with the seats too which should give a longer and better finish. Very much looking forward to attempting this in January when I buy the kit.

Looking forward to some pics of yours fitted

[suchy]

Yeah I'm torn between keeping the original interior that came with the car (black leather) and going all-out on the red. So will probably get a replacement red carpet and parcel shelf if they crop up some day or another grey set and dye black instead so I can keep the original interior just in case I don't like the red.
Must be some pretty intense chemicals to dye black to red though- will look awesome, especially if you can do the door cards to match (god-knows how one dyes vinyl!!??)
Is you car Blue or Black, can't really tell?
Spun round in my office chair to take a crap phone pic of this bloody lot taking up space in my office...

[Jim320i]

Mines a diamond black chromie so will go very well I think. If it turns out you dont like yours fitted, give me a shout the moment you dont like it! Its beautiful!

[suchy]

I like it very much, it's been on my 'I'll get one some day' list for a few years and the opportunity cropped up the other day so a deal was done!
I just hope it looks 'right' in my car...
Black car is a no-brainer!! It's pretty much the ultimate isn't it... Black Car- Cardinal Red interior
I think there's a thread in Photo Gallery 'show me your Sport' or something like that and scroll down a bit to see a slammed black 2-door with full red interior...

[suchy]

[Jim320i]

Amazing.



How much do you want for it?

[suchy]

That's not mine ^^^^^^
Mine is grey.
And my Cardinal isn't up for sale (unless it doesn't look right )


You know you what to do it though

[Jim320i]

I know thats not yours.I seen it before when I was looking for examples of black with cardinal. And I really hope itdoesnt gowith grey! But it will look awesome, I can already see it in my head and its mint.

How much did you pay for the whole interior then and where from?

[spook]

That red interior will look crap in your car, drop it down North End mate please

[suchy]

I know thats not yours.I seen it before when I was looking for examples of black with cardinal. And I really hope itdoesnt gowith grey! But it will look awesome, I can already see it in my head and its mint.

How much did you pay for the whole interior then and where from?

Haha I'm sure you do hope it looks crap. Spook also want to wrestle it from my grasp as his is also black.
I hope it does look awesome- still unsure of what to do with carpet/shelf. Get the interior in first and have a look
Was just chatting to another Zoner about it and the opportunity to purchase was mentioned... I thought long and hard about it and went for it

[suchy]

That red interior will look crap in your car, drop it down North End mate please

Nah I'll leave it on my driveway, you can come collect it