Refurbishing/ redyeing/ reconnollising leather seats

[motorsport]

I've just had delivered a leather refurb/redye kit from LeatherMagic in the US. I have used this before with great results, but as it was over 5 yrs ago the leather is now slightly worn looking so it is time to sort it out again. The kit includes all the bits and pieces, including prepping agent and a large bottle of Lotus white dye, easily enough to complete a full interior and more for around Ԛ£80 incl. delivery. As i've done some of this before i am pretty confident of the results, and if done properly with a bit of patience the results can look just like a new original leather trim and save Ԛ£Ã”šÃ‚£Ãƒ”šÃ‚£Ãƒ”šÃ‚£s on fitting bespoke/dealer replacement leather, BMW wanted just on Ԛ£800 for one front seats worth of replacement Lotus white leather. The leather will also look like the original and not a bespoke retrim which should also add to the value.

Being Lotus white it shows the age/wear a lot more and to be honest the interior lets the rest of the car down, however they supply all BMW leather colours. To add to the 'clean up' I am also fitting, and redying from tan to white, a set of leather rear headrests, recolouring is also an option.

QUESTION: As I am intending to take a little while to get the job done as best as possible I was wondering if it was worth taking some before and after pics for some sort of tech article, showing all the processes involved. Basically before I spend time taking the pics and writing up a method of attack i was wondering if other E30 owners have thought of doing this but feared the technical/skill involvement of the process and quality of results.
I assume that there is a lot of tired E30 leather trims out there which could benefit from an Ԛ£80 refurb as opposed to an expensive retrim.
If enough people show interest due to the intent of doing this too i'll get an article written up for the moderators to host on the zone.

Cheers,
Andy

[Daryll]

Go for it Andy, mine is mullered and could do with a step by step process of how to refurb them. Ifyou could include how to get the seat back fixed as the damn thing is still broken on one side that would be great.



Good luck with it matey

[Pal318is]

Dude,

Go for it that's what I say

Mine are not to bad (kids in the back don't help ) so a step by step guide would be bang on!!
Hope it all goes well!!

[M3RAGS]

I have a better Idea...why not compare this to Liquid leather which is much cheaper

Yeah tell us how it goes...

[Guest]

I'm on board- nice one!!!

Was thinking just the other day my black leather could with a bit more colour put back in its cheeks!

Not sure how the process works, but will my red piping cause probs?

[motorsport]

Rags OK quick comparison:
Liquid leather dosen't repair any cracks/marks/creases/holes/tears, it just colours in the cracked exposed leather etc.? Looks like it does a pretty good job but dosen't repair any defects though. Spoken to them and they said it wouldn't suit any heavy cracks/creases.

Thanks,

Andy.

Couple of quotes from liquid leather:
CREASES AND CRACKS: we do NOT want to fill in the cracks with dye as this will form a wedge and increase the damage. We need to recolour the brown leather that shows within the cracks.

I wouldn't want to fill the cracks with dye neither, i'm using a leather repair compound instead to repair any defects.

To recolour a large car we supply a kit which includes, 250ml GT12 Cleaner, 250ml GT11 leather smelling Conditioner, 150ml Solvent cleaner, 1 litre Scuff Master dye and a self contained spray gun (no compressor needed) for Ԛ£74.00

The kit i've purchased contains the same quantities of dye etc. and the leather repair compound items too for Ԛ£6 more plus brushes, cloths,sandpapers,gloves etc.

Adam3, you may find liquid leather will suit your seats if there isn't any heavy cracking etc, just keep the black dye off your red piping. Never used liquidleather but it must be the same results. Post pics before and after anyhow.

Andy

[Guest]

Yeah, to be fair the actual leather is ok, just faded. I give it some thought.

[M5pilot]

My M5 light grey leather is cracked on both the front seats. So this kit youve bought sorts out the cracks aswell?

[motorsport]

Yes the leather compound filler fills the cracks. Firstly the surface cracks are generally untreated leather/dyes that have dried out, these are softened and sanded using a very fine grain paper. Last time i done it i was surprised at the amout of dust that came off after lightly sanding the hardened top surface coating/dye and not actually removing the leather. Once done it left only minor cracks really which can then be gradually filled/built up to a smooth finish ready for recolouring. I'll try and get a section done this weekend and post up some results.
I sound like a guy off QVC or something here, tring to sell a wonder cleaner. LOL
Andy

[Ziggy]

Sounds very interesting! Was gonna go for the gliptone stuff til I realised it was Ԛ£74! Looking forward to updates...

[fastcarz464]

I defo want a writeup on this, i have lotus white leather which is craked and abit tired looking!

[koolz]

hey motorsport? was wondering, what if i wanted to change from one colour to another? my leather interior is black but could i use this stuff and convert my leather to lotus white/cream too? think my car would look da mutts nutts in lotus white. where can i but it from? or where can i get dat liquid leather from?

[M3RAGS]

Koolz, i dont think its that simple mate!

[koolz]

noooooooooooooo , i want white or cream leather, blacks too common an boring. hey anybody wanna swop?

[motorsport]

fastcarz464: My leather is pretty badly cracked on the fronts too, I suppose what comes of mine will determine if yours would be worth doing.

koolz: You can change the colour, just think more sutle changes are more effective though. I prepped a pair of rear headrets last night, they are going from tan to Lotus White so there really ain't that much of a change. Softened the finish first and then sanded away, with a 220 grit automotive paper, all of the existing colour which resulted in a very soft finish pair of headrests with very little colour left in them. Gonna meticulously finish them tonight and then start applying some of the dye.
Should have all 4 headrests and the rear seats finished this weekend.
Andy.

[billyboy193]

Just had my leather re-trimmed ! but my door cards are white/cream colour and they are starting to fade and showing patches of black would this be any good to cover them as well?

[motorsport]

Could't advise on that one realy as i've never recoloured other than the headrests I'm doing at the moment.

[willow]

A tech article on how to do this would be great!

[motorsport]

Finished the 4 headrests over the weekend, spent a couple of hours here and there on them, the back two were dark tan, which i've also recoloured. I'll have to get some pics as they now look like 4 brand new headrests in lotus white, nice and soft too.
Keep you all posted.
Andy.

[M3RAGS]

You knew it was coming..............

[motorsport]

Wehay..! Way to go little buddy.

Yes deserved it, my first.........TTIWWP. I suppose i'll have to buy a digi camera now. Try and get some tonight.
Andy.

[M3RAGS]

yeah no worries mate, i was just kidding.

Can't wait to see your work!