Restoring Leather Seats

[J4CKO]

I am itching to get going on my car but the sub zero temps, snow, ice and dark nights are thwarting me, managed to get some welding practic done the other day in anticipation of tackling the
rust on the bottom of the front wing and it came out better than I could have hoped, few more practces and I will be ready, but I digress.

My seats arent too bad, they have a "patina", a bit too much patina really and the stitching on the corner of the passenger one is a bit freyed so thinking of restoring them, my wife sews so can fix the freyed bit hopefully and I saw this thread when googling for options and the result is amazing on the manky M3 seat in question, far worse than the ones in mine,

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=233787

So, anyone tried it on a 944, what were your results like ?

How easy are the seats to remove, any pitfalls, any tips ? is it just four bolts and a wiring plug ?

 

[J4CKO]

Also, they offer several finishes from Matt, Semi Gloss, Satin, gloss etc, am thinking that Satin may be the most appropriate but not sure what they looked like origionally, after 22 years of use, it is difficult to tell.

 

[andy watson]

ORIGINAL: J4CKO


How easy are the seats to remove, any pitfalls, any tips ? is it just four bolts and a wiring plug ?

Easy to remove, there are 6 allen key bolts, 2 at the rear of each rail and the wiring plug.

 

[zcacogp]

Seats out is very easy.

Spraying is very easy too. I did the same with mine last summer (I hear you on the weather front!) using some woolies colourant and a small spray gun, and wasn't as careful as the guy in that post. However it still came out very well and the seats look a lot, lot younger. In retrospect I should have used some filler for the cracks as well, but the lack of that is not a major problem.

Have a go. You will be surprised at how easy it is to get a good result.


Oli.

 

[eddieedmo]

Have a look at my guide in 944 tech articles - search for leather care.
Where are you based , I am in North Yorkshire.
What colour are they ?
Get in touch if you want any help.
You will need to do in a warm environment not outside in cold temperatures.
www.leatherupholsterycare.co.uk

Nick

 

[J4CKO]

Nick,

I am in Cheshire, seats are black.

Am planning to take the passenger one out and get on with that, in my "man hut" (Big Garden shed) and will get a fan heater in there, am I best getting the kit or
better buying specific stuff individually, do you sell the stuff ?

 

[edh]

I did mine last year

from this

to this

via this

The bolster had been previously repaired, the cracks were worse than they looked on the surface. Leather filler is great stuff though.

It's a great way to smarten up the interior of your car, and not too hard to do. I think I used Dynamix dyes, so no need for a separate top coat.

 

[944 man]

A cheap 25l compressor from the likes of Aldi or Lidl will make it all a good deal easier Mark. You cant expect to run a windy gun off them all day, but theyll make short work of refinishing the seats with a good quality airbrush. £80 well spent and youll have it for everything else afterwards.

As an alpha male, I bought a 50l 2.5hp compressor! [] Now located under my stairs, the black finish polishes up nicely with Mr.Sheen and its been very useful for windy guns, metal shears, tyre inflators as well as an airbrush.

My neighbours are confused by the airline which comes out of my kitchen window, though.

 

[J4CKO]

Yes, there is a certain ineviatablity about a compressor, need to work out a way of sneaking it past the missus, if its big, shiny and makes a noise she will ask questions, thats why car stuff like a remap is great as it is invisible to the suspicious female who doesnt like you spending your own wages as it may impact her enjoyment of your wages

 

[zcacogp]

Ha! I bought a £20 25L 2Hp compressor off eBay precisely to finish the seats, and it has proved quite useful for a number of other jobs since.

Downside is that my 944 lives on the road and my workshop is in my basement. I can't stick a pressure hose out of the window but I am seriously considering putting a connector on the outside of the house so I can run air tools on the car. (I've done this with an electric socket and a tap as well, so I guess compressed air is the next logical step!)


Oli.

 

[J4CKO]

I have the front half of the garage, its a bit full but sort of works as its near the car, my manhut is at the bottom of the garden so consequently I rarely go in it, would love a proper garage as my 944 would be get worked on in the evenings, as it is I get about 5 days a year where I am not working, not on holiday, its not cold, not dark, not raining, not doing some other task.

Annoying thing is, the house we nearly bought, a new one had a double garage, but it fell through because my wife snagged too many items, the builders objected so she cancelled the deposit, still, other than the garage it was better.

 

[944 man]

Im certainly not an expert on compressors, but the Aldi and Lidl offerings that Ive seen since I bought mine seem like excellent value and Ive seen them down to £60 on occasion.

I can carry my (boxed) 2,5hp 50l compressor on my own, so Im confident that a 25l model could be easily moved in without drawing too much attention to it.

Id like something larger but you have to sacrifice portability.

 

[eddieedmo]

can you send me some pics and I can see how bad they are , concentrate on main wear areas - bolsters etc.in pics .I can provide a very good product I use which is new to the market and is a blend of dye with a finish built in , and for black makes it an easy one stage operation if not to badly worn water based as well.It is great fro dark colours but not light ones such as linen.
post pics to nje944@talktalk.net.

Nick []

 

[944 man]

Didnt you use an all-in-one Ed?

 

[J4CKO]

nick, ok sent the pics, take a look,, see what you think, they dont seem that bad really looking at them, amazing for 22 years and 116k miles, the M3 seats in the example were ruined in comparison.

 

[eddieedmo]

ORIGINAL: 944 man

Didnt you use an all-in-one Ed?

dynamix colours have a built in finish but you need several applications to get coverage ( I have tested them ), what I can supply is very intense and on dark colours you only need one application or two at most.Very fast drying and is absorb very readily.Gives a very even finish with little product.
I think Ed needed many coats from memory to get coverage in some areas , I have deleted his emails so can't remember exactly.

Nick []

 

[944 man]

I saw them and I was surprised when he said that the dye and the finish was combined, because they looked smart. I made a mental note to ask you which products youd recommended when I finally plucked up the courage to do mine.

 

[J4CKO]

Let me know how much and I can Paypal you if that is ok. Sooner the better really.

 

[944 man]

Unfortunatly Nick my black sports seats are like new whilst I have three sets of creamy seats which all need filling and refinishing.

 

[J4CKO]

ORIGINAL: 944 man

Unfortunatly Nick my black sports seats are like new whilst I have three sets of creamy seats which all need filling and refinishing.

Build an eight seater 944 limo !

How do you store that lot ?