Leather re-dye project

So... Moving on with the project...

 

The scariest part of a leatherique re-dye is the wet-sanding the leather with the prepping agent and 600 grit sandpaper... Id been dreading this for fear of ruining my seats.... But I tackled it this morning...

 

LOL!!! Nothing to fear... The seats look almost brand new after the sanding... It almost completely took off the black scuff marks by itself... Which appear to actually be just rubbed off dye from my dockers. Hit the few creases with their "crack filler" (this stuff is a lot thinner than I expectted... the consistency of wet paint... I just dabbed a finger in it and rubbed it into the cracks... A drop goes forever. Plus its white and almost matches my leather on its own.)

 

Now to let that all dry... give it a quick hit with 1500 grit and then dye.

Post pics of process. I dont mean your leather torn but the weatherstrip.

do not re-dye, I just did at the reputable Ferrari dealer here in Detroit, and it is already peeling..

If you can find a matching leather color, just replace, I would do that now that I know,

Seat is out. 90% of my leather is perfect. Just that bolster and a few spots on the driver seat with worn dye. The seat should be easy. It's in my office where the humidity is 30%. And temp is 75.

 

Now that the seats are out, did you take a closer look to the side bolster and determine how it was installed?

 

Edit: Oops! I just realized that the seats were out all along.

do not re-dye, I just did at the reputable Ferrari dealer here in Detroit, and it is already peeling..

If you can find a matching leather color, just replace, I would do that now that I know,

If I could get the effing bolster out I would send it to that joint in Connecticut and replace it.

 

But I've had the interior redyed about ten years ago and it's lasted all this time. Plus leatherique makes a clear coat that seals it

So. Here's the bolster after prep (sorry. Didn't take any post sanding pictures) crack filler (made a huge difference around the speaker) and two coats of dye.

 

I think I'll let it dry and do two more coats tonight but the improvement is already astonishing.

Definitely looks better!

Looking a lot better. Great job.

Seats actually taking more coats which surprises me. I think one more after this dries.

So initially I put the dye on using the "wiping technique" from the leatherique site. Basically a damp paper towel as the brush. The last coat I used high quality acrylic artist brushes and got much better coverage on the seat. I finally have full coverage. So my plan is to put one more coat on tonight and then let it dry two days. Then sand out any high spots with the 1500 grit.

What about the shine?

What about the shine?

 

 

What about the shine?

Hi Roman, This may help removal next time, Jason got his kids to remove the bolsters and there are a couple of pics on his blog that may help.

http://lp5000.blogspot.co.nz/2013/09/remov...d-dash-and.html

So here's the seat. Dry. Haven't sanded yet. Not sure I have to. It all looks to have dried evenly.

Looks good. Your right about the humidity. It's thick. I was across the river working on mine. Interestingly I got the leatherique kit as well. I'm trying to figure out how to regale my headliner back up among other things. I don't see any screws on the trim. I'm guessing they are behind the weatherstripping or?

Here's the final coat on the bolster. Still drying. It's going to need a quick buffing with the 1500. Probably do that Tuesday evening. And then hit it with the clear coat then. And put everything back together Thursday night. Car show Friday.

On to the steering wheel... post Prepping agent and sanding w/ 600. Leather looks charcoal grey now instead of black...

Two coats of black thirty minutes apart.

 

Plan now is to buff and clear coat wednesday morning so the dye has a full 72 hours to cure first... Put the seat back in thursday night, (Hopefully without scuffing anything in that nightmare process) and take the car off the ramps friday afternoon.

How well does the color match? As for shine, I mean that our cars leather has a sheen to it, while most leathers today are more of a matte finish. Do you have to do the entire piece , or can you just fill in a section. On my car, my one side bolster, has scratches from getting in and out. Id like to fix that.

As for shine, I mean that our cars leather has a sheen to it, while most leathers today are more of a matte finish.

 

I am guessing that with a right polishing cloth and some elbow grease, you can buff the leather to a shine.

 

I also find something call Hide-Bracer works quite well on conditioning and protecting the white leather. And it leaves a shinny sheen on the surface. Conversely, if I use Hide Food or Bentley's Leather Conditioner (95% sure it's OEM by Autoglym), the leather will be just as nicely conditioned & protected but it leaves a matte finish. So matte or sheen, the choice is yours.

I've heard from several sources that the best leather rejuvenator is German market Nivea. Anyone have experience with it?

How well does the color match? As for shine, I mean that our cars leather has a sheen to it, while most leathers today are more of a matte finish. Do you have to do the entire piece , or can you just fill in a section. On my car, my one side bolster, has scratches from getting in and out. Id like to fix that.

 

I sent a swatch (cut a 1 inch square of extra leather from underneath the floor mats) and sent it to them... Its a perfect match (I cleaned the square first with rejuvenator and pristine). And yeah, the shine is still there, although like VCR said, I havent sanded, clear coated, or buffed yet... (leatherique says you can put pure carnuba on the leather once its cured, which sounds like it would really kick up the shine.). I would describe my leather as having a "Luster". Not matte, but not wet looking like yours. I think with the white, if mine were as shiny as yours it would be too much... As it is, I know when I wash or clean the car, it hurts my eyes after a while and I have to take a break... Id go snow blind if it were any shinier.

 

The rule on coverage is "do the panel". Meaning you'd want to do that entire side bolster top to bottom... Otherwise you may get brush marks where you stop and start... But nearby panels separated by a seam should match well enough that you dont have to do them if they dont need a repair... I only did the drivers side... I havent put the car back together yet and gotten it out on sunlight, but that will be the real test... If it doesnt match, Ill simply do the passenger side next.... But in the garage, I cant tell any difference between the redyed bolster and the non-touched firewall next to it.

I would describe my leather as having a "Luster". Not matte, but not wet looking like yours. I think with the white, if mine were as shiny as yours it would be too much... As it is, I know when I wash or clean the car, it hurts my eyes after a while and I have to take a break... Id go snow blind if it were any shinier.

 

Agreed. Allan's car is Bianco Perlato, right? So the sheen on the red interior would match nicely with the pearl finish.

Our cars are Bianco. With white on white on white, a glossy white interior is too much even on an overcast day. On a sunny day, I cannot look at my car for more than a minute without wearing sunglasses and always have to step down the camera's EV quite a bit when taking photos.

Yeah... So... I wet sanded both with 1500...

 

Don't do this!

 

It wasnt horrible but it scuffed the finish enough that I put another coat on...

 

No real harm, it will just stick that much better, but Ive lost another 48 hours of dry time...

 

So now, clearcoat thursday night... Install seat saturday.

I know that nobody here is a big fan of him, but Joe Sackey is restoring a Countach and found the perfect leather type to replicate the original that the factory used. It has the perfect sheen to it, but won't wear out like a lot of the other types I've seen Countaches restored with. I can find out where to buy it if anyone is interested.