relic said:
been meaning to re-treat leather for sometime just never got round to it. will check out recommended companies!
I use Leatherique's Rejuvenator Oil to condition the leather. And no, I don't have any connection with the company. I just like the products - most of them.
Here's a look at one of my 308GTB's seats before refinishing,
http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/Interior/SeatBefore1.jpg
Here's the same seat with the lacquer stripped off and about four coats of Rejuvinator Oil, applied over about a week,
http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/Interior/Driver_seat_stripped_oiled.jpg
And here's a look after refinishing with Leatherique's dye,
http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/Interior/Passenger_seat_after.jpg
Personally, I found the color match rather poor. This was supposed to be a navy blue color as I used the Ferrari color code, not a 'matched' batch, which Leatherique will do.
Their dye is a latex based product and as such, it is water based. Clean-up is easy but application is more difficult that solvent based finishes. Specifically, all of these finishes are best sprayed on to create a smooth coat. And when spraying any product, it has to be thinned for the spray guns.
Water evaporates much more slowly than does solvent so when spraying, water-based finishes are MUCH more likely to 'run' than are solvent-based products. I know from experience. The better plan is to spray on a VERY light coat and let it dry before applying the follow-on coats. The thin base coat absorbs the water from the later coats reducing the tendency to run. Still, its a tricky job.
Given the difficulty of application and the color miss-match, I chose to use a different product when I refinished these seats 8 years later. I've never used Liptone so I can't comment on the product. And let me say categorically; There's NOTHING wrong with Leatherique's dye. I still use it for black dye and in cases where the colors I need are not available elsewhere. I also use Leatherique's Crack Filler. Let me share some more pictures.
Here's a look at one of the Ferrari seats I worked on last year. The leather has been stripped of 'dye' and although there are no 'cracks' through the leather, there are surface 'cracks' that have since been filled with Leatherique's Crack Filler.
http://www.aubard.us/hvac/HPIM0340.JPG
This next picture was taken after all the prep work has been finished. These seats were originally navy blue with black stripes in a couple of places. In this picture, I have masked off the leather and have applied SEM's finish to the stripes.
http://www.aubard.us/hvac/HPIM0367.JPG
And after removing the masking,
http://www.aubard.us/hvac/HPIM0368.JPG
And the other half of the seat,
http://www.aubard.us/hvac/HPIM0370.JPG
Here is a look at the seat parts after spraying with SEM's dark blue. The finish shown in the first picture is still wet in this picture and the flash makes it look way too light.
http://www.aubard.us/hvac/HPIM0372.JPG
http://www.aubard.us/hvac/HPIM0373.JPG
Here's a better approximation of the true color, taken without the flash,
http://www.aubard.us/hvac/HPIM0374.JPG
...and with the flash after everything has dried,
http://www.aubard.us/hvac/HPIM0379.JPG
And finally, here is the seat reinstalled in the car, over the newly installed carpet,
http://www.aubard.us/hvac/HPIM0380.JPG
http://www.aubard.us/hvac/HPIM0382.JPG
Perhaps you can see why I like the SEM products for the final finish! This seat, including the leather, is 33 years old!
So my typical work-plan (which I will be next applying to a '69 E-Type) is;
1. Strip the old finish off of the leather using lacquer thinner. Use the least amount of thinner necessary to strip the old lacquer off.
2. Treat the leather VERY gently as the already dried-out leather is further dried by the lacquer thinner. It is very fragile now.
3. Liberally coat the raw leather with Rejuvinator oil and if possible, cover with plastic wrap or plastic trash bags. The goal is to retard the evaporation of the R-Oil thereby allowing more to soak in.
4. Repeat step (3) about three or four more times until the leather is soft.
5. Repair open cracks by cementing new thin leather scraps under the crack and allow the cement to cure.
6. Infill the crack and all smaller scrapes, cracks and imperfections with Crack Filler. Use multiple thin coats until the blemish is flush with the surface. Use care to NOT allow the Crack Filler infill the grain in the leather or the result will look more like plastic. I tend to clean the area around the crack with a lightly moistened old toothbrush, if I get filler in the grain.
7. Let the entire repair cure for a day, just to be sure all the volatiles, be they water or solvent, are evaporated away.
8. Mask, as required, and spray a thin coat of SEM's finish onto the leather, and let dry for at least 20 minutes.
9. Spray additional coats of finish on and allow to dry for 5 minutes or so between light coats.
10. Spray on the the final 'wet coat' of finish. This is not a heavy coat, per se, but rather it is just heavy enough to wet the surface smoothly all over. Doing so promotes a smooth finish that doesn't show any patchy areas from multiple applications.
11. Allow to cure for a day or more before installing the seat and treat gently for the next few days. The finish is cured but you want to be sure that all of the finish, especially the stuff down next to the leather, has cured completely!
12. There is no step (12) beyond admiring your work.
-rick