re-colouring leather seats
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Re-color better results if you do it yourself. For best results needs prep work that takes time. I'm not a fan of Leatherique for condition and cleaning. Would try the gliptone for that. Applying fresh color at least in North America Leatherique is best.
1.) you need to remove the seats and do the prep indoors. You want to oil the leather in warm temps. Once treated smothered in the oil need to leave it soaking awhile like over 24hrs. Its this prep that most shops probably speed through and hence the lack of results.
2.) you need to wet sand the leather surface so the new "dye" adears to the surface properly.
Little more involved but very easy job just takes time. Not many shops much like getting the car re-painted take the time in prep. Old saying about doing things right usually means you do it yourself.
1.) you need to remove the seats and do the prep indoors. You want to oil the leather in warm temps. Once treated smothered in the oil need to leave it soaking awhile like over 24hrs. Its this prep that most shops probably speed through and hence the lack of results.
2.) you need to wet sand the leather surface so the new "dye" adears to the surface properly.
Little more involved but very easy job just takes time. Not many shops much like getting the car re-painted take the time in prep. Old saying about doing things right usually means you do it yourself.
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341 Posts
Leatherique products are excellent and water based (latex). I have had a little trouble getting color match with these products, possibly because the pigments settle so quickly. For my current projects (Ferrari 308GTB and Jaguar E-Type) I am using SEM Color Coat. It is solvent based and the colors are spot-on. They also have less gloss than Leatherique dye but glossiness is adjustable with the addition of a dulling agent.
I don't know if this forum permits URLs included but if so, here are a couple of pictures of my current projects.
New tan finish on the Jag's A-post,
http://www.aubard.us/Jaguar/HPIM0424.JPG
New blue finish on the Ferrari seat,
http://www.aubard.us/hvac/HPIM0396.JPG
Regards,
-rick / Houston, TX
I don't know if this forum permits URLs included but if so, here are a couple of pictures of my current projects.
New tan finish on the Jag's A-post,
http://www.aubard.us/Jaguar/HPIM0424.JPG
New blue finish on the Ferrari seat,
http://www.aubard.us/hvac/HPIM0396.JPG
Regards,
-rick / Houston, TX
It might not be the correct way but it has worked for me. My navy blue seats were getting spider cracks. You know the lines where the grey shows through. I bought some blue Rit fabric dye and then painted the seats. Worked great and looks good. The colour match may not have been perfect but it really hid the cracks. Treatment with some good leather food brought them right back to looking good. Not perfect but then again neither am I.
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Quick update on interior refinishing: My headliner, seats, door panels and carpets are new. The wood facia is excellent. The top roll and console, while undamaged, are showing their age. In my '69 car, these bits are vinyl. I have to get into the dash AND into the console, first of all to find and address a rattle, and second, to install a radio and clean switch contacts and replace lamps. While I have it all apart I will refinish all the vinyl with SEM's satin black vinyl spray. I have used the product on my E-Type and my TR3b and am very pleased with the finish. It looks new - while preserving the original materials. I like that. Pictures to follow once I can get back on the project. Happy Friday!
-rick / houston, tx usa
'69 R-R Silver Shadow
-rick / houston, tx usa
'69 R-R Silver Shadow
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Leather Seats are a luxurious, prestigious investment to any car.I did try a leather re-colouring kit on a piece of furniture I was going to throw out.I had good success using "Leatherique".It involves stripping existing colour using thinners,conditioning and spraying the new colour.
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341 Posts
Same story here, except on about a half-dozen classic/exotic/sports cars. We must remember that unlike modern vat-dyes leathers, the older Connolly leathers are top lacquered! And that is the surface you have to strip off before reapplying a new coating.JohnMartyn said:
It also follows that no amount of leather 'food' applied to an impermeable lacquer layer does anything for the actual leather substrate. In fact, when I restore leather seats, I often strip the lacquer off, saturate the dry leather with Rejuvenator Oil then when softened, carefully remove the leather from the frame and padding and repeat the process from the rear of the leather. This is NO PLACE to get in a hurry.
What you are doing in this process is replacing the collegian (fats) that have evaporated away, thereby allowing the fibers to flex easily again (without breaking). Once that's all done, the surface can be refinished for an attractive appearance and that supple leather feel we expect.
regards,
-rick
PS: Pictures available, if desired.
R
relic
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been meaning to re-treat leather for sometime just never got round to it. will check out recommended companies!
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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.relic said:
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
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Great info, thanks a lot. I am gonna try this tomorrow.
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341 Posts
Hi Friends,
As I type, a friend of mine is doing the PPI on an '89 Ferrari Mondial T. He has a check in his pocket to buy the car if it passes muster. But why do I write this to you, and why on this thread? Well...
This Mondial T needs attention to the leather. The seats are dry, having not been maintained throughout their 23-year life. Surface cracks have appeared along the more heavily used leather panels.
Connolly leather is surface coated with lacquer, not vat dyed like other leathers, as we have discussed in this thread. And in this car, that classic Ferrari tan lacquer is also discolored from wear. I write to you to say that we plan to clean, feed with Rejuvinator Oil, then refinish all the leather. As usual, I will photo-document the whole process - and I'll make those photographs available to you.
-rick
As I type, a friend of mine is doing the PPI on an '89 Ferrari Mondial T. He has a check in his pocket to buy the car if it passes muster. But why do I write this to you, and why on this thread? Well...
This Mondial T needs attention to the leather. The seats are dry, having not been maintained throughout their 23-year life. Surface cracks have appeared along the more heavily used leather panels.
Connolly leather is surface coated with lacquer, not vat dyed like other leathers, as we have discussed in this thread. And in this car, that classic Ferrari tan lacquer is also discolored from wear. I write to you to say that we plan to clean, feed with Rejuvinator Oil, then refinish all the leather. As usual, I will photo-document the whole process - and I'll make those photographs available to you.
-rick
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341 Posts
Hello Friends,
Work has begun on the Mondial T. Here's how the exterior looks, just to frame the reference.
The interior leather is cleaning up nicely, using Leatherique R-Oil.
And here is the real reason for the post. We will photo-document the repair and post the ideas and pictures here.
Hope you don't mind the off-marque post, but the topic is still valid.
-rick
Work has begun on the Mondial T. Here's how the exterior looks, just to frame the reference.
The interior leather is cleaning up nicely, using Leatherique R-Oil.
And here is the real reason for the post. We will photo-document the repair and post the ideas and pictures here.
Hope you don't mind the off-marque post, but the topic is still valid.
-rick
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