Sport seat restoration

[Varinn]

I just grabbed this set of sport seats tonight for a decent price but they need a little work.



1: What products, and where do I buy this leatherique I keep reading about to bring them back to life? I found this as recommended on a before/after thread I found, but there is another Canadian website for Leatherique that sells at a much higher price. Wondering which of the two is the popular one that returns the best results.

2: I am getting zero continuity across the leads on the ass heaters for both seats, the backrest heaters are coming in fine and work swell. How hard are the bottom units to access? If the elements are toast I likely wont bother as I don't want to strip the seat bottoms to foam to replace them, but if I can at least check for wire damage leading to them that would be great. As far as I can tell, when you start pulling the hog rings (correct name?) you are in the territory of noobish re-install means the leather will likely have a shit fitment

[Cletonius]

I got my leatherique from detailed image. They had a sale with free shipping so bit ended up being much cheaper. I have gotten lots from them over the years, they are an excellent vendor for detailing products.

[Varinn]

I've gone and sent Detailed Image an email, because they only list the rejuvinator oil and the pristine clean on their website. As far as I can tell with the condition of my project seats I will most likely want to use the crack filler and re-dye them to really bring them back. Finding info on this procedure is surprisingly difficult as it seems like there is 50 different companies selling the product and non of their websites seem to point to which is the original. Anyone else done this before and have more input?

The seat heater issue seems like it's most likely going to be the bottom pads burnt as I've googled this and found it to be a pretty common problem. I'm undecided if this is worth tearing the skin off to repair, some places make it seem relatively easy but others just never seem to look right after. Has anyone here got any experience with doing this repair that can offer some first hand experience with it? I will not be buying new leather, just remove and re-install the original. IF I end up doing this (It's another $200 for the elements alone, plus the hog rings and pliers)

More pictures

[Link]

Good luck, im sure you can get those looking great again.

[mcskibadee1]

Leatherique should do a great job in keeping the leather supple so it doesn't rip or crack anymore. Like someone else said, the best way to do it is when the leather is warm and apply using your hands, not a rag. I just put on medical gloves and soaked mine, I think I did like 4 coats.

[///M42 sport]

hey check out my fs thread...leatherique

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=273515

[jeffnhiscars]

If you go to leatherique.com they have some very good DIY info and George (the owner) is a wealth of information. They also sell kits that sometimes have free shipping. To bring back the skins he suggests a few coats 2-3x a week for a month then to wait before you redye them so the rejuvenator doesnt interfere with the dye soaking in. This is exactly what I will be doing to my barn find with the dye kit I just got as soon as I get a new upper rear seat skin.

As for the heated seats, look around. I just sold a full set of working elements, switches and the harness for $150. The upper and lower elements share a plug so you will have to depin them if you are just changing one.