Sport seats restoration (Before & after)

[jasonbk]

A while ago, I was looking for a set of leather seats...and seller sent me those images..

So I brought them home. Front seats had fair amount of cracks..

Rear pieces are in pretty good condition

I ordered Leatherique kit from Leatherique Canada - they were very helpful and informative.

I brushed Rejuvinator Oil onto the seats several times until they stopped absorbing the oil(front seats took about 5 coats and 2 coats for rear)

After 2 days(leather surface got much more soft after that) I grabbed leather cleaner

and sprayed on the seats


I let it sit for 2 minutes and started wiping off. I had to use about 10+ towels to get them complete dirt-free..

After I cleaned up the back seat

Obviously the front pairs needed more attention so I started to remove old dye using prepping agent

After a lot of wiping and sandpaper - about 50% cracks were gone at this point.



Then I grabbed crack filler

and applied it on the seat..

and sanded until I got the smooth surface
(Note: do not put excessive amount of fillers like I did, because after about 3 months of usage, deep cracks are showing because the cracks are rubbing against each other and damaging the point where I filled with the crack. If cracks are too deep to be filled, just let it be. Don't try to smooth them out)


Anyways, after about a day, I started to dye the seat with leatherique dye using brush. I don't have pictures for it because thing got very messy and i didn't have an extra hand for a camera.

here is the surface - they don't hold up as nice as factory dye but I think they're worth the money and effort.


Before & after



I'll update you guys soon with part 2(driver's seat with torn off bolster and cuts)

[bmwstephen]

Very nice! I am curious, is the rear leather still as soft as when it first went through the rejuvenator process?

I have heard mix results in that the leather resorts back to its cardboard stiff ness after a few weeks because the oils do not get sealed in

[ZoomZoomBoom]

Very nice! I am curious, is the rear leather still as soft as when it first went through the rejuvenator process?

I have heard mix results in that the leather resorts back to its cardboard stiff ness after a few weeks because the oils do not get sealed in

If you do the Leatherique process properly it will work pretty well. The original sport seat leather will never be as soft as modern BMW leather, but you can definitely improve it. My sport seats were cardboard due to moisture issues from a leaking soft top when I bought the car, but I did the Leatherique process twice with a hair dryer and there was significant improvement.

[audiquattrot]

awesome results! I'm actually in the process of my restoration as well, but using the Leather World Tech kit. Can't wait to see more pics/updates....

here is the link i posted today.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showpost.php?p=3697309&postcount=113

[ButtJuice]

Damn, looks good so far. Nice work.

[audiquattrot]

btw not sure how the brush technique worked, but I bought two of these Preval Sprayers from Home Depot for $5/each, that i plan on using (particularly the backs of the seats). I read online that its' difficult to apply the dye using foam/brushes w/o streaks.

[jasonbk]

As for applying dye, Leatherique recommended me to thin it with water(partially to get the better result when applied with brush or airbrush). I had no problem with using brushes especially on flat surfaces(there are few streaks on the side bolsters which were bit tricky).

[jasonbk]

And to get the best out of rejuvinator oil, you need to apply it at least 3~5 times(once per day) until seats refuse to absorb any more of it.

[Aleman]

And to get the best out of rejuvinator oil, you need to apply it at least 3~5 times(once per day) until seats refuse to absorb any more of it.

I've got the Leatherique restoration kit, and I've been waiting till summer to use it. Reason being that I heard the leather absorbs more of the Rejuvinator oil if you apply it to the seat in-car, then cover it with a big trash bag. Roll up the windows and let the car sit in the sun all day. The heat is supposed to help the softening process. Can anyone back me up on this?

OP, what was that part you were saying about the crack filler? Is it separating from the leather now?

[audiquattrot]

I've got the Leatherique restoration kit, and I've been waiting till summer to use it. Reason being that I heard the leather absorbs more of the Rejuvinator oil if you apply it to the seat in-car, then cover it with a big trash bag. Roll up the windows and let the car sit in the sun all day. The heat is supposed to help the softening process. Can anyone back me up on this?

OP, what was that part you were saying about the crack filler? Is it separating from the leather now?

Correct. I've been using leatherique for yrs on my E30 & E46. I usually wait for a 70+ degree day to apply, and leave in the sun. I never used the trash bag technique, but I do reapply the oil once you see dry areas. LIBERALLY douse the seats in the oil....After 2-3 applications of the Oil, thats when you go in there w/ the cleaner and remove the oil/dirt that has surfaced with the oil. It will leave the leather nice and matte.....healthly looking leather.

[bmwstephen]

OP, when you say it is not holding up as nice as factory dye, are you saying that its rubbing off on your clothes?

[jasonbk]

OP, what was that part you were saying about the crack filler? Is it separating from the leather now?

Not exactly, but i meant that some deeper cracks that I smoothed out are visible after about 3 months of use - basically whenever I fold the front seat to access the back seat, side bolsters get squeezed by themselves, right? And that causes the old cracks popping out slightly.

OP, when you say it is not holding up as nice as factory dye, are you saying that its rubbing off on your clothes?

It doesn't rub off from the clothes or anything like that. But it's not as strong as the factory dye against scratches and normal wear especially where I completely removed old dye with leather texture and reapplied leatherique dye (on the other hand, seat bottom and back where I didn't remove old dye completely but just re coated them over, they hold up just as good as the factory dye)- I'll update you guys with a picture of current state as I upload part 2 restoration where I did patch work for the driver's side seat.

[Aleman]

It doesn't rub off from the clothes or anything like that. But it's not as strong as the factory dye against scratches and normal wear especially where I completely removed old dye with leather texture and reapplied leatherique dye (on the other hand, seat bottom and back where I didn't remove old dye completely but just re coated them over, they hold up just as good as the factory dye...

Are you suggesting to NOT sand-off the old dye before applying the new dye? Maybe just remove the loose stuff with a stiff brush, then re-dye?

[chop_suey]

WOW, very impressive!
Where did you get this kit? and does it work on all colors?

[thedmkshow]

Can second the question, where was the kit purchased?

I have seat covers but some wear and tear in my actual seats.