Hi Everyone,

Has anyone ever restored their leather seats. My '95 XJ6 has a leather interior with the AGD interior trim code. My current seats have no rips or tears but do have cracked leather. I've seen demonstrations of how the seats can be "re-painted". Has anybody ever done this and do you know of a source of "paint" for the AGD trim code?

Thanks,

Carl

 

I've used Color Plus leather dyes on several cars. Works well! There are others out there will good reviews.

Gliptone (and perhaps others) makes a crack-filling material that might merit some research.

Cheers
DD

 

+1

As Doug says, there's many products available. I used Gliptone on a badly cracked driver's seat in my XJ8L. Here's the results:

1. original cracked seat base



2. after cleaning



3. filled and dyed



4. clearcoat applied



The only thing I didn't like was the shiny finish compared with the original matt finish. The seat back had the typical scuffs on the bolster. This didn't need any filling.

5. scuffed driver's seat bolster (RHD)



6. after cleaning, dyeing and clearcoat



I'm sure other products will be as good and some may be better. I kept the vehicle for twelve months and 12K miles after this treatment and the seat was just as good when it came to be sold.

Graham

 

Wow!!

 

FWIW I've had the same problem with the Color Plus dye being too glossy. A freind recommended waiting a couple weeks and then gently wiping the surfaces with a water dampened soft cloth.

By golly it took almost all the gloss right off!

Cheers
DD

 

Doug,

Doesn't appear to be much difference in the available products when between us we've tried Color Plus and Gliptone and both got satisfactory results.

I'll remember that tip about wiping down with a damp cloth if I need to refurbish any more leather.

The only other thing I'd do differently is apply the dye and clearcoat with an airbrush instead of using the pad supplied in the kit. This would make it a lot easier to get an even coverage.

Graham

 

Spray-on is much better, yes! I'll never go back to brush-on type applications :-)

Cheers
DD

 

Doug and Graham,

Thanks for the replies. You've more than answered my questions! Graham, marvelous job on those seats! Jag owners are indebted to the photographic record of your efforts. If I can achieve those same results I would be more than happy! In the photographs yours seats look very similar in color to the "AGD" seats I have.

Carl

 

Carl - What product do you plan on using?

 

Hello Tim,

It would have to be either Color Plus or Leatherique, which is also a significant contender. I happened to notice on the Leatherique website that they sell, as a stock color, the same dye that I have on my seats - "Oatmeal" used with the AGD trim code.

Carl

 

The 'oatmeal' color I ordered for mine was a no-go. I would have had to re-do all the leather. It was kind of 'purpley'.
Sent it back-was a pain.
On the other hand the dye I bought for my old VDP was great.
I'm going to order the Gliptone now that I see the success here!

 

Hi guys, I've used "Magic Mender" to restore my drivers seat with good results and the OATMEAL colour match is excellent. I only had to "blend" in a few inches around the repair area and it's almost impossible to tell where the new colour starts and finishes. When ordering on their website you can nominate make, model & VIN and in the Jag section it lists the OEM colours by name and code.

Anyone with an X300 Sport model that has the perforated leather seats (mine's a '97) will know that splits develop between the perforations especially on the drivers seat front cushion. Mine had this problem, spoiling an otherwise unmarked interior. I bought the kit that includes a cold compound filler, it's easy enough to use and the results are OK (though not perfect) if you follow the directions to the letter. I did the job 6 months ago and it's been durable enough with no splits reforming. I even painstakingly pricked the repaired section to create "new" perforations that line up with the rest of the seat, although I expect this will weaken the repair. For $60 it's a lot better than putting up with the splits (mine were pretty bad), and a whole lot better than forking out the $900 I was quoted to recover the seat with new leather (although admittedly that's for using the Jag original). I still have plenty left in the kit to do more repairs if ever needed.

Unfortunately I didn't take a "before" photo, but here you can see the "after" effect of using compound and colour.

If you don't need the compound you can order just the colour kit for around $25

Link: Leather Repair Kits - Do it yourself leather repair products for furniture auto just about anything leather or vinyl


Cheers,
Tony.

 

I recolored my front seats today with the Magic Mender. I didn't bother with the compound although my seats did have a couple of spots that could have used more repair and filler. It at least looks better that the cracks have soaked up some color. I sprayed it with an airbrush and it came out quite good. I was prepared to just go ahead and have the seats recovered at significant expense if this experiment didn't work out. Now I think I will just have the drivers bolster panel replaced and use the remainder to match the color. I wasn't able to make a concourse quality repair, but with practice, I probably could have. Id say $26 well spent. I can go without the slip covers now.

 

Just a tip. Prior using one of the restorers, clean the leather with "Saddle Soap". I found that 2 cleanings one week apart made the leather much softer, then it really soaks up the restorer.

 

If you're looking to clean your interior, check out this page.

2001 Lincoln Continental Keeper's Makeover - autoLavish rejuvenates vehicle 8 years! - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum

 

I have used the Leatherique lasted for about 4 years before cracks came back looked awesome I also hated the shiny look
Now I just rub them down with this stuff http://www.renapur.com/content/leather-balsam/ its got beeswax in it
An old boy who made motorcycle leathers told me that beeswax is the best for leathers and I have been using it on my bike leathers for years so decided to try it on the XJR seats it works a treat and the cracks give it character after all she is 18 years old this year

 

I just used Leatherique on my XK8. The stock cashmere dye was a poor match, so I sent a scrap of leather and the dye they sent back was closer but still did not match very well, but was close enough to use. The crack filler worked well and I found that applying with a pad was just as easy as using the airbrush and the finish is excellent.

 

What kit did you buy to do all of this?

 

I used a kit 'Scuffmaster' kit from Gliptone in the UK ( Leather Care | Leather Cleaner ) but Doug got just as good results with the equivalent from Leatherique ( Home Page | Leatherique Restoration Products ).

There a relatively new company, Furniture Clinic opened up near to me ( http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/Lea...estoration.php ) and they are getting excellent reviews in the classic car magazines.

Whichever product you choose, thorough pre-cleaning is the secret to a good result.

Graham

 

Nice posts, I just did mine a few days ago and posted the results here