Has anyone had any luck with "repairing" a leather driver's seat? Are there any creams, dies, sprays that can be used to repair the look of cracking? Obviously, full replacement/recovering will solve the problem but will be recreated over time because of bolster size.

 

Wayne, I had success with miracle mender leather repair. Most impressed with their color matching for the paint / dye you will use. Outstanding color matching.

Now I should exclude ripped seams from my statement. Cracked leather is 1 thing, ripped seams, another ball of wax.

I was about to launch a post about this. Let me please piggy back on yours see if it helps us both. The exposed ripped seams on my seats seem to show a backing strip on one side. Anyone know if they both: glued that backing strip, plus stitched the seam(s) together with thread?

Anyone ever fix a seam on these seats themselves? Any chance (yes I probably know the answer) you can toss me a miracle and say "no you don't have to take the leather off first to stitch it ? (Semi serious question)

Guess its age, a few seams are all letting go on me. Wayne i figure this may help you too.

Wayne I'm going to double check that brand name. Oh and 1 more thing re leather. Mu steering wheel leather was wearing, its Antelope colored. Couldn't find Antelope anywhere. Went to home depot. Pulled the triangular shaped defrost vent off dash board handed it to them, got a perfect color match!

You know the paint color is coded on the label on driver's door jam. 3 letter code. AGD is oatmeal for example.

FWIW last time I talked to Paul's Jaguar in FL, 1 seat bottom $500, 1 full seat leather $800.

John

 

I looked online and found Seat Doctors. They list jaguar leather colors. I ordered Ivory kit for $25.

 

Actually, just checked the Trim Color code and it was SDZ Cashmere.

 

If you plan on keeping the car and driving often consider replacing the covers.

 

Understood and agree for long term. I'm going to try some of the cream and see what happens.

 

Oh RJ,
You are right, problem is the old decision: spend $50 vs >$1,000 :-)

John

 

It was easier a few years ago when a set of covers was around $500. From what I have seen and experienced repairing cracked and worn bolsters is only practical for cars that are driven 1000 mi or less annually.

 

You can get leather filler putty for cracks and an all in one paint and lacquer combo to apply with a sponge. Important thing is to give it a really good clean first with washing up liquid and warm water. Give it a really good go to get out all of the dirt and grime. Then a gentle going over with wet and dry paper to flat it before using the putty by hand to fill the cracks. Let it dry and apply a couple of coats of the paint. It is quite simple, I am hopeless but managed to do it.

 

I got the pot of flexible putty filler and paint/lacquer combo from a place called "Furniture Clinic" near me in the UK. I will send the link, they might ship to the US.

 

https://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/le...es-restoration

The Ivory paint was an exact match to my Jag seats. Hope this helps

 

It was pretty knackered before but managed to get it back to this with the paint for 30quid and the putty for 5 quid. Obviously it is not concourse but a full proper restoration and colonisation would cost about £600. Depends what you want 😏

 

I don't suppose you have a before picture, I've just tried to get a mobile leather restorer to do mine and he said they were too far gone ☹

Here's a picture of a seat I've been told is too far gone.

 

I don't suppose you have a before picture, I've just tried to get a mobile leather restorer to do mine and he said they were too far gone ☹

Here's a picture of a seat I've been told is too far gone.

 

Sorry, don't have a before pic but mine was in a similar condition except for the loose stitching. It is definately do-able with the right stuff but the stiching might be tricky. First thing to do is give it a blood good deep clean (I used washimg up liquid, bucket of warm water, sponge, cloth and scrubbing brush), then you will know what you are dealing with. its amazing how much dirt and grime comes out.

A professional trimmer/restorer won't use the paint/laquer all in one stuff. They would strip it back to bare leather, repair any cracks then use an original Jag leather dye, but that will cost you big (I was quoted £600 for the seat, don't be fooled by guys who promise you concourse for £200, they will just paint it like I have done).

It all depends how much you are prepared to pay, I think the results look OK cosmetically and have plent of paint/laquer left over, so if it becomes a bit worn I just put another coat on the bolster, dry to the touch in 30 minutes but I would leave it overnight before sitting on it.

Definately worth a go if you don't want a big spend, hey if Mr Useless DIY yours truly can do it then anyone can.

Best of luck,

Regards

Smitty

 

@Johnken depends on teh seam tear, if its just the thread that's gone or the leather itself has torn, but yes there are ways of sewing a seam without removing the leather cover. This is a rabbit hole I went down a year ago on another car of mine.

If just an untorn seam with failed stitching this technique is probably easier for a novice:
and for "magical" repairs, there's the double needle blind stitch (go to youtube for this one, and I need to figure out how to tell this forum platform not to render youtube links as embedded videos but just as hyperlinks)

If you can find an old seat of some description to practice on it may help you. Fortunately, random car seats with torn leather covers are ten a penny on craiglist where I am.
Its very time consuming and a bit frustrating but a nice skill to have once you master it.

Also, auto upholstry shops can be very expensive. Try a lateral thinking approach and look for other non-auto leather workers in your area, bridlemakers/saddlers etc, and see if they can help. I've had assistance in leather repairs from a friend in the Bay Area who mostly deals with more, uh, intimate leather apparel. His work volume was down with covid and was glad of the business.

 

Nice one 😀👍 I am all for finding good inexpensive fixes for our classics to save money. Keep sourcing and using our independent skilled people or we will lose them 👍

 

@XK8WGM Also, iirc lseats.com has a recover kit for XK seats that is a lot cheaper than OEM, although not quite as nice fitting. Order their sample swatches to match colour. In my case, none of their colours match Oatmeal, but may be a better match for you.

 

Throwback, big thank you from New Jersey!

John

 

Well, I made the decision to try the $50 route and repair my seats. I am very pleased at this point. I also understand that I may have to continue to touch up over the coming years but that beats the $1,000 route for now.

Side bolster was very rough.

Seat cushion was cracking but not quite as bad as bolster.

Crack filler from Furniture Clinic. Just used fingertip to spread into leather.

Original was a bit lighter because of white filler underneath. Seat Doctors worked with me to add brown die to darken.

After applying the filler, I allowed to dry overnight and then lightly sanded the areas.

Darker crescent in seat is a shadow from the padding. Overall, I am very happy and know that I can come back and touch-up, lighten or darken if needed.

I may be a slight bit darker on repairs, but I figure it will fade as I use the seat and sun hitting it.