| FAQ #166 | |
   |
|
 |
Repair a damaged leather seat in my car |
 |
For cars that have leather seats it can become an issue on the edge as the leather can get rubbed by jeans studs etc. and if not look after and fed it can crack or discolour. Can you repair this yourself? The answer is YES with a simple kit and a bit of time and patience. Now I know this isn't a car seat but it's actually a better example as it's a lighter colour than most car seats, is larger than most areas normally requiring repair and is best described as a 'Wedgewood' blue although it may appear different on screen The kit came from Furniture Clinic - Click Here - but you can get them to do the actual work for you. I have just repaired a leather footstool which was worn and tired looking and here is how it was done. OK here is what the stool looked like before I started: [shadowbox=http://c4owners.org/images/c4/leather/stool1.jpg|::Damaged leather||]http://c4owners.org/images/c4/leather/stool1s.jpg[/shadowbox] You can see that the top coating had gone and the colour is missing in a few areas so I bought a specialist colour repair kit (matched by the suppliers who specialise in leather repair. In this case it was 'simply' a case of 're colouring' the leather, however they do supply kits for split and holed leather [shadowbox=http://c4owners.org/images/c4/leather/stool_kit.jpg|::Damaged leather||]http://c4owners.org/images/c4/leather/stool_kits.jpg[/shadowbox] The 'small' kit contains everything you need including pre cleaner with scrubbing pad, cloth, sponge, colourant, an air brush kit and sealer/finish Plus detailed instructions, all you need apart from some 1200 grit sandpaper if the surface is really poor. Sandpaper!!! I hear you say, it's a leather repair, bear with me as it isn't as wild as it sounds. First thing to do is use the preparation fluids and the coarse 'scrubber' to remove all the old finish and then sandpaper down all the loose old finish on the leather to make the surface as smooth as possible. Thing is it looks worse than when you started and you really can't believe you have done it. [shadowbox=http://c4owners.org/images/c4/leather/stool2.jpg|::Damaged leather||]http://c4owners.org/images/c4/leather/stool2s.jpg[/shadowbox] Next you use the small sponge supplied to apply a base colourant coat and let it dry for 15 - 20 minutes and you can use a hairdryer to speed up the process [shadowbox=http://c4owners.org/images/c4/leather/stool3.jpg|::Damaged leather||]http://c4owners.org/images/c4/leather/stool3s.jpg[/shadowbox] This shows the lack of preparation I did so you rub it down again and remove all the dust/roughness before using the air brush kit supplied to apply a finish coat of colour [shadowbox=http://c4owners.org/images/c4/leather/airbrush.jpg|::Damaged leather||]http://c4owners.org/images/c4/leather/airbrushs.jpg[/shadowbox]Stool 1 Next once happy with the basic look and smoothness you apply a finish coat of colour using the air brush again, let it dry for an hour, then apply the finishing protective layers (first a PU gloss sealant, then a layer of satin or matt finisher, depending on the look your after) and you end up with this: [shadowbox=http://c4owners.org/images/c4/leather/stool4.jpg|::Damaged leather||]http://c4owners.org/images/c4/leather/stool4s.jpg[/shadowbox] The colour match in this instance was superb You ideally need to wait 24 hours before you sit on it to ensure everything is dried thoroughly. Then wait around a week befor applying good quality leather feed to protect the leather. Yes it took a bit of time, but I was doing around a half metre sq area, (most car seats will require attention on a lot smaller area) Total cost? Well it was under £50.00 for the kit, a bargain as far as I'm concerned as I have more than enough of the kit plus the airbrush (apart from the air brush propellant) to do the same area again  |
| Views | 9337 (Unique 3494) |
| Member Rating : |  10.0 - 4 votes |
| FAQ Posted by | Dave_Retired. |
| Info | Created: 18 September 2009 Last Updated: 25 February 2011 |
Site Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy |Contact Details | Car Warranty | Sitemap | RSS Feeds | C4 Insurance | Tutorials | Quick Facts | Used Car Guide | Re Call Info | Offers | Service Reviews | Technical Documents | Error Codes
Theme by e107wORks© 
With Graphics from: Dave Forum Icons by Axialis Emotes by Seb