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Hey guys n Gals.
The leather in my VX isn't to bad,but it is showing signs of ware.
I was thinking about trying leather dye as I've heard great things about it!
Anyone here ever use it on there seats?
Here is a link to one of the leather dye sites"Leather Magic"
http://www.leathermagic.com/catalog/...rationKit.html
I haven't used this product but I have used leather dye on my seats.
Brings the color back nicely.
I may look at some type of "repair" to make some of the creases disappear. I don't have any rips or tears just some creases from use.
Well I went ahead and got some black leather dye at walmart"That's the only color they have"
I followed the instructions from someone who bought a leather dye kit.
I first had to clean with saddlesoap,then SAND the leather with 220 grit to ware down the creases,wrinkles.
Then apply the black leather dye and let sit for 12hr,then polish.
Result.....IT WORKED! My god the leather looks brand NEW! I already orderd some red dye that matches the red in the vehicross so I can finish.
I'll upload a pick in 5 min as I need to get batteries for my cam.
Also it won't come off on my cloths,after it dried I couldent get the dye out if I wanted to as I polished the **** out of the black leather and nothing came up on my rag.
Sorry for bad spelling...typing this on my phone.
UPDATE!!! PICS!!
I didn't get before,but if you look at the red part it's pretty bad...that how the black part looked if not worse >.< but it makes a nice side by side comparison.
Photos have not been touched up,no photoshop or contrast trickery.
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/g...psee74a550.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/g...psfebc46a1.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/g...psfacb5ab5.jpg
It looks better but not what I'd categorize as "brand new"!
Nice job though...
For an alternative, SEM is also a leader in these types of products. They also make fillers and ways to really recoat the leather. I'm not sure if any are simple or cheap.
That said, I did recoat my daughter's Volvo S40 last year. Bought a similar color to her interior and sprayed 2 or 3 [rattle] cans worth of their [specific] seat dye onto the seats. It did make a noticeable (and worthwhile) difference. (Her interior is tan) Made it brighter/newer looking.
But the level of cracking and deterioration presents limitations. For example, you can't "permanently" restore the level of damage shown in the pics above. Recovering is the better -- long-term -- fix. For repairs/refinishes that last a couple of years, redying (with fillers) can be an impressive approach. Upholstery shops will even tell you re-dying is fruitless once severe cracking is present. The leather just gets too "weak" and will continue to break down after the repair. So, use your best judgement on cost vs longevity!
Here's the best resto I've ever seen on seats. I'm sure he used SEM...I think it even required a compressor and air gun. He used the fillers I mentioned to fill the creases.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-g...yed-seats.html
He said it held up for about a year...then he got crazy and spray them RED. (I noticed he didn't provide the close-ups for the color change. He sold it a year later...two years after the original color change. Said he was still happy with the results.)
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-g...-pictures.html
Another good thread for Leatherique products...
http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforum...-pictures.html
Assyrianme used it on his vx and they look great. Check out this thread. http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...threadid=23270
I'm planning on trying it this summer.
WOW! that red looks good...I just went ahead and took the plunge and got the Restoration kit with mercedes red. I should recieve it withing 48hr as I chose priority shipping.Quote:
Originally Posted by FenderBender
Leather magic is the ****!
Befor n after pics... I can tell it was repaired,but only because I'm looking real hard at it. So far everyone i've showen has no idea where the repairs end.
So in all it's not a 1000% perfect fix,but it's damn close and I'm happy with it.
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps4768c844.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/g...psf433a843.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/g...psee74a550.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps5edfd623.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps4768c844.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps69d04e81.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps18aef392.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/g...psb420cb58.jpg
Looks great! (especially the red) I hope it lasts for more than a few months/year.
I bet used car lots go crazy over that stuff!
You might get me to do mine (which don't look that bad/cracked). Would need to figure out what color of grey though. If not close enough, it could look really bad after wear(ing off the color coat).
That's the million dollar question.Quote:
Originally Posted by 89Vette
So far so good,but ill update in a month with pics to see how it holds up.
I wonder what dye matches the gray used in the gray/black interiors? Anyone know?
-- John
My opinion would be the dark grey on the Isuzu color chart....
Click on Automotive and then on Isuzu
http://www.leathermagic.com/resources/colorcharts.html
That looks great, can't wait to try it myself. It will be several months before that happens. :(