Hi, has anyone had a similar problem with the skin sticking out on the dashboard next to the ventilation panel? How to fix it? Please help " class="post_inline_image" loading="lazy" />

 

I've heard of 'wrinkling' on the leather instrument binnacle covering. <-Glad I have a Base model because of that

I would ask at a dealer first (who would undoubtedly want to replace that piece).
Get a second opinion from an automotive/marine upholstery shop.

 

Once repaired I would keep a coat of leather conditioner on it and get a sun shield.

 

+1 on this.

I’ve been using the Leatherique system ever since the day my car was new. Once I sifted through all the nonsense out there concerning leather care this is where I personally arrived at for the best product.

I came across a few specific people recommending the product for their 911s. They showed their seats after 100,000 miles using this stuff and they literally looked new. I was sold. Apparently it is the official leather care product for Ferrari. It get applied to their cars when they come in, even if they are not sold yet.

Anyway, this is the best video out on the Internet that talks about how great the product is, and how to use it. I find it to be a very satisfying process. Love it. In the video he even addresses this nonsense that is out there talking about how leather is impermeable due to coatings —>

 

+1 on the Leatherique SYSTEM for restoring stiff/cracked leather.



If your hides are presently on good shape, they can be maintained with many of the leather products out there. Heck, when Connolly was on hiatus from the USA (Their "Hide Food" label ran afoul of SOMETHING, until they renamed it "Hide Care" ) I just used generic saddle soap from Tractor Supply here in the USA.

Our F is only 13 years old but our '88 Lotus Esprit still amazes onlookers with it's 33-year-old leather that is in GREAT shape!
Soft and supple!

 

My home remedy would be to mask off the leather and the edge of the center vent. Then use a small bladed screwdriver to apply weatherstrip glue to the bottom side of the leather and the surface it sits on. Wait for the glue to air out and become tack-free; then press the leather onto the mounting surface with a plastic scraper, squeegee or pry tool. Remove the masking tape and you're good to go. Hopefully, no glue has gotten onto any of the leather. Wax and grease remover will clean up the glue but it could discolor the leather. Good luck!

 

A popsicle stick or tongue depresser with a shaped tip ( to copy the screwdriver blade) might be safer than metal. +1 on masking the area. You may also want to test denatured alcohol to wipe the area clean. Any residue from past leather treatments may not allow the weatherstrip sealant to stick and cure.

 

Am just the complete opposite here. Yes on the sun shield. NO on the leather conditioner. Putting leather conditioner on the leather dashboard is just like basting a turkey. Bad enough the dash that gets hit first with the direct hot sun, now you have a coating on it that gets the surface temp even hotter than would be if it was dry. From lots of experience with this on lots of cars, conditioner on the dash is the last thing you should do. In fact, most manufacturers, if you read the care section in the manual, do not recommend leather conditioner at all, only wiping down with a clean cloth and plain water. Dead animal skin does not rejuvenate, it's just dead.

On Leatherique, here is another giant mistake. Leatherique is like motor oil. Most car leather interiors, for decades now, are PAINTED to get the color, then clear coated with PAINT (dash too, BTW). These paints, for years have been water soluble. Soaking in oil only dissolves the paint.

Years ago I had a Vanden Plas with white interior. I was gung ho with Leatherique soaking the seats down in oil, per instructions, covering the seats with plastic and baking it in the sun for hours. I completely ruined the interior in this beautiful car. There were huge brown areas where the white PAINT completely dissolved and wiped off right down to the raw leather. Believe me, raw leather is not that nice looking.

 

Mine pulled up on the left side. The cause was that during the first COVID summer the car sat for three weeks during a heat wave, and I'd neglected to put up the sun shade. It baked the leading edge. The leather is hard and has shrunk.

In my case, I couldn't glue it without first rejuvenating and stretching it, and that's not going to happen in the car. I got a replacement from salvage yard but have not been motivated to pull apart the entire dash. I did discover that the factory got my order partially wrong. I have contrasting (white) stitching, but they missed that on the dash upper.

 

I want to emphasize this a step further about NOT using leather conditioners and pretty much with all manufacturers' leather. I was sure I already knew it but looked this up in my F-Pace owner's guide which has leather seats. The care of leather in Jaguar cars only mentions cleaning with plain water or a mild soap. The Jaguar "cleaner" is nothing more than a PH controlled soap. The manual does not mention the leather seats can be better maintained using a leather "conditioner" and, although there is no specific mention, some of my other cars with the same cleaning instructions state definitively, not to use leather conditioners.

Jaguar is giving the best maintenance instruction for the product they put in their cars, a painted, sealed leather. Conditioners better known as penetrating oils must get through the paint as the leather is unreachable with this protective coating. It is similar to pouring the leather conditioner on your painted hood. And BTW, if you contact Leatherique, they will disagree but remember, they're selling product.

Cut/paste from owner's manual:

LEATHER UPHOLSTERY
To prevent ingrained dirt and staining, inspect the seat upholstery regularly and clean every 1 to 2
months, as follows:
1. Wipe off fine dust from the seat surfaces using a clean, damp, non-colored cloth. Change
frequently to a clean area of cloth, to avoid abrasive action on the leather surface. Avoid over-
wetting.
2. If this is not sufficient, use a cloth which has been dampened with warm, soapy water and then
wrung out. Use only mild non-caustic soap.
3. Use Jaguar approved Leather Cleaner for heavily soiled areas. Dry off and rub with a clean, soft
cloth, changing surfaces regularly.
Use Jaguar approved Leather Cleaner several times a year to maintain its appearance and suppleness. The
cleaner will nourish and moisturize and help to improve the surface protective film against dust and
substances.
1. Do not use solvents. Do not use detergents, furniture polish or household cleaners. While these
products may initially give impressive results, their use will lead to rapid deterioration of the
leather and will invalidate the warranty. Jaguar recommend a basic set of products that have been
specially selected for the type of leather in your vehicle.
2. Dark clothing may stain leather seats, just like other upholstery products.
3. Sharp objects, such as belts, zip fasteners, rivets, etc., can leave permanent scratches and scratch
marks on the leather surface.
4. Unless spillages, such as tea, coffee or ink, are washed away immediately, permanent staining may
have to be accepted.
If a valet service is used, make sure that the specialist concerned is aware of, and follows, these
instructions precisely.

 

I did read about the “baking in the sun” approach to using Leatherique. Yeah, lol, that always struck me as not being a very good idea. My common sense radar went off big time when reading that, and I’ve never done that. I apply it once a year mid-winter in my climate controlled garage while the car is in storage for about 6 months, and then here and there through the year I do use the Pristine Clean part of the system on the steering wheel, and a few other spots, but mainly on the steering wheel to keep it clean and looking great.

As I said in my post above, there are all kinds of thoughts on this topic. Like with most things we all have to take a cross-section of what we read and go in whatever direction we feel comfortable with. In that video I linked above Esoteric addresses the impermeability aspect. I personally tend to agree with their position expressed there.

I know someone who had a dash leather dry out and shrink up from sun. They had it fixed and then used leatherique to avoid the issues happening again. So far so good. I personally disagree about your suggestion that leather can’t dry out and need replenishment.

I also would state that I don’t agree with your assertion that Leatherique is like “motor oil”…lol…Far from it in my continued use of it. It is a completely natural product. To the point that the application instructions encourage getting hands on. I’m not sure that is a very fair characterization.

I have talked with many users of the product and have seen the shape of their seats after many 10s of thousands of miles. Nothing is is for sure, but examples like that at least install some confidence.

All this said, geez, you definitely had a bad experience for some reason. I would have lost my mind for sure. What a shame. So far with the way I’m doing things I cannot imagine anything like that happening. Results have been good.

Cheers

 

NP, everyone will operate on their own agendas. all the best of luck to you and hope you never experience what I did.

And, I will add, the lifting of leather on dashboards happens on all cars. I've seen it on Bentleys, Ferarris, Audis, Jags, Corvettes, you name it. The REAL problem here is putting leather on dashboards. This is the worst place to put this product. You never see the same problems on door panels consoles, seats, etc. Only dashboards where, frankly, vinyl belongs. The sun screen is the real answer here.

 

I was recently in Fiji. Most of the cars on the road had some sort of dash pad covering the top of the dashboard. These were not luxury cars but basic transportation. The few I saw without dash pads had significant sun damage and cracks on the top of the dash. I did not see any sun shades. I don't think a dash pad would look good in an F-Type though.

 

I don’t recall a large number of people reporting dash leather lifting on F-types on this forum, but perhaps I missed some posts. I know for Aston Martin Vantages the problems are pretty much guaranteed if you don’t take steps, and the car is exposed to tough sun/heat conditions regularly.

I wonder if a lot of the problems out there aren’t more to do with the use of inadequate adhesives relative to use case. For example, if someone is living in a hot area like the southern US states and leaving the car parked in high sun/heat scenarios regularly.

One thing I have noticed on this forum are complaints that the headliner is separating. It seemed to me that most of these people lived in hotter climates.

I think I would agree that leather is less than ideal on the dash given the higher propensity for it to dry and shrink. Most people are not going to take measures to protect it, and then ya end up with butt pain.

 

There are a lot of theories out there, how this happens on dashboards. The manufacturers have not been very forthcoming what their studies have shown, however, I have one inside source that is a little revealing.

Laypersons, (US) have several ideas, some of which have become individual truths. Some of those are:
Temperatures - with the following theories, these failures happen more frequently in hot climates
Inadequate glue/inconsistent gluing in the manufacturing process.
The wrong type of glue - ineffective glue
Inadequate preparations of the mating surfaces in manufacturing.

Some of these I can dispel strictly from my work experience. I spent half of my career as a Principal manufacturing engineer. I was responsible for the fit, finish, durability, life expectancy, etc. of a final product that engineering studies showed had an expected functional life in the field. If a product (or sub-assembly in this case) had a premature failure, especially one the manufacturer had to pay for in warranty, the company issued a failure report to engineering. The responsible engineering team had to investigate the failure(s) to determine the source. Some of those sources could be
Design
Materials
Manufacturing (processes and consistency)
customer misuse/abuse, or customer use beyond the design expectations.

First the manufacturing parts (where I was responsible) modern manufacturing processes use "control limits", a fancy way of saying we can assure that all of the directions provided to build a product are controlled and were followed to produce it. This would include the correct type of glues per design engineering. and the correct amounts to provide bonding per the design criteria. So, on the first failure reported to manufacturing, mfg engineering would have had to review all of the assembly processes and process controls and verify the correct processes are being adhered to. BTW, ANY manufacturing engineer and partnered with a quality control engineer is constantly ensuring the process is consistent all the time. It's what we get paid for.

The wrong type of glue - this would fall onto design engineering and purchasing. Each would have to ensure the correct products are being used and no unapproved substitutes are (or were) used. And common to all of these investigations is Quality Control Engineering.

Jumping to the layperson's theories about sun damage (heat being the culprit), several examples across all manufacturers (GM, Ford, Jaguar, Audi, MB, Bentley, Aston, etc.) have failure examples from cars that came from places like Wisconsin. GM (Corvette) had examples of dash leather failures on relatively new cars, a couple of which were new cars in dealers coming directly from the factory.

So, now to the one study that I heard about from an "insider" who worked in corporate at one of these companies - An extensive engineering study of the failures revealed that ambient temperature VARIATION that occurred very quickly and with a significant change was the real culprit to the leather separation from the substrate. Some examples - pulling the car out from a dark garage where the ambient temp of the dash might be 75* out into a bright sunny day where the ambient temp of the dash changes rapidly to 130*; or, a car pulled out of a heated garage where the dash might be 60*, out into freezing temps where the dash quickly drops to 30*, then quickly heated back up from the car heaters to maybe 80*. It was concluded the glue was sufficient, the build process was sufficient. It was also concluded that leather because of its differences in quick expansion and contraction rates changed at a different pace than the substrate to which it was glued, and compared to vinyl materials which had very little variations in the expansion/contraction rates compared to the substrate.

STILL, all manufacturers experience these failures and they eat the warranties until that is up, then the owners bear the cost. The customer desires (and demands) for these products (leather on dash) are strong enough and manufacturers now charge enough to compensate for the expected % of failures through warranties. For example, Corvette started using leather dashes on their most expensive models (3LT/4LT) since the C5s. C6, C7 and C8 3 and 4LTs are notorious for dash failures. GM keeps replacing them for almost 30 years now. If it was glue or manufacturing or materials, this would have been solved in 1999.

Conclusion - I live by the notion the leather dash damage comes from extreme quick temp changes. I try to mitigate that with a sun screen, even keep a black towel I might use on the dash when I start driving until the cabin temp stabilizes. It is why I am against any conditioner that lays on the leather as a topical as this topical can heat up and cool off more quickly than the leather itself. And, as always, don't listen to me if your belief system is telling you differently.

 

I'm wondering if "303-Leather" might be useful as a leather conditioner/UV protectant. I have used '303' on vinyl etc and it seems to work.
If the Jag leather is PU or Vinyl coated '303' should be ok. Of course it won't solve the problem if it is caused from thermal shock.

 

I think it's a mistake to assume there is only one failure cause. In my case, the leather was actually ruined by the sunlight and the heat that came with it. The forward six inches of the leather is hard and shrunken. It doesn't even fit the substrate anymore. My belief system has no say in that. I've measured temperatures of over 175F on the inside of the panoramic roof shade, and that was just during "regular" summer heat, not the exceptional heat we get at times.

If you have the extended leather package and suspect the leather is being damaged by the sun, try feeling the leather right under the windshield and comparing that with the feel at the back of the same piece. An oily leather conditioner may help the leather but accelerate failure of the glue, although that's speculation on my part. The sunny side of my steering wheel (normal parking position) is starting to feel a little dry, so I'll be treating that with the same stuff I've been using on my riding leathers and nice shoes.

 

She is protesting for getting her paws cold in the snow. But seriously, I think the adhesive they are using must be garbage, just had them replace my center AC vent and instrument cluster leather cover because the leather pulled away.

 

W zeszły weekend postanowiłem zabrać się za naprawę tego wystającego elementu. Zdemontowałem centralny nawiew, żeby mieć lepszy dostęp. Naciągnąłem skórę na tyle, na ile się dało i skleiłem ją klejem Patex. Na razie wygląda o wiele lepiej. Zobaczymy, jak długo to potrwa ;-)


 

Good job! please let us know if the problem returns. How is the leather at the base of the windshield holding up along the rest of the dash?