Hi guys,

Right, apologies if I have trampled any rules or done anything wrong, I'm new here so please bear with me..

Anyway, a few questions for Mk II people.

1 - Has anyone used this gliptone liquid leather conditioner etc? It is advertised in one of the classic car mags and seems too good to be true. My seats as it stands are old looking but not ripped so I was wondering if it was worth throwing 70 quid or so at them and trying this before doing the rather more drastic route of a full re-trim. On that matter, do people have an idea what a full retrim would cost for a mk II?

2 - Where is the best place for parts? Is there anywhere specific recommended by the forum / club / any club discounts?

Many thanks for any help in advance!

Rich

 

Hi Rich,
I always have a bottle of cleaner and conditioner from Gliptone, fantastic stuff and really does put the old English leather smell back into the car.
If you get a colour match kit as well, you will end up with seats looking almost new.

 

Seconded for the gliptone products. Try stevelewissaab.co.uk for them and he may well do some recolouring liquid for your car if you can provide a paint code. I got the kit for my xjs from him.

 

Hi

Can certainly agree on Gliptone products being good. I have an Mk2 '62 with old red original interior. Some of the seats I've just treated with the gentle cleaner and the conditioner (best I've ever used). I've also tried the recoloring, and found this good as well. I will publish an article on my blog on the recoloring projects in September. There is a few things that are really really important in that process.

Short version:
Spend time! Clean and condition, clean and condition before starting the coloring.
Degrease and remove dirt well before coloring.
Test the color for match on a small, not to visible piece first. Be careful not to put too much color on too fast, else you'll get that plastic look as a finish.

If you're interested, you can follow my blog here:
ClassicCar Experience Sharing

All articles are in English, some classic car event summaries are in Norwegian.

Cheers,
Morten

 

I have used all manner of leather cleaners - but the best is plain and simple soap flakes made into a thick paste with water. Magic.

 

No rules broken at all.

Asking for help and receiving a direct helpful reply to a question is what we are all about (including quoting a useful supplier).

The only problem is when someone comes along with the sole intention of promoting XYZ and they are not a paying Vendor.

Oh and that particular supplier is on what used to be my cycle training route (they must be good). They ARE.

 

1. Full retrim kit for a Mark 2 - around £3500-4000 plus VAT and fitting. Best to try that £70 Gliptone first ! Gliptone was what Jaguar use to recommend anyway. The leather in your car is called Vaumol, and is different to modern leather, having a surface coating only, the leather is not dyed at all. It was originally supplied by Connoly Leather of Wimbledon, but they went bust some time ago.

2. Most UK suppliers that are in the club magazines, like SNG Barrett, Norman Motors, David Manners, etc. Search on what you want on the internet. What parts do you need anyway ?

I would suggest you join one or both of the Jaguar clubs, their magazines have loads of ads for parts.