When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Were the XJS cars available with black interiors from the factory? If so, in which markets? I've scoured the web and only found a handful of photos of pre-facelift with black interior. I've found a few rear seats or side panels on int'l ebay in black also. Anyway, here's my Burgundy door panel in black:
since my ski-slope was irreparably cracked and broken, I decided to refinish in carbon fiber. this led to me replace all wood grain with custom carbon fiber inserts.
my goal is to turn this car into the sporty beast it could've (should've?) been. I fully disassembled the panel, reglued the door pocket liner, and basically refinished everything front/back/top/bottom/inside/outside.
The duplicolor vinyl/fabric coating from the auto parts store. It’s really amazing stuff, if you use it properly. You can see a can of it in the background. I also used some adhesion promoter on the armrest only, it’s good for high traffic areas but can cause the texture to flatten out some. Prep is most important; I put a round soft bristled brush on my cordless drill, and worked everything over with dawn, then rinse and towel dry. Next towel down with virgin laquer thinner or the like, something just hot enough to leave a little of the original color on the rag. Air dry, and apply.
Which year is yours? My interior wasn’t that glossy either but the product settles down with use, and the flat black option is far too flat. It may be in my head, but from all the times I’ve used these products in the past, I feel the gloss is more durable.
I have seen 94 cars in black. I have used Colorplus Surflex dyes for refinishing Jaguar leather, it gives the right surface finish - not glossy, but not dead flat either. https://colorplus.com/
Wait, you painted connolly leather with some vinyl spray?
I used the burgundy duplicolor on the carpet in my xj6 because it was faded to brown in some spots, but I can't imagine painting door cards with it. The only time leather really has any gloss in a car is when its greasy and hasn't been cleaned.
I wouldn't recommend chasing the idea of the XJS being sporty. It is supposed to be a GT car and it excels at that. It did well in racing in its day, but the kind of modifications to make a car good on a track are extensive and not at all suited to daily driving.
No, I have a dye system for the leather seats. I am currently working on the vinyl door panels. Perhaps the armrest was genuine leather, but as a whole the door is vinyl.
I'm not "chasing" a competitive XJS. I do think I'd prefer a bit less pretense though, as I've never been a fan of woodgrain and Burgundy isn't for me. Aside from a few engine mods geared toward safety and longevity, I plan to leave the powertrain well enough alone.
No, I have a dye system for the leather seats. I am currently working on the vinyl door panels. Perhaps the armrest was genuine leather, but as a whole the door is vinyl.
I'm not "chasing" a competitive XJS. I do think I'd prefer a bit less pretense though, as I've never been a fan of woodgrain and Burgundy isn't for me. Aside from a few engine mods geared toward safety and longevity, I plan to leave the powertrain well enough alone.
Here are some really early cars with black interior.
1980s-vintage Jags with black interiors are rare-ish. If we looked at a couple hundred pics of Jags from the 1960s to 1980s I'm pretty sure we'd see an undeniable decline in black interiors.
I have seen 94 cars in black. I have used Colorplus Surflex dyes for refinishing Jaguar leather, it gives the right surface finish - not glossy, but not dead flat either. https://colorplus.com/
I'm not really sure why you've recoloured it like this. Its not that difficult to get the leather off the board, cut new leather to size and put it all back together, a new black leather would also look much better too.
At the end of the day its something like this when you strip it all up
I've restored mine with new boards, speakers and carpet last year, as the old ones were rotten, basically stripped everything up and turned this rotten mess:
lol. sure, it's perhaps on the easier side to replace the vinyl on the flat door panel. but stitching, wrapping, and contouring the armrest and door pocket?
There is 0 stitching on the whole thing as far as I remember and what the pics show, its all pulled, glued with the same glue that is used for headlining and then stapled, you just cut the whole thing to the exact same size and glue it onto original element, it really is simple
I was a bit worried too that it might not be within my skillset but it turns out, as soon as you get a good electric staple gun then its easy and very rewarding job
01-22-2018, 10:01 AM
XJS interior retouching
Without wanting to get hopelessly lost in the weeds of automotive semantics...... 
