I have read some of the forums, seems like everyone has a different opinion. I need help to find the best product for dry seats, and to repair the following. If it helps, I am located in the U.S.

 

From experience, start cleaning with a very good leather cleaner, then clean again, then again .... that really is the trick I learned over the years, doing a dozen of Jaguars.
After that, I can recommend Furniture Clinic has a nice range of good quality products to further repair and dye in the correct color.

 

another source of good cleaning and restoration products is Leatherique. I've used their products for the last 22 years of Jag ownership, though I've not done any dyeing as I haven't needed to. It's good stuff. There's a gent, Robert Laughton (sp?),who may be on this list but I believe is also on Jag-Lovers.org, who is a distributor. I think the website is Home Page | Leatherique Restoration Products

 

Hello, I did look at the furniture clinic. I also looked at leatherique. I noticed that there are two types of oatmeal. My trim code is AGD, not sure what dye to choose.

 

Leatherique will match a 1" square that you can remove from under the seat.

 

I can recommend using a degreaser to clean; such as Meguiars super degreaser. Water it down 50:50 and spray it on using a fresh spray botttle, then work it in with a shoe polish brush. This gets all the contaminants off, and all the oils out.

The let it dry thoroughly before you paint.

I would also sand it down before you paint, so that you do not get all the cracks showing afterwards. A filler might be needed if you have any heavily worn patches.

I would then dab the dye on using a small sponge in thin layers - 5 or 6 layers, maybe 10, until the covering looks even.

 

Well Chris, your detailed instructions almost make me want to drag my old seat leather out of storage and give it another shot.
I had purchased the Leatherique (complete 4 step system) but did not acquire the desired results. It may be that what my leathers
needed was a miracle, not an impatient engineer. I had cracks that I filled but they never seemed to quite blend in right. In the end
I just purchased new leather and had it installed by professionals.

 

I called by a well known Connolly leather specialist in the North of England to ask him for a price on renovating the interior of one of my cars. 35 years of experience was great to listen to. He was showing me the interior of a Daimler he was repairing that had been painted with two pack body paint! I couldn't believe it but then then showed me repairs he had done on a $1.25m Ferrari Enzo which someone painted with exterior paint.... I was speechless.

So, follow Chris's guidance - you can see from his ownership thread how great his results were - and don't just paint your leather with a can of gloss

 

After looking into the particulars of this subject, I discovered I had attacked the task equipped with
neither the required time or patience required for the job to be done in a proper manner. (something
Americans in general have in short supply) I have decided to try my hand at renovating the leather
in proper fashion. I certainly appreciate the attention to detail in the comments which indicate how
the job should be approached for recognizable success. Thank you.

 

Limited to one experience with a 1980 BMW 733i, but I used Honey Leather cleaner and conditioner and I was extremely pleased with the results. Worth a look and compare to other products as you see fit.

 

Yes sir, I have used quite a few different ones over the years. Some were better than others and some
were worse than nothing. The Leatherique system has acquired some glowing reviews and I am trying
to follow the guidance a little better this time around. It seems that there is a real tried and true method
of restoring cracked skins that requires more patience than is in my normal purview.