I am in the process if repairing some rips and cracks on my seat leather using Leatherique products.
I am getting the seams restitched and the seats repadded with medium density foam.
Once I remove all of the seat covers I will rust treat and repaint the seat frames.
I am using a company called ISEAT to repair the rips in the leather and re-stitching the seams.
The front seats were purchased from a forum member a few years ago. He had dyed them the biscuit color prior to selling them to me.
I am using perforated leather for the seamed inserts of the front seats.
When I am done all the seats will be dyed BISCUIT which is the original color.

on both the front seat squabs and backrest

 

SANCHEZ, look at lseat.com for replacement covers. they may be a cost effective alternative to repairs. I used them for covers on my LWB Rover. Fine product.

geneo

 

@ Geneo: I had spoken to them. the $299 price is good but it is faux leather. It is also $299 for the faux leather rear seat covers. These are 6 weeks out. Their real leather seat covers are very expensive and after paying them, it would be minimum 12 weeks out. Also, they do not carry the color I need so I will have to dye the seats to match the rest of my upholstery.
Also no one sits on the rear seats. Not a taxi lol

 

have you checked World Upholstery in California? They have new foams, and leather by yardage.

 

I got a quote from World Upholstery for my 1985 xj6: $1700 front and $1400 for the back. Whew.... Looks and sounds like factory original quality and real leather.
Dave

 

just a bit of clarity here; LSeat covers are real leather, you can get faux leather for cheaper; if it fits your need. My Rover covers are very good.

https://www.rangerovers.net/forum/8-...at-covers.html

 

forgot to agitate spray gun, notice slight difference in color. Will respray.
UPDATE:



After
I used the Leatherique products to fix the cracked leather on my rear seat squab. The job was very time consuming, but the result was great.
I left the dye in the spray gun for too long and forgot to agitate the gun before applying the dye. I will have to mist on a final coat tomorrow.

 

Also, if you do not agitate the spray gun regularly, the dulling agent in the dye sinks to the bottom, changing the hue of the dye and leaving the dye shiny.
Fortunately, I have enough dye to do all of the car upholstery twice. 3 coats per application. They sent me 32 ounces of dye in the kit which is diluted 25% for spraying. Total 40 ounces.

 

the vinyl sides and backs of the front seats of my car are perfect, like new.

but the leather is cracking, cracked, totally useless in the driver's seat. and somewhat in the passenger front seat.

I want to replace the leather tops ONLY. not the vinyl.

but everybody wants to sell me the entire seat covers at an atrocious ridiculous price.

 

That product leaves those seats in beautiful condition. I'll add Leatherique to my go-to list. By the way, I think I'm building one, but what the heck does the term "lump(ed)" mean exactly.
Dave

 

@ JOSE: I have been reading on the forum that all of the Series 3 Jaguar seats use leather on the top and vinyl on the sides. Not to burst anyone's bubble, the sides on my front seats are made out of leather, and this is the first time these seats are being messed with.
I went by the upholsterer today to tell him to change the vinyl on the sides. He said to me "What Vinyl". he showed me the sides and it was leather which he is going to reuse to save me some money.
When I came back home, I looked at the rear seat squab, and the side of the squab was vinyl. The side of the backrest is leather.
When I go back there tomorrow I will take some pics and post them here.

@LT1 Jaguar I am not sure what and where the term "LUMPED" came from. However, I did see what it meant somewhere on this forum when I was researching how to LUMP mine.
I remember that the 'MP' in LUMP meant 'more power'.
Maybe someone else will read this thread and have the answer. It is on the forum somewhere.

 

Hi, those seats are looking good, I'll have to do mine at some point ( if I don't upgrade to a better overall XJ before then ). Question for everyone who has stripped / refinished their seats, can the color be changed from a dark ( blue ) to light ( biscuit/ doeskin ) color without changing / affecting the final color ? My front seat has a torn panel which I might try to repair with a part from a blue seat when I refinish them ( or just refinish the blue seats to doeskin if possible ). Haven't bought the blue parts car yet, but wanted to check before I go look it over.
Cheers,
Brian

 

LUMP: Less Upkeep More Power.
It refers to replacing one power plant, in our case the Jaguar engine, with another power plant, usually a Chevy of some sort.
(';')

 

Thanks LnrB, doesn't seem to refer to some disease or disfigurement, so I think I will continue with mine.
Dave

 

@KUDZU: The answer is yes. Contact George at Leatherique in North Carolina. I asked him about that and he stated "The leather on an ’85 Jag is a surface sprayed lacquer". He stated that prior to the EPA getting involved during the 90's, all leather in cars were sprayed with lacquer dye. Later cars got a water based dye.
The front seats that I purchased were grey. You have to remove most of the original Lacquer dye for the water based dye to adhere to the leather. To do so, just moisten a rag with lacquer thinner and wipe it off, then clean with ISP alcohol and allow to air dry.
I did mine this way:
I moistened the rag with lacquer thinner, placed it on the seat, covered it with plastic to prevent the thinner from evaporating (2-3 minutes).
After removing, I used another rag moistened with thinner to wipe the color off.
Once you start to see the brown of the leather, stop.
Allow to air dry. Do not use any heat source to hasten the drying process. That includes the sun. Heat will harden the leather. I used a fan to help.
Lightly wet sand with 400/600 wet/dry. I used Leatherique's prepping agent to sand with. Do not allow the leather to suede.
Follow instructions for applying the dye.

 

Thanks Sanchez,
That's what I thought I remembered reading SOMEWHERE here but started going crazy trying to find it again. It's going to be a while ( need to get her rebuilt / dependable first ) but I will be refinishing a set of seats eventually. Going to start a new question thread about the strange codes / interior in the parts car I might buy this weekend.
Cheers everyone !
Brian

 

DONE. Used Leatherique products for finish.

 

NICE JOB! All you'll be cleaning up now is drool from your admirers.

 

Thanks Bill. How is your car coming along. I see that the fender is back on and your garage floor looks great.

 

What happened to the perforated sections you had planned (or did I miss an update)?