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My seats are holding up reasonably well, the driver's seat naturally showing more wear than the passenger seat. I'm no expert on leather but what I've heard is that leather is skin and needs to stay hydrated and cracks cannot be undone. Just like our hands, lotion will make them look better, but only to a point. They're not going to look like they did 20 years ago. I think that regular conditioner is the best way to keep leather looking good.
I contacted Colourlock today with my VIN and they said they could not match the trim and steering wheel color on my XK8. They suggested I cut off a small leather sample and send it to them and they will match it if I place an order. Truth is, I do not want to place and order for a color match I am not allow to confirm before ordering. Back to the drawing board.
Yes, seems like a risk if they don't already have it.
Found better photos. I bought a (Cough.... errr) BMW cheap. The main reason I got it cheap was because, as you may have guessed, he did not look after it. I enjoyed the restoration though. Looked like new by the time I had finished.
Before
After
Above is after I got the worst off. I took a lot more treatments before I got it back to good condition.
I finally found the color code for my steering wheel and facia trim. It is Sable and the code is AEK. This the source where I obtained my info and them seem to cover all requirements.
Still looking. I’ve tried a few, and the next one is Oyster (AMT). Trouble is time, hand oils, and sun changes leather. May never be 100percent, but right now I’ll settle for 75percent colour match.
If not, I’ll have to source a spare wheel and get it professionally re-finished for BHD45 (approx USD120)
... I'm no expert on leather but what I've heard is that leather is skin and needs to stay hydrated and cracks cannot be undone. Just like our hands, lotion will make them look better, but only to a point. They're not going to look like they did 20 years ago. I think that regular conditioner is the best way to keep leather looking good.
I'm sorry, but I can't read this without hearing Buffalo Bill: "It rubs the lotion on it's skin, or else it gets the hose again"
I tried Antelope and Sable without good results on my steering wheel. Pic below
Could it have been that colour before the sunlight and wear got to it? As David said, and I totally agree with him, "Trouble is time, hand oils, and sun changes leather"
My thoughts, for what they are worth. That pen could only do a few 'touch ups'. Why not seek a slightly darker colour, ask for a small sample, then with the larger amount do the whole wheel? Any touch up is bound to stand out as you will never get an exact match to the old stuff. Personally id find the closest match and do the whole thing. Would certainly be quicker and more pleasing to the eye. Also do it in lots of small layers rather than one thick one the end result is much better. If you do decide to do the whole thing Id recommend a binder and fixer solution on there first as it going to be a high wear area.
As Frankc mentions, the original color may have changed with sun exposure or skin oils. And also tough to guess good color matches on a computer screen.
I had sort of a similar problem in filling holes in old tiles in my bath shower. There a million shades of white and finding replacements for 70 year old tiles is impossible.
So I went to the local paint store and selected a bunch of sample cards that I thought would be close to the tile color. Found a good match and sent it to a paint company that makes tile touch up paint who selected a best match in their product line. Worked like a champ. You can’t see the repairs at all.
Get a best match paint chip and send to various leather touch up vendors to see if they can recommend a good match for you.
Or maybe a nice lace-up vinyl steering wheel cover from Kmart would do!🙀
I have used and recommended Leatherique products for years. Worked especially well on older XJ s and XK 8 seats to restore leather,
I have not tried re dying leather.
