I have some wear on the drivers seat, typical wear spot for this car.

Does anyone have a good ballpark on what I should pay to get this fixed?

Also what will both seats cost to be died black as well to remove the cracked look?

Thanks!

 

Check out Leatherique.com if you don't mind doing a little of your own work. Their products are second to none.

 

WindycityX - Would be interested in getting any info/advice that you obtain. I also have a problem with the Drivers Seat Back. It has a 'Big Hole' in the Door Side Bolster from the prior owner. The local Auto Upholsters won't or can't touch it because of the supposed 'air bag liability' (don't ask me, supposed to be something with the special thread...). Have contacted several repair shops on E-Bay that advertise replacement Air Bag and Seat service, but get no response after repeated E-Mails. Really do not want to change all of the leather out for $600 - $700, plus what I might have to spend for an upholsters help/assist. This is not a 'concours' car, but a daily driver. The leather (other than the seat bolster with the hole in it) is really in pretty decent shape.

Additionally, do not really see any replacement seats or leather on E-Bay for an XK8 with 'black' from auto recyclers. If you do see any, it is typically $250 for the entire seat plus $250 shipping and then your not sure that the seat electronics/wiring/features are all the same.

So if you hear of anything, if you would be so kind as to pass the info on.

 

I have heard good things about Leatherique.com but was looking to have someone possibly do both at the same time.

I know that this is a super common issue with the seats on the drivers side - anyone have quotes of what the repair costed at your local shop etc.?

And maybe the leather dye?

- I was also curious if the leather dye rubs off and gets on your clothes etc.?

billm - will let you know if I find anything.

Thanks

 

I was just talking to local interior shops. Quote here in CO is about $250 - $300 to remove, replace and dye match the leather panel. Guys in the shop tell me that this is most of their work. They consider that piece of leather as a consumable item that just needs replacement on high mileage cars.

 

Hi Windycityx,
I orderd Gliptone scuffmaster from the UK they will match the exact OEM dye colour and it is garanteed not to come off on wet or dry fabric.

I was very happy with the results, easy to apply and a perfect colour match which hid all those cracked worn leather marks perfectly.
Coupled with their GT 11/12 leather cleaner and conditioner it is without doubt a quality product, it restored the only part of the vehicle that was letting it down

I have to say for $175 including shipping to Canada coupled with a bit of elbow work I cannot be happier with the results. I will have to post some before / after photos when I figure out how.

Good as it is, it is not going to fix Billm's hole!

No disrespect to any other product tried by members out there intended.

Thanks to all the members that reccomended the product to myself.

Cheers,

Karl

 

I went with the OEM replacement covers from topsonline on my 2000 xk8. I did the seat removal and breakdown and had an upholstery shop put the covers on. They look great, just got them back today, and did the center console at the same time. All in for both seats I was under a grand, I am happy with that as the shops I took it to originally had quoted me over $2000 to fix the original seat covers.

I fixed a seat release on the passenger seat, Jaguar wanted over $600 for parts and labor, the cable was quite expensive, the fix using a heavier grade was $12. After all the seat were already apart.

I know you are not looking for a recover, but in the end it worked great for me and the cost was reasonable.

 

I've also used Gliptone with good results. The following are from a previously owned XJ8L:




My findings with this product were similar to Karl's.

One reservation I have is that the leather ends up with a shiny finish unlike the original matt finish. Be interested to know if Leatherique does the same.

Getting back to Windycityx's original problems. Whilst this is no help with the hole in the seat, it would be suitable for repairing the cracks and dyeing black, depending on the original seat colour.

Graham

 

Leatherique will also match leather dye for you. They've done so many Jaguars that they may already know the color mix for your upholstery.

If you look online, you should be able to come up with the proper leather to redo the bolster. I've seen it somewhere, but I don't recall where.

Any quality auto upholstery shop deals with side air bags every week. If they tell you they cannot work on your car, they're just telling you that they just don't want to jack with this little job.

Give a good upholsterer some Leatherique products and some sandpaper, and they can do wonders with interiors. The before and after pictures online are incredible--on early model cars.

 

Is the Leatherique ok for first-timers would hate to screw anything up?

 

It has great instructions and it next to impossible to screw up. Great for us guys for a weekend project.

 

I tried the leather dye and it worked quite well on the charcoal leather in my 2002 XKR-100. The wear spot on the bolster was a "natural hide" color...kinda sand. The dye made it all black again and it blended fairly well, but didn't cover the change in texture from the wear. It also filled in the cracks very well and hid those without too much problem. Also, no problems with the dye rubbing off onto clothes. I got my dye from a seller in the UK off Ebay.

 

If I apply the dye over the wear spot opening will this make it all look one color and make it not as noticable as it is different materials/fabrics etc.? Thanks!

 

Not sure what product he used. Had a local leather repair guy come to the house. I didn't watch the prep work. Did all the work with the seats in the car. Drivers bolster and both seat bottoms had cracks and you could see white coming throught the cashmere color. I think the product was some kind of vinyl he sprayed on. The color match was perfect. The repaired areas were a little more smooth than original but still looked great. Cost $100. Lasted about a year and a half. I think the leather conditioner I used on the rest of the seat was not compatable with his product and it started to peel off. After 2 years repair was completely gone. I'm thinking about trying him one more time and being a little more careful with my cleaning products. This is not a show car. It's my 12K a year daily driver, '98 XK8. Jack

 

I bought leather dye kit on ebay for $45, my seat looks like new. It just took forever, a few hours to prep then 4 coats of dye, and a coat of gloss. My seat was really bad, now looks very presentable.

 

We don't have seat/side airbags in our early XK8's do we???? Are these sissy shops just lyin' cause they don't want to do a small job?

 

There's always another upholstery shop down the street, or in the next town.

It's just their way to say they don't want to jack with such a small job.

All good auto upholsterers are used to dealing with air bag seats.

 

Side air bags introduced with 2001 Model Year so fitted to vehicles built commencing August 2000.

There's generally a tag stitched into the seat back piping to indicate an airbag is fitted.

Graham

 

Dang. I learnt two things today on this forum.

 

That's a great match for gray leather... and those photos are great at catching what you don't really notice in-person. That match looks spot-on.

Impressive.