Now that I've refinished the rough headliner and a pillars, my seat looks a bit rough. I'm planning on having the centers covered in the same black suede alcantara I used on the a pillars, but the door side of my seat is showing wear on the bolster.
I'll probably have that piece replaced when its in doe the centers, but is there anything I can wipe over it to simply restrain the fine cracks black? There not really crack, sort of flakes of leather. They didn't look as bad until I did the rest of the interior!
EVERY single hip jaguar I've owned in the past has this issue!! WHY????

 

 

+1 to Gliptone (but I've never read any bad reports of the other products listed in post #2)

For an idea of how well these dyes work, check this thread:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...esolved-80080/

The bolster in post #3 is the driver's seat (RHD) on my X308 and it was really bad. The results far exceeded my expectations!

Graham

 

My driver's side bolster was really bad. The local franchise for Fiber new came and did the job on my front seats and arm rest, I was 100% satisfied.

 

My only thing is that I purchased in the past, two jaguars, one S-type and an X-type. Both seats looked amazing, almost brand new. Within about a month on both cars, the old damage started reveling its self. The repair finishes actually started peeling out of the cracks. I could literally pull the "paint/dye" like thread out of the cracks. I don't want that to happen here.
I'd like to find a simple black wipe on finish that will simply stain the scratches black. Anything on that idea out there?

 

If the leather is properly cleaned and lightly sanded before appication of the dye it will not peel. Surface preparation is key. Any of these dyes can be used to color the cracks without a complete re-dye if used sparingly and wiped off the surface.

 

Plus one on that. Many cars are "prepped" by just putting the color as think as possible. I once looked at a BMW that started cracking and lifiting simply from leaning inside with my hand on the bottom cushion. A friend with a 200k mile XK8 on which he lightly refinishes the bolster yearly, so it always looks new. Mine will need it soon at 24k miles.

 

The gliptone scuff master looks the ticket. My leather is cleaned and I keep it moisturized so it won't continue to get worse.
I hope they ship to USA. If to, I may have t get one of you Brits to help a Yank out and post it to me in the states!

 

Check with Gliptone in Todmorden, UK. I'll be surprised if they don't ship to the USA but PM me if you have problems.

Graham

 

They sent it to me in Texas. That's almost like the states. Their conditioner is the best.

 

philhef,
Rather than spend high dollars on all sorts of leather dyes, if the bolsters are not torn, but just scuffed up, I find the best solution to be cheap, simple black shoe polish in an applicator bottle, the kind that has the little sponge applicator at the tip. I do it about every six months on my bolsters, it maintains the shine of the original leather, fills in the cracks very well, dries in minutes if not seconds, and can be purchased for under $2.00 anywhere. I would suggest doing the whole bolster from top to bottom all the way to the crease of the center panel. Put it on with a couple of overlapping layers so than there is no streaking. I have done it many times with great success. Try it, you'll like it.

 

I've tried that but it seemed not to last long. But I still have some so maybe I'll give it another try. It looked good for a few weeks.
I try not to slid into the seats but not so easy!!

 

I'm OK with the "lived in" look with leather seats, to my mind a 14 year old car can have leather seats with a nice patina. I treat the leather with Bag Balm twice a year. I rub it into all the leather with a bit of extra attention to the bolsters and any cracks, then leave it overnight before buffing off the excess. Bag Balm relaxes the leather and minimizes the crack visibility. The car smells a bit like a milking shed for a day or so, but no worse than Lexol.
If it is OK for a cows teats then why not my Jag seats ?

I've heard of other uses for Bag Balm, but they are not suitable for discussion on this board ...........

 

There's a nice article in Jaguar World Monthly over here that went to Gliptones and talked with the owner. All the leather dies are mixed by him by eye no machinery is involved. He has a file full of samples of leather sent to him so that he can match your leather plus you get great service. Keith

 

There's a nice article in Jaguar World Monthly over here that went to Gliptones and talked with the owner. All the leather dyes are mixed by him by eye no machinery is involved. He has a file full of samples of leather sent to him so that he can match your leather plus you get great service. Keith

 

Don't mind a seasoned feel either, I just hate seeing the whitish scuffing on the one bolster. And believe me, in an all,black interior, it really shows up. Not trying to make brand new but at least be solid black.

 

With my XK140 I restored the original leather seats that were also black rather than replace them with repro covers. I used a commercial black leather dye where it was cracked and then treated the leather with Bag Balm ( I did 4 applications ) . The result was supple leather that looks and feels great. This process was not my idea, I got it from guy that restores leather car seats for high end auto restoration shops while I was at Pebble Beach a couple of years ago.
I have not had much luck with restoring modern poly treated leather seats. I have been through the sanding/staining/spraying routine and they do look good for a while, but it does not stand the test of time. If the leather is not meticulously prepared it will peel off in short order.
I did the bolsters on my 99 XK with a light oatmeal leather dye worked into the cracks and a couple of treatments with Bag Balm and the result looks very good.

 

Where does one find bag balm? I'm starting to like this idea since its not a top coat finish that could wear off.
My gut says, though, that once the leather's started wearing and flaking, it's not going to stop. Probably any fix will be temporary or at least be a constant up keep. If only the previous owner had kept up the leather!

 

Bag Balm can be found at WalMart. Also at any Feed store.

 

Walgreens also sell it. I use a hair dryer to speed up the penetration, leave it overnight and then buff it out with a microfiber cloth. Look on YouTube, search on Bag Balm and there are several videos that give good info on the preparation and application. It's the lanolin that does the trick.
Wear gloves when using commercial leather dye, it took 5 weeks for my hands to get back to their original color.
Once my wife and daughter figured out how good it is for producing soft hands, my supply disappears rapidly.