Is it possible to restore baggy leather? There are plenty of how-tos on the Net about repairing cracked, stained and dirty leather seats, but the only information I have found on baggy seats is a Youtube video which claims that 10 minutes with a hairdryer is all it takes. I was skeptical, but tried it nonetheless... it didn't have any noticeable effect on my seat

It's not bad enough to take to a professional leather restorer. I would prefer a quick fix, if there is one.

 

Pull the cover off and add a layer of foam underneath? <shrug>

This might be masking the problem more than fixing the problem.

I dunno. Just a thought.

Cheers
DD

 

I had thought of that as a quick fix, having already done it on my Mazda MX5, but how easy is it to get the leather cover off the Jaguar? I imagine there are dozens of easily-breakable spring clips lurking under the seat...

 

That issue seems to be one of the cheesier details with these cars that blemishes an otherwise smashing interior. When shopping around for my XKR, either in person or via websites like Autotrader, one of the most consistent things I noticed was the baggy tired looking nature of the driver's side seat bottom. I owned my daily driver 1995 Corvette for 14 years and the driver's seat pretty much looked as good the day I sold the car as when I bought it. It's hard to believe that GM can produce better seat bottom foam than Jaguar.

Doug

 

FWIW, I just had the covers off the front seats of my '95 XJR (heater replacements)....no problems or difficulties compared to other cars I've done covers on.

Not sure about your model, though.

Cheers
DD

 

Look at some Cadillacs and you'll see that GM has problems choosing decent seat foams as well :-).

I think they select higher grade stuff on Corvettes, as you mention

Cheers
DD

 

Frog, it looks like you have the same seats in your car that I have in mine. Are they the Recaro Seats in ivory color? I have had the same complaint with mine but have not tried to remove and add more padding.

 

Frog:

It might be easiest to find an auto upholstery shop to get their free opinion. You can order new Jag factory foam, but the cost is really prohibitive. It might be as simple as putting a layer of fiber fill under the seat cover, pull the cover tight and install new hog rings.

I have been to upholstery school, but have only dealt with couches/sofas/chair upholstery. Auto upholstery (and convertible tops) is a specialty.

 

I would think that any decent auto upholstery shop should have some type of generic foam or stuffing to puff the seat up.


Doug

 

Yes, they are ivory Recaros. They came as standard on the run-out 2005 MY.

Thanks for all the advice so far, much appreciated.