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Project this last weekend came out perfectly. It may not look brand new but the seats look infinitely better; have become supple again; and have that smell of "rich English leather". Not bad for 17 year old seats!
Gliptone Leather Cleaner, Conditioner, and Scuffmaster
While a very big job to do right the leather restoration products available these days are very, very good even for an amateur. Fortunately, my '02 is not yet in need for this level of restoration it helps to keep the leather clean and 'conditioned' along the way. Our seats, as most cars, is finished with a vinyl dye/paint.
I am in the process of restoring an '81 Volvo Bertone Coupe with 34 year old leather. While in very good shape for its age it now looks as new. This is the result of Leatherique products.
I also use the Gliptone product. The cleaner is OK, but not my favorite. However, their scuffmaster dye is great as you know. Their conditioner is my favorite as it really brings out the leather smell. (Makes your hands soft too!)
Mine were not quite as worn as yours, but I did have some cracking. What ended up working best for me was the "color wash" treatment. Multiple coats of a water diluted application actually looked better than the direct, non-diluted method I used first on a test spot.
This is what I used in my XF seats. Been about two months and look brand new still!
I went a little further than their directions and really sanded down the deep cracks/creases. I also used gel super glue on two cuts that almost went through the leather. I let it dry over night and sanded the super glue smooth.
Then I masked everything and sprayed several even coats.
I was blown away! They look perfect!
I did notice the color was just slightly different but it was due to the age of my seats and fading.
And the finish is just like the factory matte finish. Never realized how shiny mine were from the constant rubbing.
Project this last weekend came out perfectly. It may not look brand new but the seats look infinitely better; have become supple again; and have that smell of "rich English leather". Not bad for 17 year old seats!
Gliptone Leather Cleaner, Conditioner, and Scuffmaster
I've had cracked leather on driver's seats before but never that bad!
Great job.
I also used Gliptone products (because they are readily available in the UK) but other members report identical results with Leatherique equivalents.
Airbrush is definitely the way to go for the most even coverage.
Here's a few pics. Now, my seats were no where as worn as OP's, which I agree look much better! (Although I think with his new found confidence in refinishing, he should order a crack fill kit and really upgrade his repair! No doubt he can do a great job!)
The cracked bolster pic on my XF were much worse and also on the seat bottom. Unfortunately I didn't think to take totally before pictures. The bolster pic was taken after first cleaning. But before I started sanding them down. The seat pics show the after. And no evidence of the two cuts I repaired.
This is a very tough refinish product. My dog has jumped on it, and I drive it every day and still looks brand new.
It's 59.00 a can and comes with special cleaner and a scuff pad. But I used 2000 grit sand paper and sanded down the creases and deeper cracks until they were almost invisible. This is nothing like the Duplicolor vinyl and fabric spray.
The seller says they can match most interior code colors, even on older cars.
Here's a very close image of how my seat bottoms had worn. (Damaged seat pic not my car) Mostly before I bought the car by the first owner. Since the finish is painted from the factory, this is basicly a replacement factory finish!
Cars in the US get a lot more UV damage from sunlight than in the European area. Remember, Chicago and Rome are on the same latitude. The Southern US is sorta like the Sahara Desert as far as sunlight is concerned, just greener. The reason that convertible hydraulic hose problems occur much more often in the US than in Europe.
Reconditioned my seats-WOW!
