Ferrari Mailing List: Pictures, was: Leather Seat Reconditioning

[Rick Lindsay (rolindsay]

David asked,

> 
> Is there any chance you can post somewhere pictures of
> before and after? 

These will be a mix of pictures but you'll get the idea:

Before: http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/Interior/SeatBefore1.jpg

Stripped: http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/Interior/DriverSeatStripped.jpg

After: http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/Interior/Passenger_seat_after.jpg

In the after picture you can see where the new finish has worn through.  I 
applied the Leatherique dye too dry and it didn't adhere well.  The seats look 
good but they are the wrong color.  And now, some door pix.

In the "After" picture above you can see the before door panel.  And in the 
pictures below you can see the leather with the arm rest removed.

Before: http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/Interior/Door_001.jpg

Stripped: http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/Interior/Door_works007.jpg

Oiled: http://www.aubard.us/Ferrari/Interior/Door_works010.jpg

And I haven't taken any pictures of it reinstalled because I brushed the finish 
on and it looks like crap AND its the wrong color.  I'm redoing it all.  Call 
it a winter project.

Hope this helps.

Rick

> I have seen many of these, but always in advertising and I
> suspect they 
> show "atypical results". I'd really like to
> know how it turns out in the 
> real world.
> 
> Thanks also for the great info below. Like many others (I
> suspect) I 
> need to do this to my car but am a little apprehensive of
> making a total 
> mess of everything.
> 
> Dave
> 
> Rick Lindsay wrote:
> > Hi Larry, et al.,
> >
> >    I just read that article and I noticed one thing;
> They make it sound really easy, and there was no step
> wherein the leather was rehydrated and softened.  It was
> just cleaned and painted.
> >
> >    I've been refinishing leather using Leatherique
> products for years and here's what I've learned. 
> This technique is for total refinishing, not touch-ups. 
> Touch-ups are done just like with paint, but without primer.
> >
> > + Connolly leather is not dyed, it's lacquered
> >
> > + To get any leather conditioning into the fibers, the
> old lacquer has
> >   to be stripped off.  That's best done with
> lacquer thinner and its a
> >   nasty process.  Doing so also strips oils out of the
> leather.  Use no 
> >   more thinner than is necessary to strip the finish.
> >
> > + Once the lacquer thinner evaporates out of the
> leather the surface will
> >   be stripped of lacquer and the pores of the leather
> will be open.  The
> >   leather at this state is fragile.
> >
> > + Multiple coats of Leatherique's Rejuvenator Oil
> will rehydrate the
> >   leather with collagen and soften it nicely.  I use
> 4-5 coats and either
> >   wrap the wet surfaces with Saran Wrap or plastic
> garbage bags.  The
> >   idea is to retard the evaporation rate.  Warm is
> good too, like working
> >   on a nice sunny day.  Plan on spending up to a week
> on this process.
> >
> > + Once softened the leather is "healthy"
> again and will stand up to 
> >   bending and stretching without damage.  This is the
> step that is missing
> >   from the magazine article - and its the most
> important step for 
> >   preserving the longevity of the leather.
> >
> > + The leather needs to cure for a few days before the
> surface is cleaned
> >   with a pre-final-finish liquid that smells of Windex
> and ammonia.  It
> >   now needs to dry for a day or two.
> >
> > - And this is where I deviate from Leatherique's
> process.  I have found
> >   Leatherique's light colors of dye, specifically
> Ferrari tan, match very
> >   nicely.  Black also made a nice matte finish when
> applied to vinyl. 
> >   I have not found Leatherique's color match for
> dark colors (except 
> >   black) to be very good.  My 308GTB's interior is
> dark blue.  The best 
> >   Leatherique could do with repeated tries, is a
> gray-blue.  I will strip 
> >   that finish off of my seats and door panels this
> winter as the color is
> >   applied is unacceptable.
> >
> > - Do not believe any of these folks when they tell you
> that you can
> >   apply the final finish with a brush.  Yes, you can
> apply it but any 
> >   larger expanses of leather will probably show brush
> strokes and that
> >   makes the finished result look amateurish.
> >
> > + I will final-finish my 308's seats and door
> panels with SEM's lacquer
> >   based finish.  It is a quality product and does dark
> colors really
> >   well.  And of course, I will spray it on.
> >
> >    Larry, thanks for pointing us to this article. 
> With winter coming on for those of us in the North, these
> are the kinds of projects we'll be facing.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > rick
> >
> >   
> >> For those wishing to do this, there's a good
> article in
> >> the Jan 09 issue of "Sports & Exotic
> Car"
> >> magazine published by Hemmings  that shows step by
> step
> >> guide to redying a leather seat - 
> >>
> >> Sincerely,
> >> Larry T 
> >>     
> >
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