Another Leatherique SUCCESS story!

Well I'm done refinishing my 87 328 interior with the Leatherique products and I have to say I am very, very happy.

My car had been resprayed before I got it, so it had two layers of dye on it. My first task was to remove the respray dye (which was wearing off) with lacquer thinner...my pleasure! The first picture shows me half way through. The respray dye was a bit darker, but not as dark as the photo suggests since it's been 'enhanced'. I took off all of the second dye job and bit into the original dye job 'just a bit'. Most friends saw the car in that state and thought it looked great, not me. Oh no, I see perfection within my grasp and I've gotta reach for it. And I got it!

After stripping it I gotta admit, I layed it on with the Rejuvenator oil...twice! Reading some later posts got me worried, but what's done was done. I did wait 3 or 4 weeks till I dyed the car, so perhaps that's why I didn't have any trouble with it. I did scuff it with steel wool as they recommended and used their Prepping agent. Then I had to wait several days before the humidity came down...it didn't. So, (why is nothing easy for me?) I ran a dehumidifier in my garage for a day and that brought it down to around 50%. Well that was all I could wait so I went ahead. I did the seats, door panels and console. Leave yourself a whole day for dying that much. I tried taping off switches but the dye ran under the tape and I had to do it over with the switches removed, so I wouldn't recommend that shortcut.

I did scare myself though, I 'cut in' the edges with a small paint brush. After cutting in, thinking the mixture was a tad thick, I added some water. So when I applied the general areas it went on lighter. 'Sh*t', I thought, but it actually made sense. You only want to cut in once, and you'll be giving the rest two coats anyway, so it made sense the way I did it, just be forwarned.

I followed the instructions posted on another thread and I'd have to say I also recommend using rags to apply it. It goes on so you can still see the grain, and you virtually have no problem with the 'brush stroke' issue. Plan to do two coats!!! The second does miracles! It takes away any unevenness, and it can be applied like 1/2 an hour or so after the first one. (Read the instructions)

In summary, I am super pleased with the result. There are places you will miss, but touch up is so easy, like painting latex house paint, that you don't have to fear future leather scuffs...you now have power over them. This is very liberating. I have to say, I would have preferred to find someone to just pay and say "go" to, but having done this I am proud of my achievement. The seats, etc. look IMMACULATE. You can just stare at them forever and not see a flaw. OK, maybe not forever, but you get the point.

Oh, one more thing, I oiled the seats after having stripped them and thought they'd never be more supple, and that applying the dye would lose some of that...wrong! After the dye was on they felt even more supple! Go figure! Like the dye nourished them.

Thanks to all who helped, including M Charness and his great article at http://www.fca-se.org/conc_leather.htm. Also Chiaro (mix it often) Slag for tips on removing the console switches, etc.. If your interior would benefit from more color all I can say is DO IT. Whatever you do, don't let some clutz simply spray another coat of "who-knows-what" over your leather, trusting him "because he's a professional". I was almost ready to do that, but thanks to this site and it's sponsor I'm in a better place.

And now some pics!!!

Best!
Wes
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Here's the bolster after stripping but before dying...
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And here's the same bolster after dying...sorry for the quality...
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Here's another before part...
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...and that same part after...
Please note, any uneveness you MAY see in the picture is good old "jpg" issues, the color is perfectly even in real life!
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911Fan, I think it would be worth a shot. I'm not sure you need to use the lacquer thinner, so if you tape off the area and scuff it with steel wool and use their prepping agent (which does strip a bit, but is mild) I think you could do just a panel.

In fact I have to do just such a project on my Jag next. (Black interior)

Wes

 

Good question. That's the only inconsistency, it tends to color it as well.

I think that while we use the term "dye", it's not like a wood stain that's thin and watery like, it's more like latex paint (sorry it sounds crude) so it can build up in a hurry, or cover anything.

It covered some of mine overall. If I wanted, I could have made all the stitching blend in with the overall color. Again, in your case wouldn't you just tape off that area? Maybe you can't.

If you want to recolor your leather, I don't see that you have a choice but to use a product like this, and it's a great product!

Best!
Wes

 

I did both seats, the door panels, and the console.
Who knows how long it took?

Let's see...
Pulling the seats=1/2 hour
Pulling the switches in the console=1/2 hour
Dismantle door panels somewhat=1 hour
Scuff all the pieces with their prepping agent=2 hours
Then you're supposed to wait 6-8 hours for that to dry
Applying the dye=8 hours

These are guesses, but that's what I recall.

I think you could do the prep and all say on Thursday and Friday evenings, then do the application on a Saturday. Then you're supposed to let it sit 48 hours, so Monday night you could be putting it all back together. You're not supposed to sit on it for those 48 hours, but I wouldn't call it delicate during that state.

BTW, I have some black on order and will do a panel on my Jag seat in the next week or so, I'll let you know how it works out.

I think I would also recommend that a person dismantle the door panel as well. At least take the black pod off which houses the window switches and interior door handle. If you don't the dye will run under the tape and bridge the two places. This product does tend to "bridge" adjacent pieces, like the arm rest and the door panel. I also found it difficult to color the area at the top of the door panel without bridging the panel to the black strip that runs along it. Removing the door panel would have been a lot easier.

Best!
Wes