2 bubbles in the dash... Not cool

I just did a write up on saving the leather dash on my 02 360 for Leatherique, including many pictures. My car had several bubbles and the vents had pulled out. The piece will not appear until later in the Fall. The former owner was quoted $4,500 to recover it, the dash now looks new. I have tried to down load the info. here but can't get the pictures to work. Send me a personal e-mail and I will be glad to send it to you and walk you through the process. It is not hard to do.

 

Why not just post the summary of the process here? I am skeptical this type of a flaw can be fixed with the topical application of anything. But I would love for you to prove me wrong.

 

I would love to, but the text has several pictures in it and I never have been able to figure out how to get everything posted.

 

You don't seem to have email available - sent a PM instead.

 

I think you'll have to copy/paste the text into your post first and then attach the pictures with the "Manage Attachments" button that you scroll down to.

Can you send it to me as an attachment in a PM? I think that will work because I sent someone the 360 wiring diagram in a PM and he got it.

 

I am no expert on leather, but when leather has dried out and has begun to shrink to the point that it's lifting the vents on the dash there's no amount of oils, conditioner, secret potions, will bring it back to life it's dead for the second time. If your dash has bubbles/ lifting it's the thin sponge that's glued between the fiberglass dash then to the leather began to break down and exit stage left there's probable a quick fix but eventually it will keep growing. Good luck with it.

 

Your screwed. Next will be the vents pulling up. It is the foam underneath the leather that has dried out and allows the leather to shrink. Now that the leather is unattached, it will continue to shrink. You can get a needle with glue (like I tried) but it will look like a heroin addicts arm when you are done.

$4,500 is about right. Not really an easy process to do it yourself (do a search on this forum and you will see what your car will look like after the dash is pulled).

I would try what you can and live with it until it gets worse, then have it repaired. You may want to consider ordering the metal vents that RIZZO 308 makes when you do the job instead of the cheap plastic ones Ferrari uses. I have them and they are fastened with metal screws so they will not pull out like the plastic fasteners that pop off and cannot be put back without removing the windshield or dash.

 

I'm convinced that it is not that the leather is drying out on the dash because I haven't seen any seats pulling apart. It's that the glue and foam underneath have failed from age which has been compounded by heat exposure. Leather conditioning will not really help this - although my black interior looks and feels better because of it.

 

Probably a long shot but worth trying before putting up the Big bucks for a dash recovering would be leatherique rejuvenating oil. I swear by this stuff and I've been shocked at some of the results. Pull the car outside in the sun and after cleaning the leather work in the leatherique with your hands onto the hot dash leather. Then let it sit with the windows rolled up for a couple hours.

The stuff is pretty amazing. There's a chance it could soften up the leather enough to allow it to lay back down in the trouble spots.

Again.. Might be a long shot but sounds like you've got nothing to lose?

Good luck..

 

And what did that kind of a treatment fix?

I have tested these types of products and found that nothing penetrates the Ferrari leather surface. It's like smearing grease on plastic.

mjh366 - Still looking forward to your write-up.

 

Leatherique was soaked right up on both of my Ferraris - perhaps someone applied some type of silicone product before you got there?

 

I can tell you first hand that it does work. "Ferrari leather" is just leather..

I had the leather dash pulling loose on my Aston Martin DB9.. Very common problem with Aston Martin. Applying the leatherique as I described softened up the leather enough to be able to pull it tight again so I could reglue the ends and it was fixed.

I said it is a long shot for this application.. But certainly worth a try. Right??

 

I have an Aston too along with other leather dashed cars, what I'm trying to show is how it is VERY possable to at the very least stop the problem but almost certainly reverse it. I have done it, not maybe, but fixed the problem. I pulled my 360 out this afternoon and it looks great in direct sun light, and the Testarossa is the same. I'm trying to post pictures but with no luck, will call for some help Monday.

 

Take it from those that have been there. Use whatever type of leather conditioner you want, but at the end you will be replacing the leather and the foam. If there were an easy solution, you would have gotten a reply such as "what I did...... and it still looks great" with pictures and step by step instructions and not a bunch of excuses. You will not get this reply from anybody that tells the truth.

A Ferrari is not an Aston Martin which somehow you can pull the leather tight again and secure it. Not trying to be an A$$ - just telling it to you the way it is. Good luck.

 

For those unfortunate ppl's with dash issues and are contemplating removing there dash for recovering I have a few sets of billet alloy dash vents which are bolted the dash, don't bother buying the shyt OEM ABS plastic vents as they will fail agian. PM me for info

Cheers
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They are bolted the dash with 6mm button hed bolt and nyloc nut.
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Once there bolted they wont budge, the leather around the dash vents can't move or lift.
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How do you know it soaked in? Let me guess - you spread it on your upholstery and let it sit in the hot sun, as per the instructions. When you came back a few hours later, the product was gone, right? The problem is Leatherlique, and similar products, are water based, and after you spread it on, the water quickly evaporates from the surface, making you believe it "soaked in". You would get the same result if you applied the conditioner to a piece of plastic.

 

I hope you try it and report back with the results. With before and after pics.

 

Rugby has it right ... any topical moisturizer or leather treatment is not the permanent cure for "bubbled leather" dashboards in the Ferrari, especially 360s that may be approaching fifteen years of age.

Although the application of conditioner may "relax" the leather so it "lays down" onto the dashboards, thus no bubbles, the problem has not been solved. The root cause is the deterioration of the glue over time. Exacerbating this problem is the plastic windshield vent pins snap as the leather shrinks, and the vents no longer stay put.

The only true fix is to have the dashboard removed and new leather applied. I say new leather instead of salvaging the existing leather because the original leather looses its shape as it is pulled off of the dashboard. While you're at it, definitely get the anodized aluminum windshield vents from rizzo308. Unlike the factor windshield vents that snap into place, these bolt into place with black anodized hex-head fasteners, for a very nice look.

If you plan on keeping your Modena "forever" (and I do) then spend the money on the proper dashboard repair.