Do Redyed Seats Hold Up?

I suspect a redye is a fairly permanent solution. The "painted" seats, I've heard, only last a year or so. (That's where a flexible paint-like substance is sprayed on the seats.) I've seen photos of painted seats and they look great. The paint stuff is a b*tch to remove, however. I'm in the process of fixing someone else's paint job and it sucks.

 

did mine about a year and a half ago with leatherique and it still looks as good as day one.

 

Skillful, spot dyeing of a damaged part of a leather seat is fine.

Re-dyeing the entire seat cover is for "drivers" where it isn't worth the investment to restore it. Used car dealers dye leather to freshen up inventory.

Here's a Leatherique re-dye after 5 years, crumbling away. The real damage is underneath, where the dye has prevented the leather from breathing.
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Ibid --- looks great for a while, but doesn't hold up over time. My 308's been re-dyed twice over the last 8 years, now it's getting new leather

 

I have some areas which I touch up just before a car show. It's temporary for sure, but dang if it doesn't do the trick when needed.

 

IMHO, my feeling is that the durability of the dye job is directly related to how well the hides are prepped prior to being redyed and the application process itself. It does require a lot of work to remove the old dye thoroughly. Just wiping the dye on without proper prep will result in a short term improvement and a worse mess in the end. Do they look as good as new seat covers? No. But it's very close, and while time consuming to do right, it is MUCH less expensive and done well provides for a very nice outcome. If you want a concours restoration and/or have the extra funds to spend, I'd say replace the covers. If the intent is to renew the appearance but expense is a factor, consider having them redyed.
Many upholsters prefer to install new covers because it's a lot quicker/easier than stripping and redying.

 

Leatheriqued mine ten years ago and they still look great.

 

Could you post a picture or two, Paul? I'm thinking about doing mine.

 

The cow died a long time ago, so the leather isn't breathing anymore.

Here are my leatherique refinished seats after 5+ years and over 50,000 daily driver (i.e., not babied) miles.

They wore like iron.

It's all in the preparation. Properly done, a leatherique seat will last many times longer than the stock fragile factory Ferrari dye job.

(That being said, my Ferrari still has it's original dye job - for a Ferrari I prefer keeping the original finish if possible, even if it has some minor wear).
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I have been in the process of stripping ,re-oiling and re-dying for the week now and I will probably dye today. I am new at this and two things I can say---------one, use leatherique(not that there may be other products that are as good, I don't know) second, George from Leatherique has been there every step of the way with advice. I'm not yet done but I can tell you that I have leanered allot about leather and how it is finished and I have no doubts that it will be as new and if the dye I had taken off is any indication, I'm not concerned with how long it will last! For sure take yout time and listen to what George from Leatherique has to say! I also chose to use Leatheriques' protective coating to finish with. If you have any questions I would be happy to convey what I have done to acheive a good job. PNMme. The only decision I have not made is wether to spray or wipe the dye!
Leatherique is performing very well,
Lostbowl, up and running
PS I have gotten allot of help on this forum and are willing to pass on what I have learned!

 

Cows breathe through their noses even when living, so that's not really the point.

There are pores in leather even after the hides are removed from the animal. Properly prepared leather allows moisture to escape. When it's improperly dyed, your sweat soaks through the stitching holes and doesn't evaporate normally. The leather behaves more like vinyl.

For most cars being discussed here, this doesn't matter, but I thought I'd mention it for people looking to show their cars or who are considering a collectible Ferrari at some point. There's a reason guys like Nic Cage go beyond the $100 dye job and have their interiors redone (I have seen one of them at Symbolic here in San Diego, and it's astonishing.)

 

I beleive that the origional leather in the 308 series was Connolly and they were .painted in the beginning so they never breathed. They were not dyed just painted therfore the
connolly leather can be recoated many time if properly prepared prior to appling the Leatherique material. Kdl

 

Connolly is out of business...

Just re-upholster it.........

My trim shop refuses to even use leather that is not 'fresh"......

 

Does that mean they have their own abattoir out back? LOL

"Give me a tuck and roll and a dozen t-bones, please..........."

 

Not QUITE that radical, but every once in awhile someone will offer unused Connolly material and they said "don't bother" as Connolly has been gone since Mad Cow hit the UK.......

 

I think there's about twenty blocks, between my Trim Shop and the Meat Market....LOL!

 

No not really..they were not painted but a top coat of lacquer was sprayed over the dye. This was the problem that lead to improper "breathing" of the leather. This is why when using Leatherique one uses lacquer thinner to remover the coat and some surface dye.

In fact in many cases that light cracking you see on the seat, before it reaches the raw hyde, is the lacquer shrinking. Remove that layer and you'll be amazed what lies below.

 

Can these small cracks (1 or 2 cracks) on the original Connelly leather be touched up? I heard some Connelly spray can but I don't know how it works.

 

Amen. It's better than using leftover 1980s fuel lines and tires, but not much...

 

No they can't. You need to either go through the Leatherique process or cough up for new leather. If the condition of your leather is good, no tears, it can't hurt to go through the process short of the dye proceedure. Just your time and about $150 in materials. Don't cut corners, do as they tell you.

 

We finished the last step of dying yesteday and what I learned is that it's a no-brainer for the simple reason that you can touch up any panel without a noticeable difference! We tried the blotting and wiping technique and found it to be too slow for our Sat. deadline! The guys that are into the concours shows will get a more natural finish by rubbing it in coat after coat until the desired finish is attained. My wife and I like to drive and if I have to touch up every few years so what. Bottom line , just do it if you want a fresh look! If it gets too heavy and looks like vinyl just take some Leatherique prep and wet sand until the grain looks the way you want and buff. Really guys this is much less complicated than many are making it! I purchased a cheap touch-up gun from CarQuest for $50 and it works great. I thinned the Leatherique dye about 25% as per instructions and still have a 1/2 qt. left for the future. Thanks to George for his support!
As for filing burns and cracks, the filler Leatherique supplied works quickly but you can expect to use several coats and the worst case senario is that you will loose the grain pattern but what looks worse an open crack or a smooth section.
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