Restoring Leather Seats
 

i have a pretty decent pair of maroon leather seats from an 84 SE that i'm wanting to restore. the leather is pretty nice with no cracks. its a little dry thoguh. what methods other than conventional cleaners/conditioners have you guys used to bring a pair of leather seats back to life? i'll see about posting some pics this evening.

got the seats home today and started cleaning them up. i think they're in pretty decent shape for being from an 82 GSL. they've had parts stored on them before they were remove from teh car so there is some creasing and denting but overall not bad. will post pics in an hour or so.

here's what the seats looked like when i brought them home today:

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/DSC08399.jpg

after the first initial cleaning and conditioning:

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/DSC08400.jpg

tonight after i removed the rotten rails and reconditioned them:

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/DSC08403.jpg

the leather is still kinda hard and soaks up the conditioner pretty quick. i need something that will soften the leather. any reccomendations?

Google old car restorations Dave - or "reconditioning leather", etc.
This is beyond my pay grade ;)

I just use the Lexol stuff - but with all the vintage cars that came w/leather, there has to be a ton of info on the Net...

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

I use lexol on my leather seats too, it really seems to be the best all around preservative. Saddle soap also works well on dirty or stiff leather to make it more pliable and absorbent for the lexol.

It's really hard to find a good driver's seat these days, they are the key to maintaining an original leather interior. Your set looks pretty good, definitely could go another year or two in a car, but that chaffing on the outer edge where the seat belt (and our fat butts) scrapes is always a problem.

In the past I have cut pieces of leather from a spare seat and patched them over rips and tears in an otherwise good seat using rubber cement. This actually works surprising well on flat areas if you do an artful job with the patch, but it is harder to get the patch to conform to seams. It might be worth a try on those edges though, a long strip wrapped over frayed edge. If you can't get it to stick it is always easy to remove the rubber cement afterward, nothing lost. There may be a more aggressive adhesive out there but I haven't found anything and if it exists it might damage the leather.

Another solution I've used for minor damage to seams and edges is "Shoe Goo", a thick sticky clear silicone like paste that makes a tough and durable skin over the leather. This would do a nice job on your passenger seat but I don't think it would do anything to that seam on the driver's seat that has pulled apart. But maybe some stitches to pull it back together first?

The Shoe Goo looks reasonably good although it leaves a glossy look that doesn't quite match the leather sheen. I have had good luck with this patching spots that develop on my leather steering wheels and on those worn edges on the seats (can post photos if you like).

Finally if you really get into it Dave I have an extra headrest in good shape to replace that one with the dents on your driver's seat, just let me know, I'll stick it in the mail.

Good luck and nice work "keeping them on the road!"

Damn Dave, what a difference! Once they are in the car they will look great.

Ray, thank you for the advice! i shot you a pm regarding that headrest. i may look for a shot leather seat in the srea just for spare leather clippings...that may be an option..short of having the seats redone..

we bought this fancy stuff a couple years ago, its nice, but really just let it soak

Mink Oil's been the traditional cure for leather upholstery.


You have to really squeeze the hell out of those mink, though.

DivinDriver, i'll look for some of his mink oil...

j9fd3s, whats this fancy stuff you speak of?

http://www.mermacminkoil.com/

Test it before you go crazy with it; some treated leathers can end up feeling greasy.

Yeah mink oil works great on leather too, but like DD says it gets greasy if you use too much. You could give a good coat of mink oil and let them set (without sitting in them!) for a few days to weeks to recondition that old leather. In fact I think I'll try that with the leather seats that I have in storage, hitting them with the lexol every month or two is a nuisance and gets expensive.

I disagree with DD on one thing though, mink squeezing ain't that bad.

http://toronto.beforelastcall.com/_G...nk_1436/77.jpg

http://toronto.beforelastcall.com/_G...nk_1488/15.jpg

http://toronto.beforelastcall.com/ga...8&PicID=154273

Great idea, thanks DD!

http://www.leathermagic.com/

it helped, but its not going to turn cardboard into an italian glove...

thanks for the links guys!!! i'll see whats out there and go from there..

seems that theres some really nice products out there. i think if i get some saddle soap and work with it every few days that it might soften the leather a little. the leather is a bit dry in some areas but i think it will soften a little. it already has just by conditioning. i dont expect it to feel like new but i hope it will be better.

Dave I'm going to go bang on those headrests and see if I can get at least one of my driver's seats to give up the headrest so I can send it to you. It looks like there must be some kind of locking mechanism that fits into those grooves on the headrest posts, anybody got any ideas how to get 'em lose?

Here's what Dave's got:

https://i469.photobucket.com/albums/...b/DSC08436.jpg

https://i469.photobucket.com/albums/...b/DSC08438.jpg

And here's what I've got:

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...n/DSCF1065.jpg

Looks like we are dealing with different years at least, mine are from 84/85 GSLs.

How do you get the damn headrests to release?!?

my seats are from an 82. i'll take a look at the seats on my 85 and see how the head rests come out and post back..

You've got me on how to release the headrests... I just worked over my seats on my 84 gsl se last night for the first time since October when I bought her. I used Meguiar's "Gold Class Leather cleaner/conditioner" and haven't noticed any difference in softness but it did o.k. on cleaning. I'll apply some more tonight and let it sit. Driver's side is naturally softer because of frequence of use, but the passenger side still is tough feeling and I can "tap" it with my index finger. I would be open to using anything. Where does one acquire saddle soap and "Lexon"?

figured it out. first, raise the headrest to its maximum position. it will expose a metal clip on the side closest to the driver's door:

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/DSC08446.jpg

next, using a right angled pick tool or equivelant, press the clip towards the rear of the vehicle and lift up on the headrest:

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/DSC08447.jpg

the headrest will release and be free:

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/DSC08444.jpg

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/DSC08445.jpg

the bad part Ray is that the spacing between the posts on the 85 is wider than that on the 82. the spot where the headrest will catch in a raised position for driver comfort is notched differently. not sure the S3 headrest will work on the S2.

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/DSC08448.jpg

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/r...b/DSC08449.jpg

Is that a Bridgestone stock spare tire imprint I see?

They sure are different, you would need both the driver's and passenger's side so that they would match (can do). It also looks like the rods on the 82 headrest are thicker than the 82 rods. Dave why don't you stick your 85 head rest into your 82 seat back and see if it works? ll If so, I'll extract a pair of red ones and send.

And yeah, is that a Bridegstone tire imprint or some secret society you belong to?

Ray, the big hangup is that the spacing between the posts is different between the years..the 85 headrest rails are wider..this may be different between the leather and the cloth, meaning that the leather seats may be idential through the years. so i'll post a pic of the measurement between the rails and if yours are the same then perhaps they would work. i dont suppose if they're different that you'd want to sell the leather seats? perhaps my seats plus cash..though my seats have seen better days...

regarding the tire mark on the seat, when i purchased the 82 GSL rot box parts car, it was filled to the gills with parts. the tire that was on the seat must have been there for years and years. i'm not sure on the exact make of it, though it very well could have been an original bridgestone. i'm sure i have it laying in the barn somewhere. if i get out that way today(which i have plans to do) i'll look around the barn and see if the tire that tattoos seats is laying around somewhere.

I also have a set of the red velour seats from an 84 GSL so I compared the spacing for the headrest posts on those to the spacing for the 84/85 red leather seats and they are the same, 4.75 inches on center. So the difference must be in years, not finish style.

The problem with selling the seats is shipping, but if you can figure this one out, I'm game. See my PM for details.

I think including the details of this process here in your post for public consumption is a good idea - these are the ways you keep those old leather interiors alive! Maybe we should have a leather seat parts exchange section?

shipping would be a bear..perhpas pallating them..not sure how pricey that gets though..the GSL velour seats are super nice. i cant seem to find any maroon parts close to ohio. i think back on all the 7's i've had with maroon interior and how many i've sold because of it. now its grown on me and i want it back. i seem to have an influx of gray interior parts..

perhpas the only way i can buy your seats is a road trip to GA..though the wife would be most upset about the cost of travel...and the length of the trip. no less than three days i would guess..

a leather restoration section or a simple restoration section would not be a bad idea. give people ideas and tips on how to restore some of their old parts..

Zoomfest is this weekend, come on down!

The "maroon" has grown on me too, so much that I don't use that pejorative term anymore. Now it's a "red" leather interior, much sexier and easier to spell.

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...n/DSCF1218.jpg