Leather interior refurbishment

[manc1972]

I've a bit of time at the moment between projects, one of the (Many!) things that lets my car down is the interior. Whilst I really like the ½ leather and cloth and think it suits the car, the rips in the seats and fading of the cloth along with the drying out and cracking of the dash leave a lot to be desired. I'd love to get it re trimmed, but suspect the cloth is no longer available, let alone the cost.
At the end of last year I found an almost complete Leather interior on a popular auction site (Seats, door cards, console and dash)
I've been led to believe it's from a scrap car and that someone had tried to dye it black, then someone else had a go at cleaning it


Basically it would seem that someone has tried to darken the colour, I'm not sure which product has been used as it seems really thick, but there's overspray, it's that bad you think the finish is cracking in the leather, its not

Having read a few threads on here I tried cleaning off with thinners, this certainly moves it but it tends clog whatever you're using and leaves a lot of residue

Today I had a play, I had tried softening it with wire wool soaked in thinners, then scraping off with a well worn shavehook, this was Ok, but took ages, as well as the thinners fumes! so I then tried a heat gun, this worked really well, followed by a clean with thinners then a thorough rinse with gliptone cleaner, but a small amount of residue is left, I can only liken it to trying to strip some really old paint off timber, only the residue dries on timber and can be sanded off, not an option on leather!

If anybody has any ideas, tips or advice I'd appreciate it

I've tried posting a pic, but not sure if it's worked, will post more when I'm sure

[manc1972]

Sorted the picture thing!







The grubbiness is actually muck on the paint layer, you can also see the patchiness of the application and how thick it is



This is after a quick go with a heatgun



"Before & after" I do think I've removed some of the original colouring, but I plan to re dye them with the Gliptone kit as there is some staining that looks like mould and also the bolster of the drivers seat has been replaced with a different colour, very similar to the colour it's been dyed:



For now I just want to get the colouring off it, treat and preserve it and then when I next go and see my family in the North West shall go and see gliptone to see if they think that their product will cover and get back to something like the original, very much like the job this guy has made - http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/to ... ntry518355

[reluctantgardner]

You can use an abrasive pad on the surface of the leather as long as you are careful, use a fine grade to take the gubbins off, take it steady when you see the leather coming through, this will also aide you when you preparing for the refinishing.

[url]http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/How_To ... ts.php/url]

Cheers
Pete

[manc1972]

Hi Pete, thanks for that, I'll give it a go, having looked at the link you posted I suspect that process may be more suitable than the Gliptone method, Has anyone any experience of it? I don't want to end up with the thick horrible finish I have now, I'd also like to be able to periodically treat the leather to keep it supple (have to say the Gliptone conditioner is fantastic, use it on my sofa, the smell is wonderful!)
I do recall someone re colouring some Xjs seats
Had a go at the passenger seat, came out a lot better, but still some old gunk left, particularly in the creases, guess it's a case of keep going with the thinners till it's all gone!