I posted this in the "what did you do in your Full Fat today??" thread.

However, a few people asked questions, so as not to derail that thread I thought I would pot in here.


This is the kit I used....

https://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/Leather_Colourant_Kit

I bought the small kit which is enough to do the front seats and door cards.

Firstly, 99% of all car leathers are spray painted, when you see the leather go hard and shiny that is grease forming layers on your leather, when you see cracks 99 times out of 100 it is cracks in the paint, the leather underneath is usually like new.
So, this makes getting them back to factory fresh nice an easy.



I didn't bother removing the seats, just but a couple of blankets over things I didn't want to get sprayed, the spray gun the supply is adjustable so you get a pretty fine spray, so not much over spray to deal with.

You first use the scouring pad with some cotton wools balls folded inside it and soak it in the Leather Prep, this is a very strong liquid that not only takes the years of grime and grease off the leather but also takes away the top coat and the paint/dye itself.
Don't worry when doing this, the more you remove the better the finish will be when you spray it.

Next I used masking tape to cover the piping, this takes ages and do yourself a favour, buy some decent strong tape like Frog Tape, the normal stuff will just keep coming off.

Next you use the supplied sponge to work the dye into the leather, get into any creases the stitching, the folds and seams etc.
Between coats I used a heat gun, not too near as you don't want the dye to bubble/blister, but you will see it drying.
Next I dabbed it all over with the sponge, at this point it looks rough, but you can concentrate on any areas that have worn like the bolsters etc.

Heat gun again to dry it off and then you start to use the spray gun. (they supply the gun and one can of air, only just enough, might be an idea to order a second car just in case).
A light mist is all you need, hold it about 6-8" away, I do the base then heat gun, then the back and heat gun, base and heat gun etc. etc.
I do around 4-5 very light coats as you really don't want it to run. Plus this gives a great even finish.

Then when you have done that you do two coats of the sealant, this again needs light coats, start 12" away as it is thinner than the paint and comes out fast.
I did around 4 coats, this stops the seats falling tacky/sticky and they start to feel like how you would expect them to feel.
Light coat, heat gun, light coats heat gun etc. etc.

Then it is the finish, I chose semi matte this time instead of matte, main reason is I'm not needing to do the rear seats, but as they are now 10 years old they are not quite as matte as they were when they left the factory, so I thought it might match them better. Happy with the results, the matte can be very matte, almost milky on some leathers like black if you over do it.

I also did my door cards, I was only going to do the armrest, but once I did them the rest looked really grubby!

All in all it took me around 4-5 hours, mind you the thunderstorms stopped play on and off for probably an hour and a half.


But, it is so nice to get back in a car with a new interior, it makes all the difference.

Also, the seats now look the same colour as the dash again, they were looking a little too yellow with the years of grime, same with the door cards.

£50 well spent.

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Nice job, it is good stuff and they have the colour match spot on these days, if you do it again, can I recommend using their adhesion promoter after the cleaning process and also their hardener additive to the colour and finish coat, this makes the job last considerably longer, unfortunately they don't explain this well in the DIY section of the site... Having said that yours will last a considerable time anyway...  Pete

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2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

Cheers for that, is that hardener the Cross Linker?

A hardener you add to the finisher etc.? Porsche 911 (996)
2015 BMW 5 Series Touring
Not got a LR of any kind at the mo, and got itchy feet.

Yeah, I think they call it cross linker, makes the paint cure as opposed to dry...

You can't keep any unused or return it to the pot though, it sets rock hard... Pete

__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

Thank you for posting this...you answered a ton of questions I had. Especially the gun part...I though you had to buy your own.

So what size did you go with the "Small size- 50pounds one"? You said that's barely enough....so for a first time who wants to do the front seats, and the 2 door arm rests should I get the "medium size - 75 pounds"

How close is semi gloss to semi matte? I don't think my rear seats were every really used by previous owner and I never used them so they look new...what finish should I get for the fronts? Matte? Is the leather when new considered matte? 2014 FF Autobiography 5.0 SC
2008 FFRR (sold)
2008 BMW M5

There is plenty of leather prep, cleaner, dye and finishers in the kit, just the compressor is only just enough.

However, if sending overseas it may be better to get the kit without the air as sending overseas can be a problem with compressed cans.
Buy a couple locally or even better maybe someone you know has a small air compressor you can borrow?

I would go semi-matte.

If you were repairing a fairly new car where the leather looks factory mate still, and you are just doing a bolster or something, that is when you want to use matte.

Some older cars like Classics had a more gloss looking leather, not these though. Semi gloss would be far too shiny. Porsche 911 (996)
2015 BMW 5 Series Touring
Not got a LR of any kind at the mo, and got itchy feet.