Options for restoring worn seats.

[moscoworbust]

Hi,

My drivers seat is a bit worn, half black leather and half cloth.

The leather is tired and almost worn through on the outside and there are a couple of tears. If there were not tears I'd try to dye/restore them with a leather kit.

Can we buy covers anywhere? Or anyone recommend any? Or anywhere we can send covers to be fixed.

The seats seem to be 200 quid on eBay, which is a lot.

[craig]

Options:

1) retrim your seats
2) Fit newer seats from a rev5 etc
3) Fit newer seats from a different model on custom rails.

I would advise against seat covers, as they generally don't fit well or look that good. The above options would be your best bet.

£200 for a pair of good condition leather seats is fair money to be honest.

[moscoworbust]

Options:

1) retrim your seats
2) Fit newer seats from a rev5 etc
3) Fit newer seats from a different model on custom rails.

I would advise against seat covers, as they generally don't fit well or look that good. The above options would be your best bet.

£200 for a pair of good condition leather seats is fair money to be honest.

I think newer seats would cost a lot.

I don't really want to mess about with custom rails.

One seat is fine.

Where can I get the other seat retrimmed? Anyone recommend anyone?

I imagine I can just take the cover off and post it.

[Joey]

Personally i'd be doing both seats not one, figuring the chances of them matching the existing seat exactly would be slim.

[moscoworbust]

Well, it seems that the options are:

1) new seats - around £200

2) retrim - around £200.

3) DIY - glue in new leather, fill and dye - £22 quid all in.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/270857264457

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221076422703

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221076425642

I quite like doing stuff myself so I'm going to have a go.

[andy350z]

I re-trimmed mine with a set of covers from here:
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MR2-Black-leather-se ... d=ViewItem

Easy to fit, and good quality

[rev3turbo]

I re-trimmed mine with a set of covers from here:
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MR2-Black-leather-se ... d=ViewItem

Easy to fit, and good quality

That is the best option, cheap too

[moscoworbust]

I re-trimmed mine with a set of covers from here:
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MR2-Black-leather-se ... d=ViewItem

Easy to fit, and good quality

Good to hear.

I think I'll see how it works out spending £20 instead of £200.

There are some excellent examples of what can be done here:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/to ... 2#13976432

Admittedly this is by a dude with some experience but I'm sure it can't get any worse and will be a useful skill to learn.

It seems Scuffmaster is the stuff to get but it's quite pricey.

http://www.liquidleather.com/car-shop.html

[moscoworbust]

noob

[gazrev1tubby]

I have a pair of half leather seats here, and the drivers seat is in lovely condition - especially the top half, where the bolsters normally wear through.

I'm actually going to be stripping these seats down, or selling them whole, so if you're interested, you could use my covers and your current seats to make one good set?

[moscoworbust]

I have a pair of half leather seats here, and the drivers seat is in lovely condition - especially the top half, where the bolsters normally wear through.

I'm actually going to be stripping these seats down, or selling them whole, so if you're interested, you could use my covers and your current seats to make one good set?

Sounds good. I think the seats are too expensive to post, like 30 quid and it would be a pain for you so the covers would be a good option.

How much are we talking including postage?

Are they all black?

Can you let me know, via pm if you want.

[daz364]

Hi there iv just tried a dye on my seats with very little success the results where poor if it was me I would buy some seats or the seat covers I left my dye for a week to cure aswell if it was me I would save your cash for covers or seats

Daz

[moscoworbust]

Hi there iv just tried a dye on my seats with very little success the results where poor if it was me I would buy some seats or the seat covers I left my dye for a week to cure aswell if it was me I would save your cash for covers or seats

Daz

What dye did you use? What method?

From that thread, it seems you just water it down 50/50 and do a coat every 3-4 hours after using a hair dryer.

The tears are along the seams on mine, really not sure if i can patch it up. Might be able to sew along the seams though.

[Lee8ballauto]

i had a friend who is a professional retrimmer do the filler and dye repair on my seats and tbh the job is fantastic im very happy with the results

[moscoworbust]

i had a friend who is a professional retrimmer do the filler and dye repair on my seats and tbh the job is fantastic im very happy with the results

sweet. thanks. I'm definitely going to give it ago.

It appears tears along seams can be corrected with a curved needle + ladder stitch + waxed thread.

It's been 20 years since i sewed something in home economics. See how it goes.

[RST]

£200 seems good for seats, I couldn't find re-trimmers for less than £500 (argue between parts, labour, shipping options). If it's not that bad I used to use Krylon black dye on cracks and black Kiwi wax -the stuff for shoes you get in a little sponge applicator / tube. That worked well. I'm pretty sure wooleys do leather restoration / repair kits -but sure I've seen the results and not that convincing unless it is an old car with patina.