Restoring and redyeing seats DIY

[joe morreale]

After hating my worn out , cracked leather on my seats I decided to do something about it. I ordered a kit from Leatherique to restore them. I got crack filler , cleaner, dye and preservative. Attached are some pics how the project went.

My cracked bolster with a hole in it.
http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee476/joemorreale/bolster3-1.jpg

Bottom of seat with deep cracks.
http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee476/joemorreale/bottomofseat3.jpg

Bottom of seat with cracks filled.
http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee476/joemorreale/cracksfilled.jpg

Bolster all repaired. Still needs some sanding with 1000 grit to finish.
http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee476/joemorreale/croppedbolster.jpg

Seat completely dyed.
http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee476/joemorreale/seatdone3.jpg

Bolster finished close up.
http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee476/joemorreale/3bolster.jpg

Bottom of seat all finished.
http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee476/joemorreale/bottomdone3.jpg

This took a few hours and I had an extra seat so I could drive the car. Products takes two days to cure completely before you can sit in them. I'm pleased with the result. They look better then when I bought them. If you leather has gotten ratty I highly recommend doing this. I paid $125 for the chemicals and have enough left over to do another set.

[kung fu jesus]

WOW.

I looked into this product when I had a BMW. I had "Vader" style OEM seats and the leather was ratty, too. I read about the same great results from other BMW owners. First time I have seen a Miata owner write about it.

Well done! Thanks for sharing this!

Do you have to send them a small sample of leather to get the color right?

[joe morreale]

Yes I sent them a 1''x1'' square from my "donor" seat. There's not much extra leather on a seat to get a piece. I believe you can send anything for color matching.

[revlimiter]

Holy crap. That's the best seat repair I've ever seen.

[Phatmiata]

wow that looks like a brand new seat!!! nice job!

[moerdogg]

Pretty incredible work! Let us know how it holds up long-term.

[wongmic75]

Impressive work.... amazing what can get done with a little elbow grease...

[iRoadster]

Crack filler...:toomuch:

I'm should get some of this stuff. It says they have oem colors on their site.
I didn't notice any prices while glancing at the site. How much did this end up costing you Joe?
Oh, $125, didn't see that.

[chiefmg]

What exactly is used for the filler? Like others I'm wondering how it holds up over time, with the repeated flexing of the repair.

[atank]

Damn, that looks brand new, keep us up on the duration and wear of the product, if it lasts then I have an old set of red LE seats that I will restore!

[roy obanion]

The PO of my BRG used Leatherique Rejuvinator Oil and cleaner and swore by it:

http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq160/roy_obanion/DSC_0159.jpg


I am still amazed by your results with the restoration kit!

[WASABI]

After hating my worn out , cracked leather on my seats I decided to do something about it.

Bottom of seat all finished.
http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee476/joemorreale/bottomdone3.jpg

I paid $125 for the chemicals and have enough left over to do another set.

AMAZING! But, I too, am wondering how this will hold up. Mazda leather is form Japanese cows, and this is thinner than fat American cow leather.

[Agent☣Orange]

Joe is in our local Gearheads club/forum so he might not answer here quickly but apparently these seats are holding up pretty well, especially the driver seat he's in and out of constantly.

He had mentioned on our forum that the seats look as good as when he overhauled them except for one tiny spot where he admits he wasn't thorough enough in applying the filler. Any area where filler is applied must be extremely well prepped and dry before applying the filler.

Still, his work is amazing and the product is not a gimmick. I still get blown away at the before and after.