Jim VVC - 21/5/2012 11:58 PM

Interior Update

I've been trying to find a half leather silverstone interior for the past 12 months and it turns out they're pretty rare, I managed to cobble a set together that needed some remedial work, so here's a how to guide for anyone with half leathers.

By chance, the guy who I bought the Compomotives off asked me if I knew anyone who wanted some half leather front seats (which were out of a late GTi I sold him 5 years ago). I made a cheeky offer of £20 without seeing them and he brought them along when I met him for the wheels.
I found some matching rear seats for £20 from Geoff who had put his metro on a diet

The front seats had been sitting in a damp shed for 5 years and were covered in rank smelling mould, decades of B&H and numerous other dodgy stains. The leather was dry, cracked, stained and the grey had worn away on the bolsters. Luckily Geoff's rear seats were in excellent condition with only a few minor marks on the leather.

I spent about 3 hours wet vaccing the seats and doorcards using the following method.

1) Soak fabric with Vanish pre-wash spray
2) Agitate the fabric with a nail brush
3) Leave to marinate for an hour
4) Locate some upholstery cleaner - I used rug doctor carpet cleaner
5) Boil some water, mix in the cleaner and put it into your chosen wet vac - I use the plebby orange Vax
6) Start wet vaccing the fabric
7) Replenish the hot water & cleaner mix every 10 mins to keep it as effective as possible
8) Repeat until the water being sucked up is clear
9) If possible switch the water feed off and suck up as much moisture as possible
10) Leave to dry somewhere nice and warm - I used a couple of safely placed electric heaters and the full interior was dry and fresh within a few hours.


The leather required something more specialised than household products, I have found the perfect dye to match the grey used on the 90's Rover half leathers:



Some before shots:

Paint worn away



Scuffs



Filth




Firstly, the leather needed a good clean:





Getting there:



Started applying the dye with a sponge, neat on the very bad areas, 10% water on other areas:



50/50



After a few applications (each coat dries to a rubbery finish after about 5 mins):





A couple more coats and they're done:







I'm hoping that, with use the driver's bolster loses its slight flat area from storage, Not bad for £60 all in

GTaddz - 8/10/2013 6:04 PM

Good results David, think il be getting this stuff to restore my recaros

Conor_GTa - 8/10/2013 4:52 PM

Is this what I was on about when I saw u Tuesday mate ?