My '92 RS convertible has the FLAME RED leather interior. With the ARCTIC WHITE exterior it looks really good. Only problem is now that the back seats have aged and been in the sun, they are now cracked.

The gist of the problem is that ABSOLUTELY no one makes a replacement seat cover in leather. "Mr. Mike's" makes a beautiful leather seat cover set, but it is BLACK & LOBSTER RED. I am afraid, my door panels will not match (although he does make door panels as well) with the back quarter panels. He does not make them in all red (or LOBSTER RED). Not to mention to do the seats and door panels is about $2000.00.

I wanted to know if anyone has dyed leather seats, say from black or charcoal to a red color, and what kind of luck they had. I am concerned about durability and peeling. What product was used.

I have been looking at 4th gen seats. Do 4th gen back seats come in the split fold down option like mine? Without the seat belt holder by the headrests on the front seats?

PICS?

Thanks!

 

I have dyed leather seats before from many colors to Black or to re-do them the original color also. To go from black to red, I do not think is a great idea. The leather dye in the leather in most cases cannot be removed. So to go to black is easy as it covers over the other color. Always re-do the leather in an original color (close) or go a darker color. I use Tandy products as they work well enough and are readily available. It's a three step process - First one must remove the sealer with a sealer remover (even though the leather is old there is still the sealer there) otherwise the new dye will not penetrate the leather. Once this is done the dye (oil dye preferably) can be applied. Use gloves here as otherwise this dye will be on your hands for awhile. Then use a sealer over the dye as a final step. The dying process being an oil base (better stuff) will help to rejuvenate your leather also. The final step of reapplying the sealer over the dye will seal the dye into the leather. This also helps to keep dye from rubbing off on white clothes and keeps dirt, grime and grease from being ground into the leather. Hope this helps…Ed.

 

Thank you. That does help. I didn't even think about the starting color being the same or a lighter shade than the new color. Because I have been looking at 4th gen leather seats it appears (to me at least) that they are all dark, black charcoal, grey, etc. I guess I would be all set with some white leather seats.

Thanks again for the tips!!

shipfitter_sjd

 

Look for some 4th gen tan leather... that should dye red easy enough...

 

I used SEM aresol dye on my leather seats some 5 years ago.Still holding up very well.Although they were graphite be begin with & now theyre black.