FueledSoul

iTrader: (18)

I have dark gray leather seats and one of the rear buckets had a water stain, i tried leather cleaner no go. Tried foaming upholstery cleaner with a soft nylon brush and towels, worked fairly well but it started to pull out some of the leather dye... also tired a steam and a carpet cleaner worked decent...

Here is what i started with...


after cleaning and siting for a week


I think, i want to try to pull more of the dark areas out then see if leather conditioner will smooth out any of the dry looking areas if not then i want to re-dye or try to blend a close to OEM color dye in like VHT carrys but not sure what color would be close to a OEM GM dark gray...
http://www.vhtpaint.com/products/vinyldye/
anyone have experience with this? its hard to find someone that will separate the rear seats or seats in general. I see them pop up on ebay here and there but id like to try to fix this one before buying a replacement.

I was also looking at fixing my drivers side bolster

I found some articles online i was thinking of either just dyeing the light areas even if they turn out darker then the seat i would be ok with that or doing what this guy did... but only a better job at applying the leather fill...
http://ls1tech.com/forums/appearance...-bolsters.html

Any helpful input would be great on the bucket and bolster

coryprine

iTrader: (4)

Free bump... Also have some wear on my ebony leather and looking for advice....

gotabekidding

I do automotive interiors for a living, so here I go.....

The rear seat is damaged, you can try to use some leather treatments to the leather to minimize the appearance,
but it will not come out.

Years ago the "industry" found that they can shave a leather hide and attach the thinner hide to a backer material,
therefore they can get 3-5 hides out of one hide.
Oh yeah, they raised the price of the hide as well.
Remember, you only have leather seating area - the sides are vinyl.

In your case, the backer material got wet,
therefore staining the leather from the backside.

How did the seat get wet?
T-tops leaking, if your car is so equipped?

The drivers seat is another issue.
It can be repaired,
although trying to find an upholsterer to do it is a different story.
If you found a passenger side seat or cover -
the panel in your seat cover that is worn is called a bolster.
The passenger inner bolster is the same cut as the driver side outside bolster and very rarely gets worn.
It can be removed from the passenger side and sewn into the drivers seat cover.

I have done this for local club members.
Sewing 15-20 year old leather and replacing the top stitch (which has to be done by hand) is not easy to do and very time consuming.
the leather also likes to not come apart from other leather that it has been sewed to for years.
That is why most upholsterers will want to reupholster the entire seat back, at a minimum.

I am a third gen enthusiast, that appreciates trying to keep the interior mostly original. I just happen to know how to do upholstery as well.

I hope this information helps.
Any questions, just ask?!