Restoring matt finish to leather seats

[911moo]

I've recently noticed that the matt finish to the leather seats in my 993C2s is starting to disappear. Does anyone know of a treatment which would restore them to their original condition. Many thanks.

[rlw]

matt finish?

leather seats?

Mine are and always have been shiny.

[cableguy]

Gliptone Liquid Leather restores Matt finish and brings that lovely NEW leather smell back.

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=378232&f=48&h=0

C.

[ED965]

Yup, just used the liquid leather on my C4S, highly recommended, did the trick

[silver993tt]

used Liquid Leather on mine, the cleaner broght out quite a bit of 'brown' dirt from the classic grey leather. However, after applying the cream the seats have lost a bit of their shine but are not matt. Will further applications bring more 'mattness' to the leather?

[slippydiff]

Another thumbs up for Gliptone.

[hussar10a]

Gliptone for me too, absolutely ace....................and the smell, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm !!!!

[paracetamol]

I use just the gliptone cleaner (which is a very light pH neutral soap) and not the other conditioner stuff.

My understanding is that leather in cars is the hide which is then painted and therefore sealed (which gives it the colour). It is the paint that wears off revealing the scruffs etc. The leather also creases and this is worsened where dirt is present as this acts as an abrasive. Given this- I am not sure how you can "feed" leather as its should not be absorbent. When one "connolises" leather, they are re-appying the paint- I highly recommend Mark from Benchmark to carry out this process as he worked for connoley before it went under and therefore understands the process very well.

[slippydiff]

I'd be surprised if you can totally seal leather, but on the assumption you can, perhaps applying Gliptone conditioner keeps that sealing layer (paint for want of a better word) soft and supple (this as it seems to be quite oily)

[riccardo9990]

lick it!

[NJH]

silver993tt said:

used Liquid Leather on mine, the cleaner broght out quite a bit of 'brown' dirt from the classic grey leather. However, after applying the cream the seats have lost a bit of their shine but are not matt. Will further applications bring more 'mattness' to the leather?

You have to use a duster cloth and very lightly but rapidly buff the leather. This will bring back a nice deep shine.

[slippydiff]

NJH said:

silver993tt said:

used Liquid Leather on mine, the cleaner broght out quite a bit of 'brown' dirt from the classic grey leather. However, after applying the cream the seats have lost a bit of their shine but are not matt. Will further applications bring more 'mattness' to the leather?

You have to use a duster cloth and very lightly but rapidly buff the leather. This will bring back a nice deep shine.

Errrr, I think silver993tt is trying to get the factory matt finish back, not make his seats like a pair of army parade boots ?

[911moo]

Thanks for a great response guys. I'll give it a go. Perhaps NJH would like to experiment with varnishing his dashboard to get that superb all round shine. . .

[tracer.smart]

Captainmark posted on leather connolising earlier and this was my contribution - may be usful counsel here:

I had a new set of sports seats restored by Jeff Mussell (based in Godalming, Surrey).

He used a Croftgate Leather Cream which feeds and nourishes the leather just like LL, but having compared the results with those of using LL on my original seats, the finish seems less shiny and less fragrant than with LL giving an 'unused' matt quality.

I've noticed you can get this stuff for about half the price of LL on Fleabay, and whereas LL wants you to buy a cleaner and conditioner, this stuff seems to be a one-tub solution :

[url]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Leather-Seat-Fo[/url]

[Mogulboy]

Not cheap but Swizol do "Gloss Correctors" that turn your leather matt or shiny as you wish! P.S. Not sure but I think the one one that turns leather matt is some sort of acid!!!


"Leather Gloss Corrector (Gloss) can be used to increase the gloss of leathers. 150ml WGB15301
Leather Gloss Corrector (Matt) Absolutely colourless, it renders the treated surfaces with a matt finish common to new cars. 150ml WGB15300"

[NJH]

911moo said:

Thanks for a great response guys. I'll give it a go. Perhaps NJH would like to experiment with varnishing his dashboard to get that superb all round shine. . .

LOL, I miss read what his problem was. Strange though that several years ago I was at one of "those" shows and the 951 that won its class had something that looked like bumper shine all over the dash. It was so shiny and sticky feeling it made me think what a twonk. Since then I have had a very dim view of concours events and Porsche related concours in general.

[BLKROKT]

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