Half Hide? Not!

[poorpeet]

Which bits are supposed to be leather? On mine, as far as I can tell, only the face of the seats have ever been part of a cow. Is this normal?
On a related point I want to change the interior colour using one of the kits advertised in some car mags (Tan to Flint).
Has any one used on of these kits? If so how well did it work?

Pete

[.Mark]

Yep half hide was only the seats, I think the back of the seats was leather too.

[Griffter]

Interior Coat from Frosts works very very well. About 2/3 the way down this page:

www.frost.co.uk/productList.asp?catID=21&frostCat=Interior%20Trim

You'll need a lot for a whole interior though - it took 3 cans to do a Griff dash board.

As ever, the end result depends greatly on the preparation.

[poorpeet]

In your case was the result good? There is nothing wrong with mine i'm just fed up with tan but I don't want to end up with an obviously DIY look.

[gf350]

Mines got full leather and it really is. Everything that looks leathery is, even the trim around the outsides of the mats.
I think it was a pricey option when they were new though.

Edited by gf350 on Tuesday 27th February 18:32

[zippee]

.Mark said:

Yep half hide was only the seats, I think the back of the seats was leather too.

Nope! Seat facings only. Back of the seats are vinyl.

[.Mark]

zippee said:

.Mark said:

Yep half hide was only the seats, I think the back of the seats was leather too.

Nope! Seat facings only. Back of the seats are vinyl.

Gosh. Cheapskates.

[miniman]

The stuff from Frosts works well:

Before


After


The stuff that Halfords sell is utter shit though - gives a horrible shiny finish.

[nig-gtv]

miniman said:

The stuff from Frosts works well:

Before


After


The stuff that Halfords sell is utter shit though - gives a horrible shiny finish.

Be very careful with this stuff - once you apply it, as well as recolouring it obviously converts r/h to l/h and vice-versa

[David H]

nig-gtv said:

Be very careful with this stuff - once you apply it, as well as recolouring it obviously converts r/h to l/h and vice-versa

[The AJP Griff]

You could have any amount of real leather in a TVR!They offered half,three quarter and full hide,but also would trim any particular item in leather,if you weren't already having full!

[.Mark]

Perhaps that explains the back of my seats then?

[ekim]

My last chim was a half leather tim but almost all of it was leather, did not know what more they could do but my new one is full leater, everything even all the door trims etc are leather, looks good but a swine to keep clean. Go for a dark colour light ones show all the marks

[Griffter]

poorpeet said:

In your case was the result good? There is nothing wrong with mine i'm just fed up with tan but I don't want to end up with an obviously DIY look.

Excellent - indistinguishable from original black. I polished and fed the leather afterwards to give a sheen to match the rest of the interior, but the standard finish from the can is matt and very classy.

[poorpeet]

Thank for all the info. Just need to take the plunge. the kit I had in mind was this one:
www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/Leather_Colourant_Kit.htm
I imagine it's similar to the stuff frosts do.

[andy-w]

I work for a company that suppllies car seats for some of the major auto companies here in the UK and europe.
We make leather seats and only the a surfaces of the seat squab abd the seat back are leather...you would be surprised how good vinyl can look now...

On the plus side i have managed to 'aqquire' enough leather to retrim the whole of my car...