Leather repair. Any one done a DIY job on it please?

[DOUGGRIFF]

I’ve no idea how it happened but I noticed a small hole/ rip / tear in the drivers seat today.
It’s literally in the middle, not near any edges or stitches.
I’ve had a quick google and see that the furniture clinic do a DIY kit that includes filler and the tools to hopefully complete a repair.
Just wondering if anyone has had any success with this type of repair?
The rest of the interior is in good condition and doesn’t really warrant the seats to be completely retrimmed.
Thanks in advance for any advice..

[magpies]

one of the chaps in the TeesValleyRegion had their seats redone with Furniture Clinic products and still looks good after a few years.

can you post a photo of the damage please

[scottliv]

I will be doing a repair in the autumn. A previous owner had cut the ‘whale tail’ centre to access the alarm at some stage. I need to join the fibreglass first but plan to get a small recolour kit from furniture clinic and then some filler and glue. My seats are pretty good but at 28 years old don’t think it would hurt. It seams a more reasonable price doing that. From what I have seen you could do a good repair for the cost but I would probably take the seat cover off do do it for a better result.

[DOUGGRIFF]

Thanks for your replies.
Sounds like the kit is the way forward. Great idea about taking the seat covers off. I will post a picture if I get a chance but it will just literally show a hole in the seat.
Ideally I would like a set of cerbera Seats but they seam to become available very rarely and to avoid the additional cost of having them retrimmed am waiting for hopefully the right colour to come up so they can go straight in. Although it’s not essential so I’m happy to wait to see what happens and save up!
Thanks again, Keep safe Doug.

[DOUGGRIFF]

I’ve had another look and the seat looks a brittle above where the hole is. I spent a while last year leather feeding the seats and am surprised they have all of a sudden decided to develop holes.

[scottliv]

Could that be a previously repaired area?

[DOUGGRIFF]

I can see what you mean but it’s definitely just happened.
I was doing the rear screen in the morning with Renovo and suspect I was pressing against the seat as I was cleaning the inside of the screen, and maybe overstretched the leather? I thought it was all ok but upon closer inspection maybe it’s going a little brittle in places.
I will try the kit and if it works out ok will post a picture of the results. If it looks horrible after I probably won’t!
Best regards

[Peter Empson]

I've just started experimenting with the Furniture Clinic kit. I've purchased a project car and the bolster was worn and ripped. I wasn't looking for a perfect fix, just something to try to stop it getting worse at a low cost. This was what I started with:



Close up, the worst tear is right on a seam


And this is where I'm at after an evening or so of work:



Don't laugh, I know it's a long way from perfect - I was always going to lose some stiching, seam and grain, but the repair seems nice and strong and once I get the colour match right (the most tricky bit by far) then I don't think it will be terribly noticeable (it does look much better in person than in the picture - I got a bit carried away with touching up other areas with the dye and filler). If the repair holds up I'll probably do a bit more work on sanding the imperfections and then spray the seats completely.

[DOUGGRIFF]

Thanks for taking the time to post your reply. Your repair is really impressive considering what you started with! If I can replicate that on mine I will be more than happy.
I'll order a furniture clinic kit over the next couple of days.
I was considering having the seats retrimmed or replaced but after seeing your results I'm definitely going to have a go.
Thanks again. Very best regards

[MikeE]

DOUGGRIFF said:

Thanks for taking the time to post your reply. Your repair is really impressive considering what you started with! If I can replicate that on mine I will be more than happy.
I'll order a furniture clinic kit over the next couple of days.
I was considering having the seats retrimmed or replaced but after seeing your results I'm definitely going to have a go.
Thanks again. Very best regards

Phone the furniture clinic and they'll advise you what you need and how to apply it.

It sounds like you need to soften the leather before resurfacing and colouring. They sell leather softener but you need to take the top layer of leather protector off first (which you will be doing anyway in order to recolour the seat) then use the softener and cover in clingfilm over night, repeat that a couple of times then clean up and follow the recolour instructions. The guys at furniture clinic talk me through this last year, great service

[DOUGGRIFF]

Brilliant thanks for your help.
I’m now quite looking forward to doing it. Not as scary as I originally thought.
I’ll post the results up, good or bad.
The cars a keeper so in the long term I’m sure they will be retrimmed or changed anyway but I would like them to look the best they can until I’m in a position to do anything else.
Thanks again for your help. Best regards

[DobHunter]

I recently used Glyptone on my Vantage seats and it was so good and easy that I am now about to recolour the whole interior of my Griff.
You have to send them a sample (or take it to near Chester) and they will do an exact match.
You prep, paint on the colour and that's it (you can seal in high wear areas like bolsters if you like). The results on the Aston were superb and I'm the chap who designed (not styled) them at Aston Martin and specced the new leather.

John, the tech guy will give you a detailed lesson in how to apply it if you pick it up in person. They also do glue and filler for cuts, scratches and holes.

Enough dye, glue, filler, prep and sealer to do more than a whole Aston interior was £115.

I have no association with Glyptone; just a really good product and lovely helpful people to deal with.

[magpies]

If at all possible once you've done the repair, try swapping the drivers and passenger seats over. The worn areas will then be on the tunnel side and have little wear and tear in the future.

[Starfighter]

Another +1 for Furniture Clinic.

I pushed a pen through my drivers seat back (it was in my pocket) and had a hole at orotund 50mm long. Fixed it first time using their internal patch kit.

[DOUGGRIFF]

Thanks for your replies and advice.
I’ve definitely now got the confidence to have a go and think I will probably swap the seats over which is an inspired idea!
I’ll look into the other products as well, thanks for your recommendation.
Very best regards and keep safe, Doug