Interior revamp
Discussion
The interior in my car has been a problem since I've bought it - it's suppose to be red and black, but the red has faded into what the previous owner referred as 'Tomato'. I've just accepted it for the last 18 months whilst I've been getting the mechanicals sorted, but I've decided it's finally time to do something about it.
After some research I bought a colour restoration kit from Furnitue Clinic and this is the results so far:
Centre Console before (although after a clean/scrub):
And after some colour:
Still needs a top coat, but very happy with the results so far.
If all goes well I'll gradually use the same process for the rest of the red bits. The only bit that worries me is the lower dash - the only way to do it properly will be to remove it. How much of a PITA is this going to be? I figure with the seats out access should be easier, but it's not a job I'm looking forward to.
After some research I bought a colour restoration kit from Furnitue Clinic and this is the results so far:
Centre Console before (although after a clean/scrub):
And after some colour:
Still needs a top coat, but very happy with the results so far.
If all goes well I'll gradually use the same process for the rest of the red bits. The only bit that worries me is the lower dash - the only way to do it properly will be to remove it. How much of a PITA is this going to be? I figure with the seats out access should be easier, but it's not a job I'm looking forward to.
Edited by CarlosV8 on Monday 3rd October 22:15
I've read good and bad stories regarding how hardwearing the treatment is. The instructions recommends feeding the leather every 3 months, so I'll make sure I do that and will see how it goes. Plus, only doing a few thousand miles a year means it won't be subject to much abuse which should also help!
I've been doing a bit of work on the interior in the evenings, but a spare morning on Saturday meant I could get properly stuck in to the job in hand. So this is how the car is sitting at the moment:
Bit of a mess! However you can see the difference in the revamped centre console - should look awesome when done!
The drivers door card is done and I'm halfway through doing the seats with the leather colourant. The finished door card with the satin finish:
Decided to split the seats to make sure the job was done properly, so with 4 bolts removed the seats were in half:
Masked up, cleaned and ready for some treatment:
Couple of coats on the passenger seat:
Unfortunately I dropped my spray gun at this point and the air line split so progress was halted, but a new one is on it's way so work will continue next weekend. I discovered the original colour name is 'cardinal red and black' (from the back of the door card) - my new red is slightly darker I think, but I love how it looks, and it's going to make a massive difference to how the car looks and feels from the inside. Still not looking forward to the lower dash though
A slight asside, but I was greeted with this on removing the seats from the car:
This is what was holding my seat to the floorpan. I know the seat itself is only bolted through fibreglass anyway, but still kinda worrying. I will be replacing all the nuts/bolts (one snapped anyway) and making up new brackets before the seats go back in!! Worth checking yours if they've never been touched!
Bit of a mess! However you can see the difference in the revamped centre console - should look awesome when done!
The drivers door card is done and I'm halfway through doing the seats with the leather colourant. The finished door card with the satin finish:
Decided to split the seats to make sure the job was done properly, so with 4 bolts removed the seats were in half:
Masked up, cleaned and ready for some treatment:
Couple of coats on the passenger seat:
Unfortunately I dropped my spray gun at this point and the air line split so progress was halted, but a new one is on it's way so work will continue next weekend. I discovered the original colour name is 'cardinal red and black' (from the back of the door card) - my new red is slightly darker I think, but I love how it looks, and it's going to make a massive difference to how the car looks and feels from the inside. Still not looking forward to the lower dash though
A slight asside, but I was greeted with this on removing the seats from the car:
This is what was holding my seat to the floorpan. I know the seat itself is only bolted through fibreglass anyway, but still kinda worrying. I will be replacing all the nuts/bolts (one snapped anyway) and making up new brackets before the seats go back in!! Worth checking yours if they've never been touched!
Edited by CarlosV8 on Monday 3rd October 22:36
Edited by CarlosV8 on Monday 3rd October 22:47
Another weekend of work, and I'm almost done. After having a think I decided to leave the lower dash in and refurb it in the car. With the rest of the interior removed access was fairly good and I didn't really fancy disturbing all the electronics. So with the rest of the car masked off the leather was prep'd and refurb'd in situ:
Also made up some new seat mounts to replace the rusted mess I took off. Just some bits of box section with holes drilled through by hand - exactly as it came from the factory (I presume):
With that done the seats were bolted back together and I've spent this afternoon refitting everything to the car. Overall I'm very very pleased with the result:
Still a couple of things to finish off - all the speaker grills need a coat of balck paint, the door opener gaitor needs stitching back together and the passenger door card needs refurbing (it's now removed from the car and will be sorted this week). I may look into getting some new carpets too at some point, but for now I'm just going to enjoy being in it and looking at a proper colour - not orangey/brown/red leather!
Also made up some new seat mounts to replace the rusted mess I took off. Just some bits of box section with holes drilled through by hand - exactly as it came from the factory (I presume):
With that done the seats were bolted back together and I've spent this afternoon refitting everything to the car. Overall I'm very very pleased with the result:
Still a couple of things to finish off - all the speaker grills need a coat of balck paint, the door opener gaitor needs stitching back together and the passenger door card needs refurbing (it's now removed from the car and will be sorted this week). I may look into getting some new carpets too at some point, but for now I'm just going to enjoy being in it and looking at a proper colour - not orangey/brown/red leather!
Cheers guys. It's a colour restoration kit from Furniture Clinic, and I've been really impressed with it. The kit includes cleaning solutions, dye, finishing coats, spray gun, propellent and all the misc materials you need, I just needed to buy extra cleaning solution and a couple of extra air cans. Oh and a new spray gun because I dropped the first one 
They also do a repair kit which I might try on the black bolsters where they're starting to show a bit of wear, but that's a job for another day!
They also do a repair kit which I might try on the black bolsters where they're starting to show a bit of wear, but that's a job for another day!
CarlosV8 said:
Cheers guys. It's a colour restoration kit from Furniture Clinic, and I've been really impressed with it. The kit includes cleaning solutions, dye, finishing coats, spray gun, propellent and all the misc materials you need, I just needed to buy extra cleaning solution and a couple of extra air cans. Oh and a new spray gun because I dropped the first one
They also do a repair kit which I might try on the black bolsters where they're starting to show a bit of wear, but that's a job for another day!
Hi Carlos, great job very thorogh and looks the business, i am trying to do the similar with my Chim, could you please tell me how to get the centre console off They also do a repair kit which I might try on the black bolsters where they're starting to show a bit of wear, but that's a job for another day!
:-)
Lester
Well done Carlos, looks a pro job to me and what a transformation!.
That's the kind of job that will give you so much satisfaction over the next few years. Everytime we picky Tiv owners get in to our cars we're looking at those things that annoy us, and now your interior is looking like new and you get to admire your handywork every day.
I dread to think how much you have saved in labour charges by doing it yourself?
That's the kind of job that will give you so much satisfaction over the next few years. Everytime we picky Tiv owners get in to our cars we're looking at those things that annoy us, and now your interior is looking like new and you get to admire your handywork every day.
I dread to think how much you have saved in labour charges by doing it yourself?
Lester, the centre console is very easy. Lift up the bottom of the rear cubby hole and you should find a couple of screws to undo. At the front edge you'll find a screw each side of the transmission tunnel to remove. The centre part of the console (the red part of mine) can now be prised off the bottom section (black part on mine) and removed. You nay need to remove the gear knob and/or handbrake handle to get enough clearance to get it out - also watch the door opener gaitor which may need to be unstuck.
To remove the bottom section you may need to remove the door cables, but I didn't need to take mine off so didn't pay much attention to it.
Quattrophenia, it's not quite a pro job, the photos are very flattering, but I'm very happy with the results. You can still tell the leather is 15 years old, but I think that just adds to the charm. The only other option would have been a complete interior retrim, which although would have been fantastic, it would have come to £thousands, and I just couldnt justify that. Whereas I spent about £100 and maybe 20-25 hours of my time. And as you say, much like all the other jobs I've done, you get much more satisfaction from doing it yourself - it's one of the joys of owning a TVR IMHO!
Just been masking up the passenger door card to do tomorrow. So after a bit of swearing putting that back in (and a few scratches up and down my arm) I'm hoping it'll all be finished by this time tomorrow.
Looking forward to a few cold morning winter drives in my new surroundings
To remove the bottom section you may need to remove the door cables, but I didn't need to take mine off so didn't pay much attention to it.
Quattrophenia, it's not quite a pro job, the photos are very flattering, but I'm very happy with the results. You can still tell the leather is 15 years old, but I think that just adds to the charm. The only other option would have been a complete interior retrim, which although would have been fantastic, it would have come to £thousands, and I just couldnt justify that. Whereas I spent about £100 and maybe 20-25 hours of my time. And as you say, much like all the other jobs I've done, you get much more satisfaction from doing it yourself - it's one of the joys of owning a TVR IMHO!
Just been masking up the passenger door card to do tomorrow. So after a bit of swearing putting that back in (and a few scratches up and down my arm) I'm hoping it'll all be finished by this time tomorrow.
Looking forward to a few cold morning winter drives in my new surroundings
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