leather treatment
Discussion
Hi all -
recently I've benefited from a written off Cerb (condolences to whoever owned this car, hope you're driving a replacement) and now have a pair of Cerb seats in our 500. Structurally they are fine, but the leather needs some TLC - more TLC than I can give it, I expect.
Can anyone recommend a good leathercare expert... possibly some re-connolising skills... in the Reading area ?
Ed
>>> Edited by EdT on Friday 7th March 11:56
recently I've benefited from a written off Cerb (condolences to whoever owned this car, hope you're driving a replacement) and now have a pair of Cerb seats in our 500. Structurally they are fine, but the leather needs some TLC - more TLC than I can give it, I expect.
Can anyone recommend a good leathercare expert... possibly some re-connolising skills... in the Reading area ?
Ed
>>> Edited by EdT on Friday 7th March 11:56
julianhj said: Been thinking about this upgrade - how much difference have you noticed, and do you mind saying how much you paid / where you sourced them?
seats only fitted this morning... picking up car from Ewelme Coachworks tomorrow morning.. drove in yesterday afternoon, job done now! Good price too.
Ed
Ed, mine in the Griff were not in the best condition. I used liquid leather. It came in three bottles. One was a scratch "filler" which comrpised matched coloured paint. The second was a mild cleaner, which I used with a soft brush. The third was conditioner which moisturised the leather and brought out the smell.
The pack was about 20 quid I think. I got it from here:
www.liquidleather.com/liquidl.htm
I telephoned the company and he was able to advise me on the right colour coding for my leather. He knows his TVRs pretty well.
I've spoken to people who have used autoglym leather products with a lot of success.
AF
The pack was about 20 quid I think. I got it from here:
www.liquidleather.com/liquidl.htm
I telephoned the company and he was able to advise me on the right colour coding for my leather. He knows his TVRs pretty well.
I've spoken to people who have used autoglym leather products with a lot of success.
AF
Sloped away from the office a bit early when Da Boss wasnt watching... so made it back to Ewelme C'works before 6....
1st impressions... nice & firm (found originals comfy but not 100% supportive - obviously everyone finds the same seat different though), they look fab!!, but caution.. I reckon I now sit approx 2" higher; being 5'9" its OK as long as I recline the back a little - but if you're lanky / like the back more towards the vertical then trouble. Like the lumbar support. Like the lateral support during cornering. Must get suspension now sorted so can corner faster!
Took a few snaps just now ...
Weather / GP hangover permitting the seats & I will be at VW around noon... N159HTP... do pop over & say hi. I'll be the one taking photos of everything that's car shaped.
Ed
BTW cant recommend Ewelme CW enough - great turnaround & agreeable cost.
1st impressions... nice & firm (found originals comfy but not 100% supportive - obviously everyone finds the same seat different though), they look fab!!, but caution.. I reckon I now sit approx 2" higher; being 5'9" its OK as long as I recline the back a little - but if you're lanky / like the back more towards the vertical then trouble. Like the lumbar support. Like the lateral support during cornering. Must get suspension now sorted so can corner faster!
Took a few snaps just now ...
Weather / GP hangover permitting the seats & I will be at VW around noon... N159HTP... do pop over & say hi. I'll be the one taking photos of everything that's car shaped.
Ed
BTW cant recommend Ewelme CW enough - great turnaround & agreeable cost.
Try www.croftgate.com Eric will supply a renovation kit for about £60 which includes cleaner,filler,dye,sealer and leather oil,did mine over the winter and they've done from looking very rough to like new don't know how long thefinish will last but it's worth a try before going to the expence of a retrim.
budd said: Try www.croftgate.com Eric will supply a renovation kit for about £60 which includes cleaner,filler,dye,sealer and leather oil,did mine over the winter and they've done from looking very rough to like new don't know how long thefinish will last but it's worth a try before going to the expence of a retrim.
Just spoke to Eric - nice chap - will snip small piece off car tonight for colour match & we'll see how it goes... will let you know how it goes.
Ed
Remember that the piece you snip off from under the seat will be the colour the car left the factory with, and will differ from the sun bleached leather of the rest of the trim.The first colour Eric mixed for me was(to my eyes )to bright(but spot on with the piece snipped from under the seat) and contrasted strongly with the carpet piping,roof hoop, windscreen surround etc,so I took the seat to Eric and he changed the tint to match the visible leather which blends in with the rest of the trim much better,although it still highlights the need for new carpets.
Maybe sending an headrest or the glove box lid(if the dash is the same colour)to be matched,would compensate for any fading and integrate better with the existing trim.
Hope this helps
Maybe sending an headrest or the glove box lid(if the dash is the same colour)to be matched,would compensate for any fading and integrate better with the existing trim.
Hope this helps
budd said: Remember that the piece you snip off from under the seat will be the colour the car left the factory with, and will differ from the sun bleached leather of the rest of the trim.The first colour Eric mixed for me was(to my eyes )to bright(but spot on with the piece snipped from under the seat) and contrasted strongly with the carpet piping,roof hoop, windscreen surround etc,so I took the seat to Eric and he changed the tint to match the visible leather which blends in with the rest of the trim much better,although it still highlights the need for new carpets.
Maybe sending an headrest or the glove box lid(if the dash is the same colour)to be matched,would compensate for any fading and integrate better with the existing trim.
Hope this helps
Cheers for that - in fact Eric said pretty much the same thing (perhaps 'TVR' reminded him of you ?!). It's funny... pretty much everything in the car is a slightly different colours.. the seats dont exactly match, the transmission tunnel, the dash.. they're all say 1-2% different. Anyway, if this treatment proves to be a good one in may may treat all the leather when time permits. For now its the seats that really need to be done.
Ed
(looking at a snipped piece of leather next to the keyboard!)
Well, one seat done. I ended up giving it 3 coats, and feeding it twice. Also I took the opportunity to give the seatless interior a clean too.. the amount of crap that was hidden down there!!
The product is fab. Some observations for anyone else that is liekly to do this :
1. mask every little thing you dont want to treat.. i.e handle on the recline adjuster.. even with extreme care little dots of dye fly off the brush when dabbing it on
2. use a good brush that wont drop hair
3. ideally do this outside in the fresh air.. pretty potent stuff this. Trouble is every 30 mins some little bug comes along to investigate my part-dry full leather seat & I've probably totalled over an hour carefully removing these critters & painting over any blemish. South Oxfordshire now has a new breed of magnolia insects slowly flapping around.
4. put sun cream on (you, not the seat). I got a bit burnt. What a great afternoon Saturday was eh?!
5. when feeding a small amount of dye is taken away. I expect this is normal.
6. dont rush. After the 1st cost I was surprised to see that number of little bits I'd missed. Plan your attack.
Ed
The product is fab. Some observations for anyone else that is liekly to do this :
1. mask every little thing you dont want to treat.. i.e handle on the recline adjuster.. even with extreme care little dots of dye fly off the brush when dabbing it on
2. use a good brush that wont drop hair
3. ideally do this outside in the fresh air.. pretty potent stuff this. Trouble is every 30 mins some little bug comes along to investigate my part-dry full leather seat & I've probably totalled over an hour carefully removing these critters & painting over any blemish. South Oxfordshire now has a new breed of magnolia insects slowly flapping around.
4. put sun cream on (you, not the seat). I got a bit burnt. What a great afternoon Saturday was eh?!
5. when feeding a small amount of dye is taken away. I expect this is normal.
6. dont rush. After the 1st cost I was surprised to see that number of little bits I'd missed. Plan your attack.
Ed
Oh forgot to say... the only bit I'm not really happy with are the side sections of folded leather where the seat meets the back. Not a croftgate issue - it's the seat design. In fact the dye has done very well even here. The rest of the seat is nice & tight & crease free.. but this section is loose like the leather around the gear stick. Am wondering what the seats would look like without this section of leather covering... anyone here know ?
Ed
Ed
Gassing Station | General TVR Stuff & Gossip | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff