I've got a modern Jag driver's seat that's a bit worse for wear. Liquid leather has rejuvenated it a bit, but on the bolster where it's rubbed by the driver getting in and out, it's still a bit ropey. The top surface of the leather looks like it's been abraded away. Is there a cure for this sort of damage or is it just somtehing you have to live with?
Doki ( snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
VERY similar to a couple of questions I've been meaning to ask, too - if I may hijack?
The passenger front seat on my 10yo XM is starting to look a little worn on one side bolster, as is part of the armrest between the seats. The wrinkles in the leather are showing a bit of "natural" through.
I've also managed to get something sort of stuckish on the driver's squab - I've picked a tiny area off, and it's showing "natural".
It's a sort of biscuity-tan leather, and replacements are just not feasible
- I've only seen one other with that colour trim.
Any suggestions?
Speaking from someone who owns a model of car where this happens to every leather recaro drivers seat, by the time the damage has occurred, it's too late and it's a case of getting it retrimmed.
Shurrup. I'm hoping for a reply along the lines of "Car leather is pissy s**te with a fake surface printed on top of it and you renew it like this". OTOH the leather is in an XJ8 so you'd hope it'd be better than DFS quality.
Why would you expect Ford to fit a quality item? :-P
Doki ( snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
Look - I'll cut you a deal, arright?
A tenner plus the XM for your XJ.
You're on a winner here, y'know - you'd be quite happy to swap if for an XK, right? Well, K's later in the alphabet than J, and M's later than K... So it MUST be better.
About 35 years ago Connolly used to sell a range of leather paint or whatever you want to call it. I don't know if they are still in existence, but someone might still stock something along those lines.
Try a spot of Googling.
Ron Robinson
Try Woollies Trim.
It's called character. You want to see a 40 year old DB5's red leather.
For another hijack. My rear seat the hide has come unstiched from the canvas like fabric that held it round the back of cushion. Does anyone know of a firm that does hide seat repairs?
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I recently did my SD1 seats with Woolies leather renovation stuff. Three part - clean with a special solvent, dye and seal. The results are impressive. But it doesn't produce that brand new look with the smooth top surface where this has worn - it simply re-colours the 'base' skin showing through. Patina, I call it. ;-)
I seem to recall Conaloy used to shave the top surface off to get an as new look. But how they got that smooth finish - dunno. But my guess is a coating of some sort.
It's the sort of thing an upholsterer should be able to do. So try phoning some local ones. This lot say they do most trim repairs.
We got some stuff for the settee and it puts a protective coating ove the top that has a kind of rubbery texture. Downside is that it eventually starts coming off.
Yes, so long as you haven't gone at it first with patent nostrums in a bottle (except Connolly's, which does work). Put some synthetic crap lacquer on there beforehand and it's a nightmare to remove before you start real work.
Also pale leather is always a pain to work with. If something is useful, chances are that it will also darken the hide.
As a general starter, and for cracking, then use the full-blown Connolly kit. Yes it's expensive. Yes it's a pain having to colour match the kit before you order it. No the cheapie bottle of Corsa-like-new from Halfrauds isn't the same stuff.
The trick though is to start with quality leather. An XM is restorable for years afterwards (I have a pair of armchairs from my old XM), but a Jag of recent years is crappy leather (and many panels are vinyl too). This becomes an issue when you have surface abrasion to deal with too. Ideally you leave that to a specialist - it _is_ possible to sand the surface down past the scuffs, then re-surface it with potions. However this needs thickish leather to work with and some skill and practice to do well. You can DIY it, but practice on old leather first. Otherwise have a cobbler fix your seats for you.
If it's conolly leather it's a piece of cake to repair, it just needs a new coat of paint. No, I'm not kidding. The stuff used to be sold by Gliptone, the difficult bit is mixing the paint to the correct shade. The next most difficult part is applying it without brushmarks or streaks.
I can't see anything on the Gliptone site, but here are some alternatives:
Is it all Conolly leather in the jags or did they fit different grades? IIRC it's an X308.
AFAIK they only ever use Conolly leather, the difficult thing is they used two different finishes, a gloss and a matte. All of the Daimlers I have had have had used a matte finish which IMO is the better of the two, so did the XJR. IIRC the Conolly repair kit provided a matte finish and there was an extra coating to apply to give the gloss surface.
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