97 Cobra - leather flaking off on Drivers seat bottom - how to fix?

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Is it possible to post a photo of the damage?

I have a thought on this, but afraid to say anything till I can get a peek at it.

Kate

| > So I went down and bought a bottle of Mothers Leather Cleaner and one | >bottle of Mothers Leather Conditioner. I spent 3 hours this past Sunday | >cleaning and conditioning the black leather in the cobra. I used a crap | >load of rags that were just brown with (what I think was ) dirt when I | >was done. Seats looked great and felt a little slick from the | >conditioner. All in all it seemed like a job well done. | >

| > Today, I go to get in and I notice some small flecks where the color | >(is it dye or paint?) has come off on the drivers seat. The 4-5 flecks | >are missing from creased areas on the seat bottom where just behind | >where my knees would be (ie: under my hamstrings when I am sitting). The | >flecks are small - less than 1/8" wide or long. | >

| > Crap. | >

| > Any suggestions on how to fix this? Can I get dye/paint or some sort of | >repair kit, or should I take it to a professional? The rest of the seats | >are in decent shape. TIA. | >

| > Chris | | Remove NO-SPAM from email address when replying

I just bought the car two weeks ago, and did the first leather treatment on Sunday. *sigh* My plan/plans were to keep them very well maintained, but I may have to replace.

Chris

Is it ok to post a binary here? If not, can I just send you a pic directly?

Chris

sorry, I should have beenmore clear. I was thinking something like on webshots or on a website.

You can go ahead and email me a picture.. SVTKate AT excite.com

:)

Kate

| > I have a thought on this, but afraid to say anything till I can get a peek | > at it. | >

| | Is it ok to post a binary here? If not, can I just send you a pic directly? | | Chris

Don't worry, sometimes things happen/ You still need to maintain them and you are lucky in one respect that the seats are black. You can hide a multitude of sins on black leather.

When the tan seats start showing wear, it gets ugly.

Kate

| | I just bought the car two weeks ago, and did the first leather | treatment on Sunday. *sigh* My plan/plans were to keep them very well | maintained, but I may have to replace. | | Chris

A blurry pic coming your way - I'll try and do a more clear pic this weekend.

Chris

I'll be gone for a week... If I can get my email from where I am staying, I'll get back to you :)

Kate

| > You can go ahead and email me a picture.. | > SVTKate AT excite.com | >

| > :) | >

| > Kate | >

| > | > I have a thought on this, but afraid to say anything till I can get a | > peek | > | > at it. | > | >

| > | | > | Is it ok to post a binary here? If not, can I just send you a pic | > directly? | > | | > | Chris | >

| >

| | A blurry pic coming your way - I'll try and do a more clear pic this | weekend. | | Chris

I'd see first how it will turn out. Use conditioner on a frequent basis (but watch out for your clothes, make sure it's not rubbing off on your clothes) and see. It might not be so bad, especially since it is black. The flacking will stop at some point.

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My first instinct, and usually my best, is to suggest you try some (not too sure on this spelling) Meltonian Shoe Cream. It's a cream based colored shoe polish. It does have color in it but not like the old Kiwi waxes. Try a little spot, rub it in well, let it dry and then polish it with a piece of old t-shirt. I have never seen it rub off my boots onto anything once it dry... so why wouldnt a seat be ok?

Like I said, try it on a small spot to see how it goes.

Then put some conditioner on it. The conditioner may remove the color to some degree. If so, try some leather dye and a fine artist's brush. Dab it on, and quickly rub it with a dry bit of t-shirt. That will rub it in and blend it. Once dye drys it is pretty fool proof with a little conditioner over it.

Again.. try it in an inconspicious spot first. Practise on some old boots maybe or you may have spots of light and dark.

If it was my seat, that's what I would try. I really wish that Tan was as easy to work with as black.

Let me know what you do, and how it works ok!

Kate

| >

| > I just bought the car two weeks ago, and did the first leather | >treatment on Sunday. *sigh* My plan/plans were to keep them very well | >maintained, but I may have to replace. | >

| > Chris | | I'd see first how it will turn out. Use conditioner on a frequent | basis (but watch out for your clothes, make sure it's not rubbing off | on your clothes) and see. It might not be so bad, especially since it | is black. The flacking will stop at some point. | | Remove NO-SPAM from email address when replying

Thnx Kate, you are awesome. I actually know of exactly the shoe polish you are talking about - although the only kind I have right now is oxblood. I'll pick some up. What about Leather dye? Where do I source it? Does it require a sealer once applied?

Again, many, many thanks. Between the flakes on the drivers seat and breaking the rear swaybar (Mustangguy says is common prob), I have had a stressful first two weeks with the Cobra. Stress or no stress, no problems can wipe the wide grin from my face when I am driving it. :)

Chris

SVTKate wrote:

Any time Chris. If you look at the shoe stores they may have it. I have not bought any in a long time. Maybe even Wally world, if you have a boot store they may have it. If you use it, I would try a plain Cream polish (Meltonian again) over it just to help give it some protection and seal it up. I imagine it will be like a pair of good boots.

I know you are prolly a little freaked out. I could tell you horror stories of when I got mine. Bent seat, icky sticky leather on the steering wheel, bad top, torn seam on a seat and so on. Luckily I was under warranty.

Please, keep me posted on it, I would love to know how it goes!

Kate

| > Like I said, try it on a small spot to see how it goes. | >

| > Then put some conditioner on it. The conditioner may remove the color to | > some degree. If so, try some leather dye and a fine artist's brush. Dab it | > on, and quickly rub it with a dry bit of t-shirt. That will rub it in and | > blend it. Once dye drys it is pretty fool proof with a little conditioner | > over it. | >

| > Again.. try it in an inconspicious spot first. Practise on some old boots | > maybe or you may have spots of light and dark. | >

| > If it was my seat, that's what I would try. I really wish that Tan was as | > easy to work with as black. | >

| > Let me know what you do, and how it works ok! | >

| > Kate | >

Swaybar is easy to replace (and yes, it is common on the cobra's) Seats I would not worry too much about.

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