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  #1  
Old 09-23-2012, 02:56 AM
ShaneHobson ShaneHobson is offline
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Leather seat restoration

While my SVX is getting a panel & paint we've pulled all the interior out.
I thought I would post here the steps I went through to renovate the leather upholstery.

Materials.
3M green pot scrubber
Sunlight soap
Methylated spirits (meths)
Three clean rags
Leather dye. 50 mils or 1.7 oz. Cost about $US10
50 mils is just enough for front and rear seats, excl headrests. You may want to get more
Leather conditioner. 100 mils or 3.4 oz
I bought 500 mils of conditioner from a saddlery (horse stuff) shop. Cost $US20
Several disposable gloves (make sure they're strong or double up the gloves)

1. remove front and rear seats from the car (optional, but makes it easier). This is a good chance to clean out the muck that accumulates between the front seats and the centre storage compartment.
Get some help with the drivers seat, all the electric motors make it extra heavy. When lifting either of the front seats out beware of the cable that must be disconnected. I assume that the drivers side is power for the electric motors and the passenger side cable is for the seatbelt detection. I'm not sure how it figures out if there is a front seat passenger or not.

2. Clean. Warm soapy water. I used Sunlight soap (mild) and a 3M green plastic pot scrubber. Be careful of any other soap, the wrong one might damage the leather. Wipe down with a clean cloth to remove excess.

3. After cleaning leave for a few hours to dry.

4. Wipe down with meths. This ensures the surface is free of skin oil or anything like that missed in the cleaning process. Only a short drying time is needed after this step.

5. Ready to start dying. Put the gloves on. Cut your fingers nails, you don't want to cut the glove with your finger nail and get dye on your finger.
Using one of your clean rags, dip this into the dye and rub into the leather. Rub it in firmly in a circular motion. Try to keep the coverage even. Don't miss the stitching.

6. Leave to dry for several hours

7. Rub leather conditioner in. Another clean cloth, no need for gloves. Rub the conditioner into the leather. Leave it on for 5-10 mins then rub the excess off.

If your leather hasn't been conditioned for a while I recommend repeating the conditioning perhaps weekly for a while. If not treated well, leather will shrink and pull away from the stitching resulting in a difficult repair.

Feel the difference between the leather on the seat side facing the window (sunny side) and the inside of the car. You might find that the side facing outside gets more direct sun and is drier and harder than the side facing inside (less sun).

I suspect some of the panels on the seats are vinyl rather than leather. Does anyone here know ?

Photos show :
Photos 1, 2 Before
Photos 3, 4 Halfway done
Photos 5, 6 Finished dying & conditioning
Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_4348.jpg (235.4 KB, 171 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_4356.jpg (202.2 KB, 157 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_4365.jpg (229.7 KB, 162 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_4366.jpg (220.4 KB, 164 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_4367.jpg (181.5 KB, 172 views)

Last edited by ShaneHobson; 09-23-2012 at 03:02 AM.
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  #2  
Old 09-23-2012, 02:58 AM
ShaneHobson ShaneHobson is offline
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Re: Leather seat restoration

And the last photo
Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_4370.jpg (201.0 KB, 162 views)
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  #3  
Old 09-23-2012, 06:21 AM
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Re: Leather seat restoration

Nice work!
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Old 09-23-2012, 08:03 AM
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Re: Leather seat restoration

Grate work.
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  #5  
Old 09-23-2012, 01:15 PM
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Re: Leather seat restoration

Looks good. Is the leather softer now?
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  #6  
Old 09-23-2012, 02:46 PM
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Re: Leather seat restoration

Quote:
Originally Posted by ensteele View Post
Looks good. Is the leather softer now?
The dye will not make the leather softer. I just had the same process done by a professional seat restoration guy on my BMW. It made the interior look like new. The previous owners of the car really mistreated it.

before:




after:


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Old 09-23-2012, 08:16 PM
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Re: Leather seat restoration

Looks really good! I definitely need to do this on mine. Where did you buy the leather dye? I seem to remember some guy on ebay a while back selling matching leather dye for the SVX.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Green1995SVX View Post
The dye will not make the leather softer.
No, but the conditioner should...
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Old 09-23-2012, 08:31 PM
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Re: Leather seat restoration

Quote:
Originally Posted by Coan View Post
I seem to remember some guy on ebay a while back selling matching leather dye for the SVX
His name is Ronn Stark of SeatsRestore.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Subaru-SVX-O...-/170452639051


Charcoal gray kit matches the seats and steering wheel

Beige kit matches the seats
Dark beige matches the steering wheel, shift and brake handles

More information in THIS POST

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Last edited by svxcess; 09-23-2012 at 10:08 PM.
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  #9  
Old 09-23-2012, 09:08 PM
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Re: Leather seat restoration

Is there a reason you went with black over the stock gray color? Don't get me wrong, it looks great! I'm just curious.
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Old 09-23-2012, 10:02 PM
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Re: Leather seat restoration

IRRC, the Australian/ NZ cars got black interiors


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1996 Polo Green LSi #216..138,100 miles...SOLD

JFICX8659TH100216.....Date of Manufacture: November 16, 1995.....
Fuji Heavy Industries..Ōta North Plant....Ōta City,. Gunma Prefecture, Japan

In-Service Date: January 2, 1997



"The Pristine Green Polo Machine”
First Polo Green on the Network
First Clear front turn signals, JDM Alcyone hood emblem, rear panel, and BOXER engine cover on the Network (US) (2000)
First 5000K HID factory fog lights (2007)
First SVX JDM BBS wheels on a USDM SVX (2013)

HID lighting (5000K) for headlight and H3 fog lights, PIAA SuperExtreme 120W high beams, rebuilt EG33 longblock, Cometic head gaskets, Phase II flexplate, AMR aluminum radiator with custom silicone hoses, 160A high-output alternator in aluminum-ceramic coated case, new design alternator wiring upgrade v.4, rare factory headlight protectors, refinished JDM BBS mesh aluminum wheels and custom, polished billet aluminum new hex center caps, LED grille mod, R1 Concepts high-carbon cryo slotted rotors, Akebono ceramic pads, Goodridge S/S braided brake lines, Smallcar Stage 1 shift kit, ThermalTech aluminum/ceramic-coated valve covers, Energy Suspension urethane front & rear swaybar bushings, Bontrager22 rear swaybar with QS Components Chromoly Teflon/Kevlar endlinks, "$15.00/5 minute" suspension mod. Hella Supertone horns, Custom stainless steel exhaust system with 2" headpipes, Magnaflow cats, AeroTurbine AR25 resonator /AWD "Bullet" muffler.


R.I.P. 2010 Subaru Outback Limited 2.5 CVT...338,000 miles. Totaled by a 1,300 lb. COW March 4, 2016

2014 Hyundai Avante Limited ...178,000 miles. Actually quieter and smoother than the Outback

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  #11  
Old 09-24-2012, 02:14 AM
ShaneHobson ShaneHobson is offline
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Re: Leather seat restoration

Quote:
Originally Posted by Coan View Post
Where did you buy the leather dye?
I bought the dye (TRG the One brand) 50 mils for $US10 from a leather goods store. They made & repaired a lot of leather products, handbags, jackets etc. I bought the conditioner (500 mils for $US20) from a saddlery (that's a fancy word for shop that sells stuff to horse people (that's horse, not hoarse)).

Just cleaned, dyed & conditioned the back seats today. They're looking good.
Shane
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Old 09-24-2012, 11:24 AM
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Re: Leather seat restoration

Quote:
Originally Posted by svxcess View Post
IRRC, the Australian/ NZ cars got black interiors


.
Europe did too.
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Old 09-24-2012, 01:33 PM
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Re: Leather seat restoration

Quote:
Originally Posted by Green1995SVX View Post
Europe did too.
Also that guy in Panama, his had a black interior.
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Old 09-24-2012, 05:07 PM
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Re: Leather seat restoration

Aust cars are dark gray, may look black.

Harvey.
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