non rotary - leather restoration demo,help and info

[cyman]

so I recently carried out some renovation work to my lotus esprit door cards and thought I would show my work so you can see what can be achieved.

firstly I sent a sample of the original leather colour away to get colour matched I ordered 2 litres but as usual it is a close match but not perfect so I actually darkened and tinted the colour to get a result I was happy with.

so with the door panels removed I started to take some pics to show the procedure

both panels removed and untouched



some of the damage typical of many years use













we then remove the plastics and clean the leather this is done several times with water based and then solvent based cleaners



we use a brush and sponge to clean and then wipe of residue the cloth on the right is with the water based cleaner and the one on the left was after the solvent based cleaner, the solvent cleaner is very weak and just designed to lift and oils and grease but as can be seen in the left cloth the colour pigment was starting to come away, this is the pigment that had been applied to the door panel during a previous revamp which was clearly visible and was starting to crack and thin.



after cleaning



we then scuff up the surface lightly and to ensure a really good key I prefer to pre coat the leather with an adhesion promoter aswell then we spray the panels with many thin coats drying in between and once happy with the finish I seal the leather with a solvent based sealer that is harder wearing than the water based products



we then found some damage on the arm rest with some niks and cracking, this was filled, sanded, re coloured and sealed





once all parts had been sorted we reassembled both panels as can be seen below with the original pics next to it for comparison





lastly a few closer shots of previously damaged and discoloured areas






as you can see the results are very good to the extent that it almost looks like knew. this type of repair/renovation will never be 100% perfect but its pretty close, is long lasting when done correctly and if there is leather pigment left it is easy to repair little marks in the future.

so peoples options for this type of repair are simple you can buy a kit, they work very well when applied correctly and not rushed, if they are rushed they will not wear well or have a nice natural finish, you can get someone like me to do it (please note I don't openly offer this service through my small business regal upholstery ltd down here in Weymouth as I am to busy with my core home furniture repairs but hope to be able to late next year) a specialist will judge what is required more closely using additional products where needed to ensure the best results possible or you can go down the re-trimming route which will look amazing but cost an awful lot more.

the only other thing I will say on leather renovation is that over the last 20 years I have tried many products and there are some better than others, to do these repairs I actually used 3 different suppliers/manufacturers products. if anyone is looking to do some of this themselves and wants some help I will be happy to help.

hope you enjoyed the read 

[jinx]

Thanks - interesting stuff - More steps (and products) in your process than I have taken when attempting this sort of thing a few times - with varying levels of success. I never quite achieved the sort of results the nice men on Connelly's exhibition stands were demonstrating. (One half of a cream leather P5 Rover seat dirty, cracked, creased and discoloured - the other looking showroom fresh....B******s!)  I know who to ask for advice if there's a next time. 

Did the process repair things like the little nicks in the surface of the hide (pic5?) and are the armrests etc also leather or plastic. If plastic, what do you use to fill and colour them with since it presumably needs to be flexible?

[cyman]

Thanks - interesting stuff - More steps (and products) in your process than I have taken when attempting this sort of thing a few times - with varying levels of success. I never quite achieved the sort of results the nice men on Connelly's exhibition stands were demonstrating. (One half of a cream leather P5 Rover seat dirty, cracked, creased and discoloured - the other looking showroom fresh....B******s!)  I know who to ask for advice if there's a next time. 

Did the process repair things like the little nicks in the surface of the hide (pic5?) and are the armrests etc also leather or plastic. If plastic, what do you use to fill and colour them with since it presumably needs to be flexible?

There are many different processes that can be used to sort out cracks,cuts and niks. It depends on position as a repairs requirements depends on use and movement required.
The arm rests on these are leather, as they dint get heavy wear I simply used an air drying flexible filler that I sanded if and then coloured over. The repair methods I use can 've used on vinyl and some plastics I do have other metids for repairs in solid plastics like holes and Nike in things like dashboard whuch uses completely different techniques.