dubga

iTrader: (8)

All of us with the leather seats eventually have this problem. Those side bolsters which feel so good when you are going around a corner become worn, torn, and abraded from our butts rubbing against them as we get in and out of our cars. The drivers side usually gets the worst. I got an estimate from a local upholstery shop to have mine fixed, replacing the torn material and was quoted $175 per seat. So I decided to give one of the leather repair kits a try. I did the passenger side over a year ago because it wasn't torn, just had the color and top skin worn off the leather. That repair has held up well so I decided to give the driver side a try as well. I took some pics and decided to post up the process so that maybe it will help someone else out.

Here are some pics of what my seat looked like to start out.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

I decided to sew up the holes and put some patches on the back of them to give extra strength. This means pulling off the seat cover. If you have the type of seats that I have maybe these photos will help. If you have a different type of seat, you are on your own. Can't help there.

First, raise the headrest and remove the two screws under it.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

Take a small jewelers screwdriver and pry the little plastic cap off the side of the seat. It covers a screw. One on each side. Remove the screws.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

Now you can pull the back cover off from the top. The bottom of it has 3 tabs that insert into the back of the seat. Push down on the ones on the side and pull out. The whole cover should come off now.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

There are two screws on each side of the seat. Remove those. You may have to remove the center console to get to the one on the bottom on the center side.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

There are two screws on the top of the inner back cover, and more along the bottom of the cover. You will have to pull up the netting to see some of them. I don't remember the exact count of screws.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

Remove the inner cover. You will see some hog rings in the middle of the seat the holds the seat covers tight. Remove the ones that hold the top cover in place and lift up the back flap.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

I didn't get a good pic of this, but your head rests will have clips near the bottom of the poles that you will be able to access once you lift the back flap of the seat cover. Remove those clips and you should be able to slide the headrests completely out. Then the plastic sleeves that the poles slid into will have to be removed. If you squeeze the bottoms of them together, they will slide out the top as well. This will free you up to peel the seat cover off the back of the seat...at least on the drivers side which is all you need for now.

Now get your needle and thread and start sewing up the holes. Here are pics of my sewing handywork. It's not perfect, but it will be covered later. You just want to add strength not make it pretty right now.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

Now take your fabric patches and glue them over the places that you sewed together. Use some type of fabric glue (I used weldwood from Lowes). Here is a pic of the patch across the back of the top tear that I sewed up. Give it plenty of time to dry for maximum strength. I let mine dry 24 hours before I put the seat cover back in place.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

Once your glue has dried to full strength, stretch your seat cover back over your seat and put it all back together. You are done with the back side. Here are some pics of how the tears looked after sewing and putting the seat cover back in place. Now it is time to make it look better.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

Now take the patching putty from your favorite leather repair kit and put it to work. I used Magic Mender. There may be better ones out there, this is the only one I have used. I used it on my passenger seat a year ago and it still looks great, even after spending a lot of time in the hot southern sun in a vert. It also comes with colors already mixed to match factory interior colors. The GM Torch Red was almost a perfect match for my seats. They also sell individual tints that you can add to try to get a perfect match if needed.

Clean the area to be repaired with alcohol to make sure there are no oils or dirt on it. Sand the area around the repair with some 600 grit sandpaper to roughen it a little. Spread the repair compound out to cover the areas where the leather is abraded and a little out from the edges of the repair area. Smooth it out the best you can now. You can wet your finger to smooth it out better once it is spread. The let the compound dry well. The instructions on this kit said it takes about 15 minutes to dry, but to me it did not seem to dry completely by then. I let it dry for several hours before sanding the compound. Make several thin coats if needed rather than one thick coat. Here is a pic of what you will have after spreading it out. About now is when you will be thinking "What have I done to my seats. I am going to track down this dubga guy and smack him if this doesn't work out".

dubga

iTrader: (8)

After the repair compound has cured, use an alcohol pad to smooth it out some more, but be careful to not soak it down and weaken the compound. You can also use 600 grit sandpaper to smooth it down more. The sandpaper takes time so be patient. The compound feels like the stuff you spackle holes in sheetrock with when it is still wet, but it dries to feel like skin. So it takes time to sand smooth, and if you use sandpaper that is too course, it will take the repair off in rolls and make it rougher instead of smoother, so patience pays off. Here is a pic of the repair after being smoothed and sanded. You probably can't tell much difference in the pic but it is smoother. Remember take your time...the smoother you can get it here the better your repair will look.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

Now use your vinyl and leather dye to paint the repaired area. If your dye is a perfect match for your seat color you can blend it into the surrounding area. But it may be the best to just paint the whole section up to the seams around it, which is what I did here. It takes several coats of the dye to cover the patch completely. Here is a close-up shot of what I ended up with. The paint is not completely dry yet, so it is a little splotchy. As you can tell, the repair is not perfect. If you are more careful and meticulous than I am, you can maintain the look of the seams. I just smeared the compound over the seam for more strength. The tears are in a low part of the bolster that you won't see unless you bend down and look for it.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

Here are some pics from the point of view that most people will see. As you can tell, even though it is not perfect, it looks much better than what we started out with.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

There you have it. What would have cost me $350 to have replaced, cost me about $60 for the repair kit and a couple afternoons of my time. If you have a show car and are being judged by points, this is definitely not for you. But if, like me, you have a weekend car, daily driver, or track car that you just want to keep looking good but aren't worried about it being pefect, and you enjoy working on your car and saving some bucks, maybe you want to give it a try. Again, it can be done better than this. The more patient and meticulous you are, the better it will look. Maybe you want to give it a try, or maybe you just looked at this and decided it is not for you. Just thought I would put this out there to see if it would help anyone out.

my bandit

iTrader: (10)

i dont know about that. it would just bug the **** outta me with it being there... but im also ocd about the interior of my car. but i do have to say. the all red theme is pretty sick

theskitztikwon

iTrader: (18)

did that come from the factory ??? i must agree the all red is sick

dubga

iTrader: (8)

I know what you mean. Like I said, it's not for everyone. But it can be done much better than I did. My passenger bolster was scuffed and had the color rubbed off, but no tears in it, so I didn't have to sew anything up. Just put the putty on the raw discolored areas, smoothed it, and painted it. You can't tell it's there unless you really bend down and start looking for it. This was my first attempt at repairing torn seams.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

Yes it is factory. Rare, but factory. Another user just posted a thread showing off his seats that he managed to pick up for a steal.