Appearance & Detailing - Check out my M5 carmel interior restoration!

well when i bought my car the previous owner of the vehicle had neglected the interior and after doing a clutch change this was the next the to tackle. I thought about dying the leather myself but for an extra couple bucks i had a professional come out to my house and do the whole car. I was recommended Rob Dahl from a top euro shop in Illinois.

here was the worst of it, the drivers seat. It was severely cracked and had lots of wear. Most of the coloring in the seat was gone.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss20/MANbearPIG11/d9f39eb1.jpg
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss20/MANbearPIG11/cd484e77.jpg


Passanger front seat.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss20/MANbearPIG11/37fe66b4.jpg

The door handle area
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss20/MANbearPIG11/2d7b4312.jpg

And the arm rest
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss20/MANbearPIG11/22cd71f4.jpg
So as you can see anywhere that had heavy use was worn badly, the back seat was in OK condition but was starting to crack from being dried out. The interior also was a shade off from the original color as the sun had really gotten to it since it was an NC car for almost all of its life.

Heres one of the only shots i have of the work being done, the process is really cool to watch and Rob really knows what hes doing.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss20/MANbearPIG11/b1a4ad7e.jpg
And heres some finished shots. Im going to try to go get some outside sun shots later on but the color came out great! almost all the cracks have been filled and it feels natural and soft. I was surprised to hear that i could sit in the car 10 minutes after he re-dyed the seats (although im waiting a few days for it to completely cure.)

here are some shots of the drivers seat.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss20/MANbearPIG11/3a2659ff.jpg
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss20/MANbearPIG11/fde41065.jpg

Passenger seat.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss20/MANbearPIG11/b02163e8.jpg

The center arm rest.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss20/MANbearPIG11/9405400a.jpg

Just a crappy interior shot
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss20/MANbearPIG11/66666c5a.jpg
And the rear seat
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss20/MANbearPIG11/65a7c567.jpg

Im extremely happy with the outcome, anyone in the IL area can pm me for Robs information or just go to his website (LEATHER DYEING CHICAGO)
I also was able to snag a set of NEW OEM carmel floor mats from a BMW dealer online for only $100 shipped! im going to clean the carpets really well next and get some shots with the new floor mats, I should have practically a new interior. Comments welcome!
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Wow what a restore on the leather! Do you know what he used?

Damn that turned out good. What's the durability like on that stuff?

Holy crap, ..., That's a heck of a turn-around, ..., :thumb:

What is this sorcery?

Wow that is a seriously amazing job. Car is coming along nicely.

very nice job, looks like a new interior.

Wow that looks really good. Like 98nbm1 said it looks like a totally new interior. It's amazing how much a little work will make a difference.

thanks guys. Im not sure what it is that he used but he is the only person in IL thats authorized to use the dye thats used by the factory down in mexico that a majority of automotive leather comes from. He claims that as long as i take care of the leather and wash it as he said (just a drop of dish soap in warm water) it will hold up like the factory finish. He also said that, thats the only way you should clean leather seats and that using off the shelf conditioners are a waste of time and money. ill post up in a few months and let people know how its holding up.

just curious, how much did this cost you?