One of the things we talked about in our training session was the pH levels of the cleaners that I’ve been using and what it’s actually doing to the leather and the dyes and compounds as well. What I’m talking about here is the cleaners I use and the prepping solution I use to get all that grunge and goo off the seats prior to doing my repairs and throughout the repair process are really high alkaline solutions, and I mean really high, in fact the Litmus paper I used to test my cleaners turned super dark and bright, basically showing me that the cleaners are at the highest level on the pH scale. Your pH scale will run from 0-14, 0 being acidic, 14 being alkaline, and 7 being at a neutral state, which is really where you want to be. Leather should be around 7.4 at its natural state. Have you cleaned your seats before with an all purpose cleaner and when your done they feel kinda gooey and sticky like? Well that is the cleaners basically eating right through the top layer of dye and into the leather. But in most cases to get them clean and prepped to do a repair it’s almost inevitable that we use these cleaners. But again, we have to realize that what we put on leather will stay in the leather! By putting a high pH level cleaner on leather will put the leather at an imbalance state which will damage the leather. Leather is still a natural breathing skin and has to stay at a neutral state or it starts to break down, crack or even rot and crumble. So what do you do? Well I think I have the solution to the problem. After doing some testing with the Litmus papers and our cleaners we jumped on the internet to see what chemicals would lower the pH levels and keep our leather at a neutral state and believe it or not it’s the most simplest thing in the world. Something that you probably have in your kitchen already… Vinegar! Vinegar has a pH level of around 2, an acid. Which if you know your chemistry, when you mix an acid with an alkaline they cancel each other out and bring you to a neutral state. So we took a quart spray bottle and put about 6oz. of vinegar in and then filled the rest up with water. We then cleaned the a leather seat like we always did with the cleaners, tested the seat with the Litmus paper and got a reading of of course off the chart. We then sprayed the seat down with the Vinegar and water solution and wiped it down, then tested it again and the level dropped dramatically down to a reading of 7.6. Showing me that it worked, it really worked! I’m also here to tell you, you will feel an immediate difference in the feel of the leather too. No more gooey feeling! By doing this process I really think this will improve our repairs, from compounds working better, to our dyes adhering better as well. When you leave a high alkaline level like that in the leather under your dyes and repair compounds, to me your just asking for a problem. So now after every time I clean or prep in any way I neutralize after with a light mist of vinegar and water, it takes me just a second to do and that way I know I’m bringing the leather back to its natural state and if anything it’s bringing the prepping solutions back down to a level that won’t damage my dyes and compounds.

Another little trick we came up with and this was really kinda of a duh moment for me. I have been telling you all to use a fabric adhesive coated under patch on leather for holes. Well I’m here to change that, and in a big way too. What I’m talking about is something that Mark was shown in his research and training prior to coming to me. A tech had shown him where he was using thin leather as an under patch. What he had done was gone to a resale shop and bought an old leather coat for like five bucks and cut it up. Then used the leather from the coat as an under patch material. Mark was also shown how strong of a bond you will get by using leather on leather. The guy took two strips of this leather, rough side to rough side and glued them together with leather repair adhesive, set it aside for a bit to dry, then came back to and Mark said you couldn’t pull the bond apart. Of course we had to try it here, so off to leather store I went. I bought a small thin hide and also bought a scrap bag of leather which had a little thicker pieces of leather. My thinking on the thicker pieces paid off too and I’ll explain that in a minute. We took two pieces of the leather I bought and did the same test and I’m here to say you won’t break the bond, try this at home it will amaze you. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier. I’ve tried this on a few repairs now and it really makes a huge difference in the bond in the repairs. I’ve used both the thick and the thin leather now and I kinda prefer the thicker leather though. The thin leather seems to bunch up and really doesn’t make for a good under patch on most of the automotive leather I’ve worked on so far. Now you don’t want something to thick that it will show through when you do your repair but thick enough it will slide nicely under the leather where the hole is. I would look for a suede or rough leather, but really any type of leather will do as long as you glue rough to rough. This little tip here I think will make a huge difference in your leather hole repairs.

One other thing we talked about, and this is one that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time now and wondering why there hasn’t been more teaching on this and that is conditioning the leather prior to dyeing. I have always wanted to find a way to condition and replenish the oils back into the leather as part of my process of repairing, resurfacing and restoring a leather seat. While Mark was in training with IICRC program, Pam Villagomez his instructor, had taught him a way to replenish the oils back into the leather by using something called Fat Liquor. What this is, is a leather softener. It coats the fibers of the leather making them more flexible which in turn makes the leather more supple and soft. I called Pam and talked with her about this and she reassured me that this is something we really need to be doing. It can be done before and after dying. So I have some coming to me and I’ll let you know how things turn out.

Well I really think these leather repair tips are going to pay off for you techs out there. So lets review a bit, neutralize your cleaners with a vinegar and water solution, use leather not cloth as an under patch when doing any hole repairs on leather, and replenish the oils back into the leather prior to dying. That ought to do it, I’ll let you all know how the conditioning before you dye works.

If you have anything to add to this please shoot me a comment. We’re all out there trying to make the best of it and any help is good help.

Talk to ya soon,
Mike Warren – The Interior Guy
Automotive Interior Professional

Well today I wanted to give you guys a little tip on getting a grain pattern into you next leather or vinyl repair using the “Wet Grain Method“. This little trick can be used with just about any air dry or heat cured compound on leather or vinyl and really could probably be used on plastic but never really tried it yet.

This process has saved me a couple of times and has enhanced some of my repairs and made them basically disappear. It’s kinda a last resort to getting it right.

After your repair is mended, smooth, and level take your compound and lay a thin to medium coat over the area needing to be grained. Next step requires a product from Viper Products called Wet Grain Slicker. What this does is puts a slick coating over your grain pad so that when you press the grain pad into the wet compound it won’t stick. Now what you’ll do is take a drop or two of the Slicker and place it on the grain side of your pad, rub it around so that the whole pad is covered, you don’t want it really wet just slick you may have to wipe a little off with a paper towel. Next lay your pad carefully over the compound and press it firmly with your palm. Be careful not to move the pad when you press or you will lose the effect. This part is kinda tricky, remove the pad slowly and carefully so not to mess up the grain. Once you’ve removed the pad take your heat gun and cure the compound, if it’s leather make sure to cure slowly with low heat. Sand lightly but to much you remove your grain, just enough to remove some of the high spots left from removing the pad. There you go, a grain pattern.

I use this on leather quite a bit with Viper’s Leather Extreme fill. I’ll use my finger to smooth the compound around the area I want a grain into and at times it may take a couple of attempts to achieve the look I want, but it’s been a life saver for sure.

Sometimes you’ll have to lay a coat of dye over the area to see if it blends or if another attempt is needed. Just remember to clean thoroughly between sanding and seal the area before your dye with a swipe of Grip Base on a wet paper towel.

This trick of the Wet Grain Method does take a little practice to get it right, but when you master it it can save you from a not so perfect job. Always keep your repairs level and as small as possible to achieve optimum results.

Well I hope this helps in your next Automotive Interior Repair job on leather and vinyl and fell free to leave a comment for me on this and let me know how it works out for you.

Talk to ya soon,

Mike Warren – The Interior Guy

Getting a vinyl or leather repair level and smooth can be tricky with the different foams and backing materials. By using an iron can better your chance of getting that repair level and smooth without bulging or pushing in the vinyl which can happen with doing your repairs with a heat gun and pressing your grain pad with your hand to achieve your grain.

Now one thing to remember when doing repairs on leather and on vinyl is the difference in the Heat applied.

Low Heat for Leather ONLY!

Never use a high heat on a piece of leather or you will pucker and harden it, basically ruining the piece. I try to never go over 300 degrees on any leather repair. Most all your leather repair compounds that are heat cured will cure out at 250 degrees. So no high heat on leather!

Vinyl on the other hand can handle in some cases, and I say this sparingly because it depends on the type, a lot more heat. Some seat vinyl you can usually get by with heat as high as 500+ degrees where as some door panel vinyl low heat only 300 and below.  This vinyl is thinner and is sometimes backed with a foam instead of a fabric and high heat will make a small hole really big really quick giving you an even bigger hole to repair. You almost treat the thinner vinyls as you would leather.

Determination is vital though, you can usually tell by feel and sight. The fabric backed vinyl is usually thicker and used on seats and some door panels where as  the foam backed vinyl is thinner feeling almost a plastic feel to it used mostly on door panels, console lids, and some dashes.

Most high heat vinyl repair compounds cure out at 350-400 degrees. One compound that is pretty much the standard is Vinyl Hyde. It’s been around for years, although through the years some have improved on it’s formula and have come up with some really great compounds.

Now the iron I use is a small hobby iron, it’s actually an iron designed for shrink wrapping small hobby aircraft, but it works great for vinyl and leather repairs. It has a temperature range from 100 to 400 degrees, which is perfect for curing all vinyl and leather compounds.  It’s small enough to get into where I need it but not to small I’m there all day trying to cure out my compounds on a large repair. I’ve seen those little bitty round irons and really to me there just a waist of time for a professional, I guess in some small repairs they could work but if your serious about doing real vinyl and leather repairs then you really need a good iron to do your repairs correctly.

When doing an iron repair your going to need some supplies to make a good permanent repair.

What I mean is, compound and your iron won’t always work for every repair.

If it’s a really small area with no chance for stress then maybe but with most repairs there will be stress and by adding a couple of components to your larger stress prone areas can mean the difference between a permanent repair and a repair that is just well substandard.

The two components that I’m talking about here are your under patch material and a product called mini mesh. The under patch may not always be used due to the fact that not all cracks in vinyl go all the way through. But your mini mesh will really help in making your repair last. What this stuff is, is an extremely thin fiberglass mesh that gives your repairs a stronger hold and eliminates the weak spots in the vinyl or leather your repairing. When doing an all the way through cut or crack in leather and vinyl the under patch and over patch will sandwich the area giving you a repair that will close to disappear and will be almost impenetrable.

The under patch material I use is actually a heat activated glue back canvas type cloth that I cut to fit a 1/4″ larger then the repair area. I then insert it upside down in the underside of the repair so that the adhesive is facing up to glue the area together, giving you the bond from underneath.

Other supplies that you will need to help in the process is a pair of small scissors, needle nose tweezers, a pallet knife, a chilling block, Teflon mat, a matching grain pad, and your matching water based dye mixed to perfection in your favorite spray gun.

The first thing to do is to clean and prep the area thoroughly with your prepping solution and a scotch brite pad, this will remove any contaminants and scuff the area for dye. If sanding of the area is needed then do that now. Remembering to clean again after wards, the cleaner the better when doing any type of repair.

I next do one thing that gives you a great bond for your dye during the process of the repair and that is I wipe a layer of Grip Base primer over the area. This is a water based adhesion promoter that gives the dyes and compounds something a bit more to stick to. On leather it will seal the leather helping with oil migration. I will also use this throughout my repair process if I sand the area or with leather repair when I add air dry compounds. Grip Base primer is a must when doing any repair with water based dyes.

If your working with a tear all the way through insert a piece of your under patch material with your needle nose tweezers making sure it’s in contact with all the area under the split at least a 1/4″ all the way around. Once in place using your pallet knife or even your finger spread a liberal amount of vinyl or leather repair compound over the area and even under between the under patch and the leather or vinyl.

Next you’ll take your Teflon mat and lay it over the area. This is used to heat the area making it nice and smooth while not letting the compound stick to your iron while heating.

Just lightly lay the iron over the area, you can slide it around during the curing process to make sure all the compound gets totally cured out. In some of the larger areas moving the iron around with a little more pressure will also help to smooth the area out.

Once your cured don’t just rip the mat off, let it cool a bit or even use your chill block or even a wet towel. If your not cool you’ll peel the compound up too, not so much with the mat as with your grain pad but getting in the habit of using your chill bar will save you some big headaches.

Your next step is adding your mini mesh. With this you will cut a rounded shape of mesh at least a 1/4″ to a 1/2″ larger then the repair area. Spread a thin layer of compound over the repair then lay the mini mesh directly over the uncured compound.  Take your pallet knife and slide it over the mesh smoothing it right in with the compound. The smoother the better, clean the edges up with you finger if needed.

Take your Teflon mat and lay it over the area and repeat the curing process, this will create your impenetrable repair.

At this time I will spray a dry coat of dye over the area to see where I’m at in my repair and also to sandwich my dye into my repair. Remember your working in thin layers.

Now it’s time to put the grain back into the repair to finish it off.

With your pallet knife spread a thin layer of compound over the area, then take your matching grain pad and carefully lay it over the area. With your iron, pressing a little harder, cure the area out.  Now sliding your iron around doesn’t really work with the grain pads as easily as the Teflon mat so watch out cause the pad could move so pick up the iron to move it around if needed.

Chill the pad with your chill bar. This part is very important, if not cool the pad WILL stick and peel your compound right up, so chill before you peel.

Once chilled, peel off the pad slowly and see where your at. Sometimes I’ll sand the area slightly to remove some of the rough areas. I’ll then clean and spray some more dye over the area to again see where my repair is. This process may need to be repeated to achieve the results you want.

At times I will also combine my iron repair with my heat gun to finish the repair off.  The iron at times will give you a little more pronounced grain and just doesn’t get things as smooth and well just doesn’t always finish it like I like it so I’ll lay another thin layer of compound over the area and cure and grain the last coat with my heat gun. This all depends on the type of vinyl I’m working with too.

Lastly I’ll lay a couple of more layers of dye then topcoat with an appropriate sheen of topcoat.

One other thing to keep in mind when doing the iron repair on Leather. Use a combination of low heat compounds to start the repair but finish it off with your air dry compounds. This minimizes the heat being used on the leather which can dry it out more then needed.

When done your repair should look great and hold for years to come.

Always keep in mind your temperature when working with leather and take your time like with all repairs, patience is money.

Well I hope this helps you out on your next vinyl or leather repair with an iron and please don’t hesitate to leave me a comment or drop me and email anytime.

Talk to ya soon,

Mike – The Interior Guy

Believe it or not I myself just really caught on to this just here recently. I have always wiped areas with my hand but not the way I’m about to tell you.

The “Wipe and Spray technique” is a technique that has improved my final result in my leather repairs immensely and will yours too, I promise.

All I do is in addition to my paint gun is to add a moist paper towel to the process of dyeing the seat. Now what I do with this paper towel will save you some time and money.

When your seat is clean, prepped, repaired and ready for your Grip Base Primer or your Sticky Primer, take that paper towel and fold it into a small manageable square, wet it with a little water, and add a liberal amount of your Grip Base to the towel.

Now wipe the seat face with the primer, adding a little more as you go. Dry the primer slightly leaving it slightly tacky.

Then with your color matched leather dye, spray it on a small section of the upper part of the seat, without drying it, wipe the dye into the seat with the same wet paper towel you used to prime with.

You will notice the dye with penetrate down into the grain of the leather and fill in all those little voids, cracks and crevices that the spray just really didn’t get to. Keep going moving from top to bottom and out.

Dry the seat again and then lay another thin coat of dye with your spray gun over the seat. Some areas may take a little more dye if a repair has been done or the creases need a little more color.

Dry everything thoroughly and step back and take a look, at his point your seat should look new… not only have you made the seat look more natural by wiping your first coat but look inside your cup of your paint gun…you’ve used probably used a 1/3 less dye then you used the last time by just using spray alone.

By wiping your leather dyes in helps the dyes to penetrate into those creases and pores of the leather seat giving you a more natural look and more durability by using less dye. I have in some cases been able to make lets say 2 front seats to a Chevy Tahoe look brand new with as little as 1oz. of dye and this is with repairs and some pretty ugly looking seats to begin with.

The key to this technique is getting your seats as clean as possible and prepped properly. Covering dirt is not restoring a leather seat! If you want your dyes to peel off then dye over a dirty seat…

I always topcoat my seats when I’m done with a low gloss clear coat mixed with a dab of slip additive to give the seat a softer feel and a little more of a barrier to wear .

After all is dry the last step in my process is wiping the seat down with a good leather conditioner. I have 2 to recommend, Viper Products Leather Conditioner of course and Lexol Leather Conditioner an industry leader. Both of which are water based conditioners and can be used prior to dye. Which is another thing I’ve been needing to talk about but another time on that one.

Everyone thanks for hanging out with me and let me know how this technique helps you with your next automotive leather repair and restoration. Leather repair and dying is a craft and something that isn’t learned over night, in fact I’m still learning, that’s what makes this business so much fun! Try this technique on your next leather restoration job and let me know what you think.

All the leather in today’s vehicles are being dyed with a water based dye. It’s not only safer for the environment, which we all know is really big right now, but it’s also more flexible and better for the leather itself.

My last post I wrote I gave you a quick fix using a solvent based dye. Now I’m not syaing that if you were in a pinch that using a solvent based would be a bad thing, but like I said it’s a quick fix, nothing you would really want to do for a customer that’s expecting a long lasting repair.

The basic’s are the same as far as the use of a drop cloth to avoid over spray getting on the instrument panel, and the prepping is kinda the same too. But what I’m here to do is to show the right way to do this.

So with that said here we go.

After you’ve put your drop cloth behind the steering wheel, wrapping it around so that no over spray will get where you don’t want it to, take a scotch brite pad and my prepping solution and clean the leather steering wheel really good making sure you get the back of the steering wheel too. Nothing bugs me more the to see a steering wheel that has been repaired and all they have done is repaired the front. When you look through the windshield from the outside what do you see, umm the back of the steering wheel, so clean all the way around.

Once you have it clean, it’s time to address the wear that has been done to the leather.

If the leather has frayed then that frayness (not sure if that’s a word but it fits) needs to be sanded down smooth. You do this with a combination of the use of different grits of sandpaper, dry and wet sanding, and the use of leather filling compounds.

What I will do is start with a heavier grit, 240 usually but sometimes even a 120 to get there a little quicker. Wet the paper with my prepping solution and start sanding. The prepping solution will break through the dye that is already there and actually smear around bit, use this to your advantage, it kinda works as a filler and helps to smooth things out quicker. Sand until it becomes dry. Then move up to a finer grit like 400, and do the same. If it’s not as smooth as you want then move up to an even finer grit sandpaper like a 600. At this time you can still use the wet sanding technique or you can dry sand it, this will depend on the amount of damage your dealing with.

Once you have the area fairly smooth, you need to seal the leather with your water based grip base, this will not only help your compounds to stick better but make your repair easier to work with and last a lot longer in the end. I do this by taking my grip base in a small squirt bottle and put a small amount onto a folded wet paper towel then wiping it over the leather steering wheel.

After you have sealed the leather it’s time to break out your leather repair compounds. Now I have found that applying it with your finger is the easiest then trying to use a pallet knife, kinda hard to curve your pallet knife around such a tight curve. Compounds that I use the most on leather steering wheels is the old Leather Crack Filler or I’ll use Viper Products Leather Extreme Fill. Both work really well with applying it with your finger and both stay put really well too. I mostly use the Leather Crack Filler first then if I need to fill smaller imperfections then I’ll use the Leather Extreme Fill. I’ve found that the Leather Crack fill just works the best, it sands out nicely as well as stays put when sanding too.

The biggest thing to remember in repairing a worn leather steering wheel is to get it as smooth as possible, the less amount of leather repair compounds you use the better. It’s just less to go wrong later and you have a better chance of the dyes sticking in the end.

One other tip I can give you is on the Chrysler leather steering wheels and it’s on these only I have found this. Not really sure why they do this but they do. The dye actually balls up and makes the steering wheel look really rough. You can sand this if you want but I have found a better way of dealing with this without wearing your arm out trying to sand the dye down smooth. Take a terry cloth towel and some lacquer thinner and rub the dye off with the lacquer thinner soaked towel. This will take it right down to the leather and make it nice and smooth. Sometimes you will have to sand a bit after wards to get the raw leather smooth but you will surprised at the time and energy this will save you. Once your done you can fill and seal the raw leather then dye to match.

After all the imperfections are sanded, filled and smooth, you will need to prep the leather for dye. I will wipe the leather steering wheel down with my prepping solution careful not to rub the filler out then apply another coat of grip base. This ensures the dye will stick and not come off later down the road.

Now it’s time to apply your water based dye to match.

You can do this a couple of ways, either wipe it on or spray it on with either a paint gun or a preval. I almost always spray my dyes, it just seems to look better in the end and less dye is wasted, but that is totally up to you. I have found it’s easier to also run the vehicle while your dying the leather steering wheel because you can position the wheel where you need it and your not trying to dye with your gun upside down. Remember the back of the leather steering wheel too

Some people after dying will stop and call it good, which is ok because the dyes I use are ready to spray and really don’t need anything else. But I like to topcoat all my dyes with a clear water based topcoat, to me it just gives more of a barrier to wear and makes the repair last longer. I  use a low gloss topcoat applied with a spray gun just like the dye.

Now I still don’t stop there either…This is a little trick I came up with kinda on my own. I found that some of the leather steering wheels after being repaired and dyed just felt dry and didn’t look natural. What I do is apply a water based leather conditioner and then I apply a leather wax or chap wax. What this does is not only restore the oils lost in the repair process but make the leather steering wheel look and feel factory. The wax also protects the leather from water and lotions that may get on there later. It just makes the leather look and feel new again!

Products that I use in all my repairs are from one of I think is the best on the market, Viper Products. I have used a lot of different products in the past and have found Viper has a higher performance dye and compounds then any other I’ve used before. So go check them out, I really think you will be impressed!

Well I hope this helps more then my last post on how to repair a leather steering wheel. Just remember to take your time when doing any repair and use a water based dye on the leather, not only is it safer for you and everybody else but I promise you it will look better in the end and last a lot longer which is what you wanted in the first place.

It’s definitely hard taking pictures with one hand and wet sanding leather with the other but I think I got some decent pictures to give you an example. The best way to see the process would  be to video it but it’s only me and that would be impossible to by myself. My boy’s been wanting us to do some video for his class at school, so maybe soon I get some video’s up too, but for now pictures will just have to do.

Cracked Chevy Suburban Leather Seat

This seat had the cracked leather bolster and also a vinyl repair along the seat side just above the switch panel, that’s the reason the panel is pulled back. I’ve found it’s easier to remove the panel rather then melt it while doing the repair, it’s only 5 screws.

I usually start with leather then move to the vinyl to give the leather repair compounds time to cure a little more before the water based leather dye is applied.

wet sanding leather seat

To do this right you need my prepping solution I’ve talked about in previous posts and sent it out in one of my newsletters, I call it “Mike’s Hard Stuff”. It works a lot like Sems Sand Free so if you’ve got some Sems it will work similar but you really need to mix up some of my prepping solution it works even better for this trick. If you need the recipe just let me know and I’ll get it to you or you can just look back at some of my other posts.

Anyways, you start by taking a pretty rough grit sandpaper like 120, spray the area and start sanding. The dye will start to soften and mix with prepping solution. It’s like it’s melting the dye as you sand. Sand until it starts to dry a bit the dye starts to ball up and roll off. You’ll notice the leather will start to smooth out and the cracks will as well. Most of the time the cracking occurs in the dye not the leather like most think. It will eventually crack into the leather if the dye is not replaced and the leather is sealed back up.

notice the dye balling up and rolling off

Switch to a finer grit paper like a 240 grit and repeat the process. At some time you will see the leather will be smooth enough to dry sand a little to smooth it all out enough to apply your compounds.

One thing to keep in mind is the top stitch, try not to sand it or it will fray the stitch and not look so great when your done. You can lay a piece of tape over it to protect it or just be careful. Because once you fray them it’s almost impossible to get them to look right again.

Nice and smooth now, ready for leather repair compounds

As you can see it really does make a difference not only in looks but it cuts your time in have and now there’s no need to cake on the leather repair compounds trying to fill the cracks. Dry the leather thoroughly too with a hair dryer to insure better adhesion with your compounds.

Apply your leather repair compounds in thin coats

Now it’s time to seal the raw leather and fill the imperfections still left in the leather seat. I do this by first sealing with a combo of Viper’s Grip Base and Flex Additive (crosslinked). I take a wet paper towel with the sealer and wipe it over the entire area. Next dry the sealer and apply your leather repair compounds. I chose to use an air dry due to the fact I had gotten this one pretty smooth and I had the Sun to my advantage to help cure things out a little quicker. Depending on the severity of the cracking will determine whether I use an air dry or a low heat leather repair compound. More severe cracking I’ll use a low heat, just seems to fill better and takes less compound. Less is always better when it comes to leather fillers. One filler I will recommend you use is Viper’s Leather Gel. It’s a clear gel that I use in just about all my leather repairs now. It’s great for laying down frayed leather like on leather steering wheels or as a top coat over your other compounds to finish the repair off. You can even imprint a grain in it using the Reverse Grain Method. I love this stuff and I think you will too.

Nice and neat

As you can see it turned out pretty good if I say so myself. The only thing I wasn’t really happy with was that I got into the stitching a bit with the sandpaper, like I told you not to. But all in all it looked pretty good and a leather repair that will last.

This trick of wet sanding cracked leather works for just about any type of leather repair. It will save you time and money if done correctly and give your customer a longer lasting better looking cracked leather repair in the end.

Talk to ya soon,
Mike “TIG”

Most of the colors are close to the original colors of the interiors of most of the vehicles on the market but always test an area first before you start any project to insure color match.

I will say this on Black, mostly the Landau Black will be the choice for most of your repairs. It just matches better with sheen and all.

Red’s and Blue’s be prepared to use maybe twice as much dye in most projects due to the transparency of the dyes.

Always clean and prep prior to applying any Sem aerosol paints. Soap and warm water always works great! Scotch Brite pads are usually all that’s needed for scuffing the surface, any harsher and sanding marks could be left and will show through and leave you with undesireable results.

Apply a coat of adhesion promoter to the surface before you paint, this will also help to give you maximum adhesion and a lasting repair.

For all your Sem Aerosol colors check out TCP Global’s Auto Color Library. They have a great site for everything automotive whether it be the outside or the inside. Just scroll down on the left you’ll see Vinyl and Leather Paint under the heading Aerosol Paint Center. They will also mix custom colors for you!

Talk to ya soon,
Mike “TIG”

Now you first instinct is to grab your leather filler after a good prep and fill the area in, well don’t.  There is a couple of reasons for this.  First is if you go for the filler on a deep wear line, it won’t last and your wasting time and product. Second why would you want to load it full of filler when you can sand most of it out and use minimal amount of filler  which will give you a longer lasting repair saving you time, money, and give you a better looking leather repair which is what you set out to do in the first place.

By sanding the leather you will eliminate the need for a bunch of compound which believe me from experience the more the compound you use the less chance you have to a permanent leather repair, especially on the edge of a leather seat where the problem started to begin with.  I’m not saying that if the person driving the vehicle doesn’t change there entering and exiting habits that your repair is going to last forever either, but it will last longer then a botched up compound loaded repair job.

What I start with on these is first inspect for holes or extremely thin leather, these areas you’ll want to be careful with sanding on so not to make the holes bigger and add further to your leather repair. I also look to see how close I am to the stitching which is something you don’t want to damage. If needed lay a strip of tape over the stitching while sanding, and sometimes while putting your compound on.  This will eliminate the chance of fraying the thread when sanding and while applying the compound will keep you from filling the stitch holes. One of my biggest pet peeves is when a leather repair is done over a seam…  ugly!

After prepping and cleaning your leather seat for repair, dry the leather with a hair dryer. You want to start by sanding dry leather. Once dry grab your 120 grit sandpaper, this is a pretty heavy grit which will help to get you there a little quicker. Sand the leather paying attention not to fray the stitching, I know it kinda difficult on the edge like this but take your time. Sand the leather until its as smooth as possible, you will be sanding for bit and your arm will get a little tired but well worth the effort. Gradually move up to a finer grit until you end up using something like a 400 to 600 grit, this will smooth the leather out and give you a better work surface and less area having to be filled.

Once sanded as smooth as you can without making a hole, it’s time to seal the leather and fill the remaining damage.  I use Viper Products Deep Crack Fill which is a low heat compound and works really well for larger damaged areas and for the holes that occur in these cases. If the wear line has no holes and I’m able to sand it pretty close to smooth then I’ll use my air dry compounds.  But which ever compound you choose to use keep it out of the stitching. If by chance you do though which it will happen, I usually keep an awl close to scrape it out on poke the holes back.

During the filling process if you spray or wipe a little of your water based dye as you go it gives you a better feel of where you are in your leather repair and also mixes with your repair so when there is traffic and wear on the repair area your compounds won’t show up as much.

Granted the first picture up is of a different worn leather seat.  Kinda got a habit of forgetting to take a before shot. I get into a repair and after I have already started I think of writing about it, but you guys get the gist. If you have any suggestions or comments about the wear line on a worn leather seat feel free to post them or even join the Repair Forum and post them there.

Talk to ya soon,
Mike “TIG”

Leather repair compounds that I have found that really don’t work that well are the low heat compounds that look a lot like the vinyl repair compounds. I’ve yet to have one hold up, it just peels off. Not all low heat leather repair compounds are like this though, I use a couple of low heat compounds that hold very well. It just seems to only be the ones that are more like vinyl, they seem to well for seats but try to avoid the wheel with this stuff.

Water based leather repair compounds work well but it really depends what you use.  Some of the deep crack fillers are almost to thick to use and there are a few that just peel right off while sanding. The thinner the compound the better. I find by layering the thinner compounds just seem to get the job done better. I apply all my compounds  with my finger, a lot easier then using a palette knife and paper towels just seem to waist product. You can just smooth it better with your finger.  There a couple I use mostly and one is Leather Corrector from New Life and another is from Viper Products called Extreme Leather Fill, both are a light compounds and easily applied with your finger.

There is one old stand by that I use and always have success with and that’s the gray stuff, Leather Crack Filler. You can apply it with your finger, smooth it out, sand it and it just looks great. I use it a lot for larger damage. In fact I used it just today on a GMC Denali leather wheel and here’s one off a Dodge I did yesterday, this one turned out really nice considering the damage I had to work with.

Pictures not that great but you can see the damage along the top and lower left. This one was frayed all along the top. The best way to tackle this is by sanding the frayed leather then apply your filler. Start with a 240 grit then move to a 400 then 800. I usually will start out wet then go dry as the leather starts to smooth out. I’ll use my prepping solution to do the wet sanding, it seems to cut through the dye and smear it, actually filling too. You want it to be as smooth as you can get it before you apply your compounds. There’s even times you won’t even need a compound after sanding with the prepping solution, just depends on the amount of fraying going on.

After you get it smooth, apply your compound with your finger, dry, then sand with 800 grit, then prime and dye. Leather Crack Filler works with both solvent and water based dyes where as water based works only with water based, also be careful applying it over an already dyed area with water based, just use lighter coats, it will peel if you not careful, it is a solvent. I’ve also used Leather Crack Filler as a filler on other things too other then leather, kinda like a primer surfacer, works great.  Dash repairs and even vinyl repairs, I’ve used it on many applications, it’s just a good all around filler to keep on hand for us automotive interior professionals.

Glues on leather steering wheels, well it depends. I’ve tried water based glues to lay down the frayed leather but never really had any luck with it, it peels. Never fails I try it thinking maybe things will be different but when I apply a filler over the top, and then go to sand it and it peels every time. About the only glue I’ve found that works well on a leather steering wheel is super glue. The trick works great, but after a while it will spider crack so only use this for quick fixes or holes in the steering wheel. The best way to eliminate fraying is like I said, sanding it smooth. I have had luck with the water based for snags or small chunks where you still have the leather peice and all you need is to lay it back down with a little glue.

Well we all have our favorite leather repair compounds for each job and I’d love to hear which ones you use to get the job done. Steering wheel repair can be difficult because of the normal everyday abuse, but if done right, the right leather repair compounds are used and the right leather dye, one can make a steering look new and last for years to come.

Talk to ya soon,

Mike “TIG”

What this really is, is when the leather turns a blue color where your back, butt, or arm rests on the wet leather and the dye from your clothing is then transferred to the leather.

The dye from your clothing is actually dyeing the leather in your car. The leather soaks it up like a sponge, like I’ve always said “What you put on leather stays in leather”, and as you see it’s true.

Whats really bad about this is there’s is no cleaner to remove this from the leather without damaging the leather or the leather’s original dye, at least not one that I know about.  Your only solution to this is to have the seats, armrests, ect. resurfaced or dyed to bring it back to it’s original color.

I’d have to say the cars that I see this on the most are Lexus, Toyota, and Infinity, all have light interiors with a soft leather that just soaks it up.

I worked on and Infinity G35 today that had it bad, the door panel all the way down was blue not just where the guys arm was. It dyed the plastic part below the leather wrapped armrest, that was pretty surprising to me. Usually it’s the leather seats, armrests, and console lids are what gets the most damage.

This is one problem that there’s not an easy quick solution too, other then maybe using a towel to sit on when your out in the rain or if your out on a hot day.

When your leather seat turns blue from the dye in your clothing don’t try to remove it with solvents or harsh cleaners, all this will do is make a bad thing worse. All solvents will do is remove the original dye from the seat along with blue color and dry the leather out, causing it to crack later. Remember “what you put on leather stays in leather”. Just call your local automotive interior professional, like myself The Interior Guy, and have the leather seats, armrests, console lids, ect. dyed back to it’s original color and luster. This will not only save you time but money too. Why replace when you can resurface!

Talk to ya soon,

Mike – The Interior Guy