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

GOT A CRACK IN YOUR SEAT?

Let me show you how the problem started, how to fix the problem, and how to prevent the problem from happening again.

Well of course I’m talking about your leather or vinyl car and boat seats.

Hi…my name is Mike Warren, the owner of The Interior Guy, llc. Est. 1999, Excellence is what I give my customers, the highest of standards in quality and workmanship. All the materials I use have been researched for many of years and through alot of trial and error I’ve perfected the art of vinyl and leather repair. Whether it be factory or custom, if perfection is what you want you have come to the right place.

The problem started with either a stupid moment by a freind or just the normal abuse we inflict on our vehicle everyday. If a small hole or wear mark has developed due to these factors don’t freak out and kill your friend or bang your fist on the dash and compound the situation with a cracked dash, then you’ve really got some issues. Vinyl seats are probably the easiest and most durable of the repairs that are done. Leather can be the hardest but the most forgiving of materials to work with. Velour seats, well, don’t ever burn your cigarette in it because the only fix is glue and fuzz, which can be a great fix to hide the burn from unsuspecting eyes.

How to fix the problem depends on you, you either take the car or boat to an upholstery shop, leave the vehicle for days or even weeks, your vehicle is subject to god knows what, torn apart, materials ripped out, repalced with not so factory looking material, that may match or not,or …you get it repaired on site, with no parts removed from the vehicle, compound and dyes of the highest quality being used, colors that match, and a repair that lasts.

Prevention is the key to all. I can’t stress enough how important it is to keep your leather seats conditioned. Leather is skin, when your hands are dry and cracked you put lotion on them, right. Leather is the same way, when it dries out it cracks and with time the dye will crack also, so keep it soft! I suggest using Lexol or Leather Rejuvenator, both of which can be purchased from me. Another huge tip is entering and exiting your vehicle. Look in your pockets, and look in the seat before you sit to make sure there isn’t a hole poker in sight. Next don’t slide into the vehicle, the dyes on the leather are not that thick and will wear off, you would’nt slide across your hood would you, well I guese if you were Bo Duke, but your not so, your clothes are like fine sandpaper and after time will wear through the dye. Most of the vehicles I work on are from the butt slide factor. Cleaning the leather can be tricky, I’ve heard everything from laquer thinner (which i do not recommend) to GoJo handcleaner, to srubbing bubbles bathroom cleaner. Well some of those might work ,but what i recommend to all my customers is use a mild detergent mixed into a spray bottle, and i would use palmolive or some other grease cutting soap with lotions for your skin, spray the seat top first working in small areas, scrub the seat with a soft bristle brush and wipe area with clean terry cloth towel, wiping seat clean. Sometimes a small amount of dye will be removed so it is key to seal the leather with a good conditioner. Keeping the seats soft helps to ward off the little butt slide gremlin but after time all seats need to be rejuvinated with new dye.

Automotive interior repair is a craft of skill and knowledge of product and project. Through years of experience The Interior Guy,llc. has become a company of respect and knowledge to be shared with all.

Come back and see the large amount progress i’ll be passing on to you my customers.

Thanx, Mike Warren