Best way to renew (or refinish) seat leather?
 

After seeing a couple seat back refinishing threads, i think i'm going to tackle the same for my seat backs too. However, my drivers side seat leather is starting to look a little worn also. What's the best way to go about renewing the leather? I was thinking about having an upholstery shop remove both front seat leathers and having them refinish with leather dye or paint. Is this a permanent procedure? Or is it less durable than factory?


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I have found dye or paint to be a temp fix that wears off in time. A good shop would simply replace the leather panels although I don't think yours is to the point where that would be needed.

thats not that bad.

Think of it as patina!!!

What he ^ said!

I can understand why you would want them refinished -- it is beyond a patina IMO (on the outside of the side bolster). Having them re-dyed will make both look good again but may not address the wrinkling fully. However, you need to be very gentle when you clean your seats in the future. A strong cleaner or vigorous scrubbing will remove the dye. So, just plan on gentle wipes with a wet (water or mild solution) microfiber to keep things looking good post-dye.

Ask for recommendations on a local leather specialist at your dealer (who do they sub the work to) or a local high-line used car dealer. And then there is always Yelp if those don't work.

You might try a company called Leatherique. The produce a cleaner and conditioner. Some of the issue may be dirt and oil that have worked into the leather. The other issue is the leather may need some of the oils to be replenished that it had when it was new.

+1 on Leatherique, works great.

If cleaning the leather doesn't bring it up to your standards, drop by your local interior/leather shop. I've seen friends have panels replaced and most of the time you simply cannot tell it wasn't factory fresh.

Thanks fellas. I just did Leatherique yesterday. Been using the stuff for probably a decade. I don't know why i didn't think to try it. As usual, it minimized the cracking and discoloration.

I use a bit of Black shoe polish. Then finish off with a good leather conditioner.