Another common issue with our cars, does anyone know a guy (preferably in Southern California ) that does good work?

 

Ya it's common, just have them reapply better glue and reupholster the necessary pieces. If you want to change it up a bit you can switch to Alcanara instead of leather (just a suggestion)

 

Is it possible to stretch the original leather, or does it have to be replaced? If replacing, how hard is it to find a good match?

 

It depends on how much shrinkage it's been. I took mine to an upholstery shop and they couldn't stretch it to re-glue. They couldn't find any good match either. I ended up ordering the cluster cover from AM dealer.

 

Thanks for the info

 

How much did the cluster set you back? (same part I need)

 

Sometimes it can be, the leather on my instrument cluster was stretched and reapplied using a superior strength adhesive. The main cause of this common problem is Aston uses an inferior quality glue at the factory which weakens in high heat. Getting a high heat rejection ceramic tint (and possible a good dashboard sun visor when parked) should help minimize the odds of this happening in the future.

Synthetic alcanara has less likely hood of shrinking than natural leather which shrinks with heat. Just FYI

 

$250 installation takes 5min

 

That's not bad at all, I was dreading much worse.

 

Yes. I ordered it without any hesitation after receiving the quote. Just provide them your VIN and the item should arrive within 3-5 weeks. Stitching will match too.

 

Malibu - We have recently started using a guy that seems to be pretty good. It looks like he uses glue and staples. He works on all high end cars. Let me know if you want info.

 

Hey Coxy, PM me the info would ya please? If I can get get it done for less than a new one that's always the best.

-Patrick.

 

Hey Cret, I was told somewhere around 500 or so for this piece.... just to clarify the part you are talking about is the leather wrapped half moon cluster that snaps into the top of the dash, correct?? If so, I may go though who you did to get mine!

 

I've done a bit of research into this and as 007 noted above, one of the main culprits is the glue used by AM. Also, AM does not wrap the panels sufficiently around the edges to allow for some give.

Another thing to consider is how frequently you condition your leather. One repair shop told me I should be conditioning the panels once a month. Another shop told me that twice a year is sufficient. If you condition frequently, you might weaken the adhesive as the conditioner actually works its way down into the leather.

I spoke with a rep from Leatherique and was told that twice a year is good, which is what I've been sticking to and so far so good. But then again, my car is always garaged.

 

^^^ I think as long as the car is kept in a garage (climate controlled is best) it should be fine, tint on the widshield will help a lot, as will cleaning and condtioning twice a year like the leatherique rep said...I use a non toxic all natural cleaner and formula 303 protectant, I'd like to try leatherique as I heard good things about it but also heard it's a intensive and involved process to do it properly.