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Trying to fix the bolster using any redye will not work. maybe for a day or two, but my experience has been what ever method I try to save the wear quickly returns.
For this reason I only consider redoing the panel with new leather. The problem is they cannot ever fully match the exact color and shade not only from aging, but even factory leather has slight differences depending upon hides, although Aston is likely to use same hide on each seat.
Aston's leather comes from:
SLG Technology
Renfrewshire, Scotland, PA11 3RL
A Scottish Leather Group Limited company
I would caution against getting leather elsewhere - it won't be the same no matter what the local interior experts tell you. because of changes in the dye color that cannot be avoided, you need to either redo the entire face (both sides of the bolster, headrests, etc. on both seats to mask dye color changes, or redo the entire seats (sides and rears can probably use existing leather).
Attached are the seats I redid (may as well do something special if your spending the dollars), which included making the bottoms software and far more comfortable. Note that you can see slight color differences because the shop did not change out the entire face of the leather, which was supposed to be the deal I paid for (another issue). And this is why I can give you that caution. When I first got the seats the dye (non-Aston leather) matched perfectly, but soon afterwards the shade changed as the dye set in age... you can't see the change in color from the picture below, but a month later it was obvious. This is what you need to do all or nothing.
Porsche is one of the most consistent brands when it comes to its design and rich leather interior. Porsche for several years now has always had their car seats in 100% full-grained leather with the Natur Leder as their exclusive factory upgrade alternative.
Their leather is exclusively sourced from cattle in Temperate climates because these hides sourced from such cool climates in general, result in thicker, more durable leather hides that have fewer defects on them.
Although Porsche also offers a synthetic Porsche seat material, it has 2 main real leather styles: Nappa for Porsche and Porsche Natur.
I have redyed leather items on my previous Porsche, which was grey. I only did the steering wheel and shift boot. Both turned out really well. But the leather in a Porsche is a far cry from that in an Aston. Aston uses semi aniline dying (I think) and super premium soft full grain leather. There's no comparison in quality. Unfortunately the price paid for the softness is it wears easily. The Leatherique process involves wet sanding the leather to remove most of the original dye, which is hard to stomach at first, but it does work. I would also recommend spraying the new dye rather than blotting it.
I would at least give this a try, but would be ready to send your VIN to AM to have them make new seat covers. I will bet that is the route you end up going. I am going to budget for this myself 5 years down the road should I still own my car.
Porsche sources it's 2 types of leather offered in their vehicles from the most hilighly regarded leather suplier in the world. There are further variants for their special manufacktur builds of course. The issue with the Aston is one that they all are plagued with, and has nothing to do with the leather, and everything to do with the coloring compounds specific chemical composition being inadequate for the high abrasion contact points on a seating surface. If you recall, Ford was responsible for that particular vehicle's component sourcing and when Ford sold it off, Aston had continued to source from those same suppliers up till 2 years ago. Porsche has used Napa and Porsche Natur.Porsche is one of the most consistent brands when it comes to its design and rich leather interior. Porsche for several years now has always had their car seats in 100% full-grained leather with the Natur Leder as their exclusive factory upgrade alternative.
Their leather is exclusively sourced from cattle in Temperate climates because these hides sourced from such cool climates in general, result in thicker, more durable leather hides that have fewer defects on them.
Although Porsche also offers a synthetic Porsche seat material, it has 2 main real leather styles: Nappa for Porsche and Porsche Natur.
Be very careful on retrim of leather - I had a local 'respected' interior shop that said the leather of Aston Martin would not wear well, and they wanted to use a higher quality leather instead and that color would not matter because as the car ages we would never be able to match perfectly the Sahara Tan interior anyway. This was in 2014 for a 40,000 mile 2009 Vantage with same wear problems typical of the brand. I decided to replicate the quilted Vanquish pattern of the time, and about $5K later I had the seats redone as seen below. Within months the color began to change and the leather showed wrinkles and wear. I demanded they redo the seats and they agreed, but instead I traded for a 2015 Vantage GT (almost new). About the time they agreed to redo the seats, they closed shop and literally disappeared, so trading was a smart move. In the end by the time I traded, my new seats looked worse than the original seats - lesson - be very careful who you use and demand the original leather.
The seats when they were first done - within a few months they began premature wear and the color was changing.
FWIW, the center armrest cover on a 2007 vantage is vinyl NOT leather. there is a thin layer of foam between it and the plastic form it is stapled to. it takes about fifteen years for the foam to turn to dust, maybe less. it's a DIY if you've got the time and patience (about 2-3 hours). i went with an upholsterer. don't know if that aggravation was worth the aggravation of doing it myself. ...probably a toss-up.
Hello everyone,
I've read through this very helpful thread and now somewhat perplexed on what to do next in my situation. So, I have an 08 v8v roadster with 47k miles with two tone leather seats (Sahara tan and grey). The seat bottoms are flattened and uncomfortable but the leather doesn't look bad but is sagging so I purchased two seat bottoms foams from Aston Martin bits and was planning to just replace them. When I consulted a local upholsterer who had worked on these cars (recommended by my indy shop) he refused to do this as in his experience on another car he stated the the lining and glue between the foam cushion and leather deteriorates and is essentially a nightmare to remove from the leather which needs to be completely removed in order to have a smooth finish but also noting a very high risk of the leather tearing during this process. Wondering if I should go to another upholsterer for a second opinion or take the plunge of doing it myself. Wondering if anyone has encountered this specific problem.
TIA
While I don't doubt the experience noted by the 1st shop, I would def try and get a couple more quotes. Shouldn't be hard to find an ace upholstery shop in SoCal. Even here in Boston area, I know of fellow AMOC members who've had their foams redone.
I agree about getting a second opinion. When my headliner sagged it was a similar problem; the foam between the alcantara and the headliner panel disintegrated, leaving dried up glue residue all over the back of the fabric. The trim shop was able to scrape all the glue off the back of the fabric & reuse it, avoiding color-match issues.
I can't see how leather would be more delicate than alcantara, and the risk of tearing the leather should be near zero in the hands of an expert trimmer.
