Good evening,
The leather at the front of my central console is shrinking and I'd like to address this.
I asked the dealer but they don't have an easy fix (besides replacing the part...).
Has anybody encountered this issue? If yes, how did you fix it?
I am going to have my windshield replaced, so I'd like to have this done before hand.
Thanks in advance for any help!

 

Pretty common to see that on an Aston. Stretch and glue once disassembled I assume is all that can be done unless you replace the section.

 

I just went through this, along with a bunch of other dash panels I had reupholstered.
While I did not have the windshield out, I did have the entire center stack out for other reasons which made it much easier to access and reglue that section.
If you're okay living with is as sort of half-fixed, my recommendation is to remove the passenger side dash panels, along with the ski-slope and the center speaker grille.
With those parts out along with the windshield you will have plenty of access to do a decent job.
I peeled the leather back more, maybe an additional 4-6 inches so you have more flex and give on the leather to pull it.
Keep in mind, you will not be able to get that edge fully back and completely covered no matter what, you will certainly still have a part of the edges showing.

If you really want to have it completely redone as new you will have to remove the entire frame. Which means literally the entire front interior has to come out.
At that point I actually do not recommend getting that frame reupholstered, I would just buy a new piece or try to find a nice condition one on ebay or some place like that.
The stitching on that frame has to be perfectly dead straight or it will look even worse than what you have now. I would not trust an upholstery shop to get that done perfectly.

Here are some before/after pics of how my DIY job came out. Not great, but not immediately noticeable anymore so I can live with it.

 

Most of the dash panel will need to come out, once it's out it's up to you if you want to replace. I chose to wrap mine in Alcantara , different panel than yours but same process. Took me a few hours and a $100 in materials.

 

Thanks for the advices, I guess I'll go ahead and try the local rework, since I don't feel like disassembling half the car interior to reach that corner...

 

Good call EJ!

 

I know this comment is not towards the repair question, but the prevention. At least once a year I treat my 07 leather. After 15+ years of ownership I'm lucky not to have issues with my leather. Years ago leatherique was mentioned on this forum so I tried it. I have no interest in the product but as a thankful user of it. Im guessing there are other more advanced products around. Most all leather need some care/treatment as it ages.

 

Thanks - but here is THE core question in this regard: does the leather used by AM (Bridge of Weir) have a protective coating on it? Virtually ALL modern leather in today's autos comes with a clear coating and thus would not benefit from any Leatherique (I still have some BTW!) or other 'leather treatment'.

Thoughts?

 

It helps is the vehicle is garaged at home and work.

 

This happens to practically all higher end cars with full leather dashboards. I'm thankful AM dashboards are attached in several panels that are easy to diy. When this happens to a Ferrari for example it's a massive repair bill.

 

In general, leather treatments, especially on leather dashboards where the temperature changes on the leather are extreme and change very rapidly, are not a good thing to do. Putting a product like leather treatment on the dash leather is like basting a turkey.

Now comes Leatherique. This is the worst leather product out there. It's pure oil, as in dousing the leather in oil, then baking it in the sun. Is this product still being sold? Surprised if it is. Back in 1999, I had a Jaguar Vanden Plas with white leather. I got all caught up in the hype at the time, followed their instructions, saturated my entire car in that stuff, then proceeded to literally wipe the white right off the leather right down to the raw product (brownish grey). In short, ruined the entire interior of that car.

Then, I learned that modern leathers used in cars are painted with a waterbased colorant, then some clearcoated with the same waterbase. There are no car leathers out there anymore with with an old school oil based colorant (EPAs)

Now back to the shrinkage and lifting, a question to ask - In a car with leather interior, why does the shrinkage and lifting only happen on the dash surfaces (On all makes - Audi, Bentley, Corvette, Jaguar, Ferrari, Lamborghini, with leather dashes.) Why not door panels or consoles? The damage comes with extreme temp changes over a very short time. Leather, a natural material, will expand/contract with temp and moisture changes, unlike the vinyl counterparts. When a car is pulled out of a dark garage at 70* then the dash hits the sun and temps there quickly change to maybe 110* and on a short run, maybe you stop at a store, and now maybe 130/140* on the dash surface, the leather is making big moves while the underpanel is moving much slower or not at all. As the leather stretches and contracts, it pulls away from the glue. Then basting the leather with an oil makes that movement even more dramatic. Temperature changes do not always have to be in the hot range - 40*F to a quick 85/90*F change does the same thing just different scale.

For my leather dash cars, I use a towel to cover the dash from sun exposure when I am parking it Sun screens work too. These are much better solutions. Here are a whole bunch of different makes with the issue:

 

Porsche all leather dashboards suffer from the same problem, and I dare say that the repair rivals the Ferrari in cost.