[sbobosi]

So I love my seats, but hate the cracking, fading leather. There are no splits and no structural damage. The seats are great aside from their leather skin.



I know reupholstery by a pro is an option. But as I am always on the tightrope of a family budget, I am looking for a less expensive option. However, seat covers and dye jobs are not the path I want. I want new leather. I have seen reupholstery kits online. They are enticing. A few hrs of labor and a few hundred dollars and seats look like new!



Or do they? I am curious if anyone has had experience with such kits. Do they look pretty close to original? Are they a bear to put on? Know of a particularly good reseller of such skins?



Thanks in advance for any and all opinions.

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[flash]

from what i have heard, the kits work well, and world upholstery sells them - however, i don't think you save much - having them redone at an upholstery shop around here is about 500 per seat - i have to think it is as least that low elsewhere, since everything seems to be more expensive here than anywhere else

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[sbobosi]

I have seen them on eBay for like $300 or so for the pair from reputable sellers, versus $1000 done by an upholsterer. Even at $500, it would be half the cost. But am I missing a quality component?

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[flash]

that sounds pretty cheap to me - as i remember it, it was about 300 per seat for the kit



first, make sure it is porsche leather - there is a difference - i got the chance to see the hides when i was looking for the correct leather to have recaro stick into my seats - pretty easy to tell



then, i guess you have to figure in the value of your time - for me to spend a weekend doing it would cost double what a shop would charge me - i do a lot of work myself, but only because i can't find anybody to do it the way i want, not because it's ever cheaper - it would always be cheaper for me to have somebody else do it



i guess a lot also depends on the quality of the job you want done, and how long you want it to last - if it doesn't matter, then go with the least expensive route

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[sbobosi]

Well, quality and fit definitely matter, but Similac is important too <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



I am just trying to find the right balance. If I can save $400 by doing it myself, I would consider it. Nobody will pay me $75 an hr on a Sunday...the man gets me Monday through Friday...that is enough! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[sbobosi]

I just talked with a trim guy near my home. He is asking $300 labor to put on new skins, which seems very reasonable. However, he quoted $1500 for the actual skins themselves! But he said he had no problem at all doing just the labor part if I found the skins.



It is wild how wide of a spread these skins go for. I have now seen everything from $300 to $1500 and all points in between for leather replacement skins.

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[flash]

lol - i wish i had the luxury of set schedule - i work all days, almost always holidays, and sometimes 48 hours straight - the money is great, but most of it gets spent on recovering - hmmm - maybe i need to rethink this.......



the best i can suggest is to check out the hides and see what you like - they are indeed different, but you can skip some of that by sticking with somebody that sells porsche approved or oem skins - they won't be the cheapest, but at least you can avoid the bad stuff



as i said, world upholstery kits seem to be popular - i haven't actually seen one myself

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[sbobosi]

Thanks for that feedback. The picture is becoming clearer. I definitely think $300 is reasonable to have a professional tackle this. Now I need to find a deal on the skins themselves. And I have to figure out what the heck they call the color of my leather. It is a greay/black combo for my interior. Seats are grey leather. I tried to check the option sticker, but it is faded and illegible <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/sad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

hmm - there are 2 greys - classic, and another whose name i can't remember - classis is pretty dark, whereas the other is pretty light - is the piping the same color as the leather? what year is the car? (early or late seat pattern?)

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[sbobosi]

The car is a '94 coupe. The leather is definitely a lighter grey. I have seen the dark one and this is not it. I wouldn't even say it has piping..it is more basically a heavy seam of the same sheet as the rest of the panels.

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[flash]

ok - 94 was the changeover year - they did it midstream - i can't tell from the avatar if it is early or late seats though

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[sbobosi]

Here is a shot I took when I was documenting items needing restoration, shortly after I purchased the car: Warning! Do not expand this shot if you have a heart condition, or in the presence of children.

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[flash]

late style



lol - before you run out and reupholster them - go to Bed, Bath and Beyond or Restoration Hardware, and buy a tub of Leather CPR (about 10 bucks)



first, clean throughly, using a while towel, with a mild soap (non-sudsing) and water (more water than soap)



immediately dry throughly



apply Leather CPR GENEROUSLY



let sit overnight



do it again



you might be suprised, and able to postpone this a while

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[sbobosi]

Wow..that is an exciting thought. I would love to get some more life from these seats and postpone until next winter. Means more budget for other fixes. Here is a shot of the worst of the damage. I see the leather CPR will do a nice clean and condition. Is there anything which would add some of the grey back to the cracks which have lost the pigment?

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[flash]

that is a pretty tough spot, but if you can deal with it for a bit longer, the rest can be made to look a lot better - perhaps to the extent that you might need only do the driver seat - give it a go - what have you to lose but 10 bucks?



no cure for the fading in a "spot" application - you can use the leather dyes that are out there, but you need to do an entire panel - the downside is that they all make the leather a bit stiffer, which only leads to accelerated wear

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[sbobosi]

Yeah, I think I will give her a good cleaning and conditioning. I bet even the cracks will look better when they are less dirty. The light color of the leather might not contrast as bad with the light color of clean cracks...who knows? And for ten bucks, you make a great point..what is there to lose? Thanks for the dialog. I am going to do a clean up and see what I am dealing with.

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[flash]

no worries - have fun - worst case, you spend some quality time with your car, and have a cold beer at the end

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