Leather Seats Reconditioning vs. Seat Covers

[bmwzippy]

I hoping to get some advice from those that may have tried to revamp their bimmer leather seats by various means. What have people done to fix cracks, abrasions or general surface wear where the colour has gone? I know there are alot of dyes, sprays, vinyl patches and pastes etc. but has anyone actually been happy with the results?

Has anyone resorted to leather seat covers, I'm not thinking slipovers but replacements for factory leather. Has anyone tried leather from these guys?
http://www.leatherseats.com/gallery.asp?vehicle=BMW
Or is there anywhere in the GTA that offer the same type of product?

Has anyone tried Barry's Vehicle Upholstery in Mississauga, I was referred to them.

I have tan leather seats myself and I am looking for solutions, as they're going to stand out in the summer when the top is down!

Thanks in advance!

[carjoe]

Look for leatherrepairkits.com
There was an awesome thread on BFC in the M3 section. The before and after pics were amazing. I'll be trying them out once I get all the maintenance/resto done.

[carjoe]

I know you sent a PM but I thought everyone could benefit from this thread:

leather repair!

pics from another kit

yet another thread

last one, I swear

[David]

There were also a couple of threads on BF.C in the show an shine section showing some leather restorations using leatherique crack filler and dye. The before and afters were amazing. I would honestly look into repairing your current leather first. The results can be very good and the cost will be considerably less than reupholstering your seats.

[bmwzippy]

OK David, thanks, I'm starting to see that this is a very reasonable first approach.

Cheers,

[picus]

Originally Posted by David

There were also a couple of threads on BF.C in the show an shine section showing some leather restorations using leatherique crack filler and dye. The before and afters were amazing. I would honestly look into repairing your current leather first. The results can be very good and the cost will be considerably less than reupholstering your seats.

I've used the leatherique crack filler and dye on a customer car; it is not a miracle worker, but it did make a very definitely impact when combined with the rejuvinator oil. He had a number of wear cracks in the front driver seat near the side bolsters that all but disappeared. He did have one long tear that wasn't repairable though.

I've also used these guys (http://www.diamondtrim.com/about.html) to do some interior work on my last car and the results were very good, but it was kind of pricey.

[touchofclass]

Take your car to Auto Spa in Mississauga. They do a great job in leather restoration and cleaning.

[bmwzippy]

Thanks for the post.