When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
^ Those looks really good. Is that photo taken after installing them 8 years ago? they seem to have held up well.
I placed my order with Ridies, they called me the next morning to go over it. Confirmed it, and sounds like I'll have them back within 4-5 weeks. let's see. Still waiting on my lower cushions to be repaired as well.
yes, i just walked out and took that for you. the only blemish is where she nicked the piping on the passenger side and that was her fault not the material.
good luck, get yourself some hog rings and pliers if you dont already own them.
So I picked up a project set of seats yesterday, and I'm looking to restore them. On the ones that came with my car 5 years ago, they were in decent enough shape - I was able to simply refoam and dye a few wear areas, but the skins on my new set are beyond saving.
So, with that, I started to do some research into the available options for reskinning. I am curious if any other members have tried any of these, have any feedback or suggestions.
Leatherseats.com - overall good reviews, they look good in the videos. I saw a thread posted here on s2ki where a member was unhappy with the result though. Expensive. https://leatherseats.com/shop/specia...ingstitch-pkg/
So with all that said, curious what everyone else has gone with, your experience, and how it's wearing in the long term? Drop any photos if you got em!
I just finished my '06. Leatherseats.com and self-installed. It was my first time doing anything like this and while not 100% perfect, I'm pleased with the results. Fresh seat foam would have probably improved the tightness of the bottoms, but I didn't feel like shelling out nearly $500 per cushion.
How long did it take you to do this, including removing and reinstalling the seats?
It takes me about 10-15 minutes to remove or reinstall the seats. For the leather install, it was my first attempt at doing this, so I was methodical and took my time. I pulled apart the driver seat first and did some foam repair. For the rest of the install, I spaced it out over 3 days, working only a few hours each day. Now, having done the whole thing and learning the technique, I’d estimate it would take about 6-7 hours, not including the foam rehab.
Very nice job. Any tips for us do it yourselfers? Anything you learned?
Well, no instructions are included from leatherseats.com, but they do have several helpful videos for general installation. I opted for full leather on mine. Through the whole process, I alternated between a workbench and the floor. My garage floor and workbench are covered with 3M oil mat material. It's like a very thin synthetic carpet with a rubber backing. I only mention that because it allowed me to wrestle the seats in a variety of positions without concern of scuffing the leather or gouging my bench.
Of course, you’ll need to separate the seat back from the bottom before you can strip the old leather off. My dikes are getting pretty dull, so I used a Dremel to cut the metal hog rings. I opted for heavy zip ties for install. They're plenty strong, just as invisible, and easier to snip if you make a mistake.
As for tips...
1. I'd suggest upholstering the bottoms completely and reinstall the rails before moving on to the seat backs. The bottoms are fairly easy to install... though the final result is very dependent on the condition of your seat foam. If your leg bolsters are thinning or torn, it will be very noticeable through the new leather. Mine are about 90% after some DIY repairs.
2. Strip one seat at a time so you'll have an original leather fitment intact for reference. Be mindful that the left and right seat back leathers are different... they weren't marked, so pay attention to the lower sides. The side with the tilt adjuster is a little shorter and has a curve.
3. Wrestling... when you’re ready to fit the leathers on the seat back, it’s worth the effort to re-mount the seat back to the lower seat and rails. Set the seats upright on the floor and slide the rails all the way back (as if the seat was adjusted forward in the car). This will give you the support to push and pull the skins down tight. I started with most of the upper leather turned inside out and fitted just the headrest as tight as I could. Then I worked my way down. Next, I put the seat down on its back and wrestled the leather over the side bolsters. Basically, the key is finding ways to use your weight to your advantage. It's a lot of pulling, stretching, and massaging. I worked my way down the side bolsters tightening zip ties once I was satisfied that it didn't need any more stretch. The leatherseats.com guys suggest steaming the inside of the leather during fitment to make it more pliable. The fat head on my steamer didn't really lend well to that, so I did it dry.
4. Wrinkles... some small wrinkles will remain, but try to remove as much as you can before you righten the hog rings. Just before I tightened the bottom-most hog rings, that's when I unbolted the seat back from the rails and moved back to the bench. The rest should be self explanatory. You'll want to reserve some patience for the long plastic clip that joins front to back. I used a flat edged plastic trim removal tool to push the J-clip in. it's hard to explain, but you'll understand when you see it. Once they were all buttoned up, I used a clothing steamer and a heat gun as demonstrated in this very helpful video...
08-30-2022 | 10:32 AM
