I just found out about this company (Niagara region) that treats and repairs leather. Wondering if anyone has used. The before and after are so shocking, I am naturally a bit skeptical.

Looks amazing.

Take a look: http://www.leatheriq...om/gallery.html

 

They are well known in the industry and they have a great reputation. I might trust them doing the work, but would not trust myself using their DIY products. It seems like something that involves experience and skill to get it done correctly.

On a side note I used their Rejuvenator Oil treatment product on my original S2000 seats that were dried out and getting hard when I bought the car from the previous owner. This product did nothing for my seats at the time. I later figured out that the product is made to work on untreated analine leather, not pigmented leather like my ap1 S2000 seats. Their treatment can't absorb into the leather of our seats like it would with untreated natural analine leather. Our seats are heavily finished with a synthetic top coating, hence the term pigmented leather seats. When you see cracking on our seats it is the top coating that has deteriorated and cracked, not just the leather. Nothing wrong with their product but too many places sell it without telling the customer what it's designed to work on.

When it comes to automotive leather you have analine leather that is simply vat dyed in the colour you see, semi-analine leather that has a clear top coat protectant. Then you have pigmented leather that has a synthetic coloured coating on top of it, S2000 seats are pigmented leather, once that cracks and flakes off you need to re-coat the seats.

If they are as good as they advertise they might be able to restore the pigmented finish treatment on our seats and have them restored to an even look. I don't feel confident enough to do it myself with DIY products, but I would be open to having them do the repairs. They make really good leather products, it would be good to probably talk to them in person and have them look at your car.

 

I might drive by them in the spring and see what they have to say.

 

Thanks for the info, JFUSION. I didn't know that about our leather.

Here is a video showing steering wheel repair.
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=M7EGBzU09G4

 

Looks like a good system, Leatherique is pretty unique in that regard. Might be worth a try if you need restoration work.

 

So I was cleaning my leather today, first time since I got it from the dealer. The lower driver bolster was super shiny and smooth. As I was cleaning it start to lift and peel. Underneath it looked really nice, like the other parts of the seats. I get the feeling that this is some kind of build up dirt, or protecting chemical, or both.

The more I take off the better the area looks, but it is incredibly hard to remove. Anyone had this before? And products that will help me remove this safely that wont take 10 years? Here are some pics.

Any advice?

 

Given the darker shade of colour I'd have to say it's a combination of dirt and sweat etc. Are you using a dedicated leather cleaner product ?, if so let it soak for a bit as that looks like some stubborn grime. I've seen some people use a brush to agitate ground-in dirt on some leather seats, just be gentle with it.

 

The best thing to do like joey said is spray the cleaner on the area and used a soft brissle brush and apply very light pressure going up and down or side to side, don't brush in circles, and then wipe off with a fibre cloth. Doin this a few times should do the trick.

I plan on doing mine soon as well, I'm going to put a piece of tape through the middle of the seat to see the difference the cleaner makes

 

A friend of mine thinks that is a clear coat that was applied to fix an area. I don't know much about leather so I cant tell. It does peel a bit and it is very hard to remove. He might be right.

 

After removing it all, this is what is left. Damage. I am guessing it was a leatherique type of fix that I removed. That filler + dye + clear type of thing. You can see the white primer/filler as I get through the layers. I can't say I'm happy that my seat looks like this now, but thats what I get for not being able to leave things alone. Maybe I can have a new piece of leather put in at an upholsterer?

If it was just dirt, It wouldn't need the kind of scrubbing I did. I have cleaned dirt before, even really ugly dirt and it come off fairly easy. Well, it was a good lesson.

The red looks different from the first set of pictures because of lighting. Also my phone camera sucks =P