Leather Repair...seats Have Varicose Vains!

[branlday]

My 93's leather is in pretty good condition in that there are no tares or holes. However, it is getting older and the cracks are getting darker. I used the Zaino Bros Z-9 and 10 which helped reduce much of the cracked look, however it is still apparent that the seats are old and with my 230 lb body I think they are going to get worse quick.

So, does anybody know of any good leather repair kits that will let me fill in the cracks or color them at least so that they are not visible? I think auto parts stores have some but I don't know if I should trust them?? I have tan leather.

[Paolo9]

I had the same problem with my 1996 Volvo 960. There is a leather dye company that specializes in auto leather. It was about $50 for a huge bottle of dye that is enough to do all the seats. The color was such an exact match it kinda blew me away. However, you have to buff it out to get that nice OEM shine as when the car was new. I never buffed the seats, but they looked SO much better once the dye was dry. (a couple hours)

Search online for "auto leather dye"

That's what I did, but right now I can't remember the name of the company.

[branlday]

I found this from Leather World Technologies. Do you think this was what you ordered?

http://www.leatherworldtech.com/ProductInf...p;choice2=Ivory

Or maybe this from Leather Magic?

http://leathermagic.com/Pages/dlxlthrrepkit.htm

Either way, you have been a big help because I was wondering if any of these DIY kits even work. I know there is a leather repair product that is "As Seen on TV" which to me means it is a scam.

[Toysrme]

"As Seen on TV" which to me means it is a scam.

Damn striaght!

I can't help you with the leather restore/colorant (Hey if u find one that works lemmie know!).

Paolo9 more information buddy!

But Lexol is god's gift to leather cleaning & conditioning. It's so good it went backwards. Toyota & Lexus dealers started noticing how many people use it (along with their own personal use), so most simply stock it. (all the local ones here do) Neat! Don't buy form them tho, it's expencive! I bought mine in those *big* containers for like $20 each when I got my Lexus in 02-03? I've bearly made a dent in the fluid level so far! I just poured some out into 2 spray bottles.

Short of that, woolite mixed with water is an extremely good leather cleaner.

The best over the counter cleaner & conditioner is the Meguiar's 2 part cleaner & aloe. Big jugs of lexol are still cheaper in the long run (I think mine paid for themselves within a year... I'm anal retentive about it), and it's still just *that* much better.

I got mine from that horse store online. Seems like it's dropped in price too. $16 for the 3L containers, so yeah, about $40 shipped.

[John Martin]

I just put Leatherique (http://www.leatherique.com/) on the old Volvo seats. Seems to soften them up considerably. They also have an extensive selection of dyes and crack fillers.

JM

[Paolo9]

That was it! Leather World Technologies. I bought the dye and some cleaner product that was a waste of time and money. Just get the dye that matches your car, and use anything, even Windex, to clean the seats first. It only patially fills in the cracks, but it does a good enough job that they are not really that visible when you're done. Remember, a little goes a long way, I did my whole Volvo with 1/3 bottle. When it first goes on, it doesn't look like it matches at all, but let it dry and it's perfect (can only speak for my particular application)

Good luck!

Paul