Restoring Leather Handbrake & Gear Knob..

[Robin82]

Greetings fellow ZED enthusiasts

I've had a quick search but couldnt find anything relating to my specific problem.

Has anyone had any experience restoring their 'leather bits'?? My handbrake and gear knob are black leather and after 15 years of use are looking slightly tired.

The problem I have is that the 'top coat' of leather seems to have completly worn off in places. So no matter how much cleaning, leather restorer and buffing/polishing I do these worn parts remain dull and in contrast to the the 'unworn' shinier part of the leather (which makes sense as the top layer has worn off)

Does anyone know of any product/substance that would replace the top coating on the leather and restore that subtle shine?

[PCSAM]

just swap them out with new leather ones mate ...... in the region of £20 to 25 on the bay ...

[Del]

For just a gear knob and handbrake handle I would try something like this and do the steering wheel at the same time.

I’ve used simple black, shoe dye (not shoe polish) to hide small scratches here and there on the seats & door cards, then polished up with the usual leather conditioner type stuff. Has worked fine on my plain black interior. Anything more major on seats I would get a professional trimmer involved where they first clean/de-grease and then use special leather paint etc

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Buffalo-Leath ... 0485310862

[Badman gee]

For gear knobs and handbrake I'd buy new off eBay.

Get a trimmer to sort the seats.

[Z3cade]

Yep they sell them on eBay.. Good quality too and cheap

[g8jka]

Try a scuffmaster kit, works on all sorts of leather, gearknobs, handbrake, steering wheel, seats etc. See the difference it can make in this thread.

[('_')Z3]

For the money I'd probably go new off eBay. There's a good selection of colour combos with stitching etc and as the others have said the quality is good too you'll just need some super glue

[Pierrick]

Buy new, it will cost nearly as much to restore!

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/TOP-GAITERS-BO ... =668506186

[Southernboy]

The link above to Top gaiters will buy you a really excellent quality item. Their workmanship is exceptional. I recently aquired a set of black leather with red stitching for my car, and I can say that the finish was above reproach. The stitching was perfectly straight along the line of the joins, no "loose threads" anywhere, and the leather quality is luxurious.

[Robin82]

For gear knobs and handbrake I'd buy new off eBay.

Get a trimmer to sort the seats.

Yep they sell them on eBay.. Good quality too and cheap

just swap them out with new leather ones mate ...... in the region of £20 to 25 on the bay ...

For the money I'd probably go new off eBay. There's a good selection of colour combos with stitching etc and as the others have said the quality is good too you'll just need some super glue

I just wanted to restore the original leather knob incase I swap it out when/if I ever come to sell. I've had a look on ebay and you're talking £40+ for an origianl leather BMW gear knob, found a few handbrake levers that look similar, but no original BMW levers mind.

Buy new, it will cost nearly as much to restore!

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/TOP-GAITERS-BO ... =668506186

The link above to Top gaiters will buy you a really excellent quality item. Their workmanship is exceptional. I recently aquired a set of black leather with red stitching for my car, and I can say that the finish was above reproach. The stitching was perfectly straight along the line of the joins, no "loose threads" anywhere, and the leather quality is luxurious.

Regards Gaiters its very tempting to swap out my original beige one.. especially for the M-tech stitching.. Which if I remember you have or did have this going on in your interior Southernbay.. If I did I'd have to go all the way and have all the trimmings match. Then I know this will lead to wanting to replace seats, door cards etc etc etc etc

Try a scuffmaster kit, works on all sorts of leather, gearknobs, handbrake, steering wheel, seats etc. See the difference it can make in this thread.

There is a certain enjoyment and satisfaction about restoring original bits n pieces...

[Robin82]

BTW thanks for the links guys very helpful... Some nice leather pieces in that ebay store, at the price I could buy and test them out and no great loss if I dont like them.

[Pierrick]

What about this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-M-E36-Sch ... 7675.l2557

I think it is original BMW. This one is sold but the seller might have more for sale.