Leather Refurb

This is where you can find out about valeting and detailing--washing, cleaning, polishing, waxing and other car care issues.
Post Reply
User avatar
Jonttt
Z Register member
Joined: Sun 28 Dec, 2008 16:32
Posts: 6554

  M roadster S54
Location: Liverpool

Leather Refurb

Post by Jonttt »

The leather on my Z was looking tired on the drivers side bolster due to entry / exit ie it hard worn down through the dye to the bare leather in the creases.

Also the leather had become "dry" (probably not helped by heated seats) due to it not being treated by previous owners and in places especially around some seams had become "hard" and very inflexible.

nb my car has the ///M nappa sports seats and has done 80,000 miles but the inside is otherwise in excellent condition.

I had done some research a few months ago into the best product to allow me to re dye with as near a perfect colour match as possible.

Several German sites and our own Z1 guys seemed to recommend a german company called

Leder-pflege

I decided to give them a try and emailed requesting information / recommendations to solve my problem. I had several email corresponding with a very helpful german lady (all in english :wink: ) in which she directed me to the products to use. She even disuaded me from some products I wanted which reduced my costs.

I ended up buying:

Care set (cleaner/protector)

Liquid leather repair (neutral)

Leather Fresh colour restorer BMW colours for the blue

Leather Fresh colour restorer normal colours (black small size)

I started off using the cleaner to clean the leather. To be honest this seemed no better / worse than other leather cleaners I have used before and I think a standard weak pure washing flake and warm water would have done just as good a job.

The blue and black dye's were an absolutely perfect match for the blue/black in my leather seats (I gave them the colour code when ordering). They were a doddle to use. The main bolster area on the drivers seat required about 4 coats about 15 minutes apart but the remainder only required one easy coat. I left to dry overnight and there was no streaking at all and even after drying, perfect colour match. Any unwanted "over" paint was easily removed with a clean damp cloth before it dried.

nb I used the small neutral liquid leather to fill a small "tear" in the passenger seat seam, only a few millimetres but did not want it to "catch" and get any worse. The liquid leather acted as a "filler" and when the dye ran over was very hard to see afterwards.

I then gently worked in the leather protector. This contains oil that soaks into the leather rather than rubs in to "soften and nourish". I applied several coats to the areas of "hard" leather and it was readily soaked up. I then lightly "buffed" with a clean cloth.

To say I am chuffed with the results is an understatment. The colour match is fantastic and I can't believe how good the result is. The whole seats look "fresher" and obviously the bolster is a massive improvement and I can't imagine a better job possible.

The protector was also a revelation for me. The seats do not have the "matt" look of brand new ones (I've seen mint seats in the flesh which have a matt sheen to them) but they did not have this before I started - the leather is now very supple and flexible even on the previously hard seams of the lower drivers bolster.

I would thoroughly recommend the dyes if you have similar problems (not cheap given the euro but well worth it for perfect match to BMW colours based on my experience).

Autoglym cleaners/protectors are probably as good as the ones I bought though :wink:

Piccies tell a thousand words but don't really give the results justice.

Image

Image
Happiness is not around the corner........happiness is the corner
Image Video or Journal Garage: 2015 FFRR Black Edition, Porsche Boxster GTS, 1997 Porsche Carrara C4S, Ex 2001 BMW S54 Z3m Roadster
cosmosblack
Joined: Mon 29 Jan, 2007 22:28
Posts: 257

  Z3 roadster 2.8
Contact:

Post by cosmosblack »

your seat look great a big improvement, where do i find out the exact colour of my seats so i get some please cheers
User avatar
Cloz
Joined: Fri 30 Jun, 2006 01:41
Posts: 740

  Z3 roadster 2.8
Location: Boucherville

Post by Cloz »

:shock: :thumb:
User avatar
Jonttt
Z Register member
Joined: Sun 28 Dec, 2008 16:32
Posts: 6554

  M roadster S54
Location: Liverpool

Post by Jonttt »

cosmosblack wrote:your seat look great a big improvement, where do i find out the exact colour of my seats so i get some please cheers
Try here

http://www.bmwmregistry.com/model_faq.php?id=16#colors

or here

http://users.belgacom.net/bmw_z3/bmw_z3_interior.htm
Happiness is not around the corner........happiness is the corner
Image Video or Journal Garage: 2015 FFRR Black Edition, Porsche Boxster GTS, 1997 Porsche Carrara C4S, Ex 2001 BMW S54 Z3m Roadster
User avatar
AussieZ3
Joined: Mon 21 Mar, 2005 05:05
Posts: 288

  M roadster S54
Location: Perth

Post by AussieZ3 »

Great job.
Hopefully the colour stays on the seats and doesn't rub off on your clothes.
Proud owner of #70 of 73 ever built RHD S54 M Roadster.

2000 Evergreen E36/8 M Coupe
2001 Imola Red E39 M5
2002 Phoenix Yellow E36/7 M Roadster
2003 Dakar Yellow E46 M3 Cabriolet
2005 Estoril Blue E53 X5 4.8is
User avatar
Jonttt
Z Register member
Joined: Sun 28 Dec, 2008 16:32
Posts: 6554

  M roadster S54
Location: Liverpool

Post by Jonttt »

I know, the initial light buffing did remove some colour but this quickly stopped and it seems permanent now. Proof will be over the coming months of my fat bum getting in and out :wink:

I am quite hopeful based on experience on german forums though.

I will update in a few months.............
Happiness is not around the corner........happiness is the corner
Image Video or Journal Garage: 2015 FFRR Black Edition, Porsche Boxster GTS, 1997 Porsche Carrara C4S, Ex 2001 BMW S54 Z3m Roadster
User avatar
shoegazer
Joined: Fri 24 Jul, 2009 21:53
Posts: 53

  Z4 roadster 3.0i

Post by shoegazer »

That looks really good, bet you're very pleased with the results.

Bits not cheap but well worth it!
Image
Desiro
Joined: Thu 31 Jul, 2008 15:59
Posts: 265

  M roadster S50
Location: Sheffield

Post by Desiro »

That's the most improvement I have seen.
looks great
User avatar
Citation 650
Joined: Wed 29 Sep, 2004 02:05
Posts: 11

  Z4 roadster 3.0i

Post by Citation 650 »

Nice!
User avatar
Deano1712
Z Register organiser
Joined: Sat 05 Aug, 2006 12:56
Posts: 1396

  M roadster S50
Location: Leeds

Post by Deano1712 »

Nice job. Mine is going to get the same treatment. I also want to refinish the steering wheel and wonder if the same stuff will help there.
Z3M with a few mods...and a little bit more power
User avatar
Jonttt
Z Register member
Joined: Sun 28 Dec, 2008 16:32
Posts: 6554

  M roadster S54
Location: Liverpool

Post by Jonttt »

Deano

I put a little of the black on the steering wheel (ie the residue left on the sponge before I washed it) but did not really spend any time on this as surprisingly my wheel has no wear to the leather apart from the expected "smoothing" effect to the grain ie there is no colour loss on the leather (I have a feeling the wheel has been replaced at some time as I would expect more wear from an 80k mile motor?)

So hard for me to tell with the wheel, sorry
Happiness is not around the corner........happiness is the corner
Image Video or Journal Garage: 2015 FFRR Black Edition, Porsche Boxster GTS, 1997 Porsche Carrara C4S, Ex 2001 BMW S54 Z3m Roadster
User avatar
yalden
Joined: Sun 30 Mar, 2008 18:03
Posts: 1232

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Devon

Post by yalden »

I've been wanting to do this on mine, I remember how great the difference was on my previous E36 with black leather. The trouble is I can't find any dye in Arizona Sun...
shantybeater
Joined: Wed 12 Mar, 2008 14:33
Posts: 1967

  Porsche
Location: UK

Post by shantybeater »

jontt i love you, im so happy i found this...I was thinking i'd have to resort to a retrim of the bolsters. Its come up absolutely fantastic. I'll probably wait a month to see if its still as good before ordering some, please give us an update so we know how durable the repair is.
Image
Progress Thread:http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopi ... 32&t=36117
Previous - S54 M Roadster, S50 M Roadster, Ibiza Cupra IHI 340bhp, Ibiza Cupra K04 270bhp, 6n2 Polo GTi
aj2007
Joined: Wed 01 Aug, 2007 18:22
Posts: 435

  M roadster S50
Location: Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs

Post by aj2007 »

Hi Jonttt, looks fantastic, I have placed an order on the strength.
When do you want me to drop my car round for the treatment :roflmao:

Regards

Ade

PS My seats look just like yours did, I will def give it a go thanks!
Image
aj2007
Joined: Wed 01 Aug, 2007 18:22
Posts: 435

  M roadster S50
Location: Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs

Post by aj2007 »

Hi Jonttt, looks fantastic, I have placed an order on the strength.
When do you want me to drop my car round for the treatment :roflmao:

Regards

Ade

PS My seats look just like yours did, I will def give it a go thanks!
Image
///M_aniac
Z Register member
Joined: Sat 30 Jul, 2005 19:34
Posts: 4054

  M roadster S50
Location: Belfast

Post by ///M_aniac »

Looks great mate. Good job! Good to know these products are available.
BMW Z3, the only way to build a true roadster

Image - The most powerful letter in the world.
Cloz wrote:There is something that will never change is my love for Z3
smartypants wrote:Conor?

With an M??


The World's gone mad :D
smartypants wrote:The Z3 rear is a great thing to behold ;)
User avatar
Jonttt
Z Register member
Joined: Sun 28 Dec, 2008 16:32
Posts: 6554

  M roadster S54
Location: Liverpool

Post by Jonttt »

Yalden, why not sent them an email, they may be able to do your colour?

Shanty,I will post up durability but unfortunaltey I'm hardly driving the car at the moment so am not the best to test this side out as I only do a couple of thousand miles a year in it (don't worry I'm still roofless but in another car :wink: ).

Aj, don't forget to post up your results as well. Just be patient I did mine over 3 days (as don't drive car a lot) ie day 1 clean and dry, day 2 dye, day 3 protector. I think you could dye same day as clean (leave a few hours to dry) but leave at least 1 day before protect. I would not use the seats between dye and protect as some dye will come off!
Happiness is not around the corner........happiness is the corner
Image Video or Journal Garage: 2015 FFRR Black Edition, Porsche Boxster GTS, 1997 Porsche Carrara C4S, Ex 2001 BMW S54 Z3m Roadster
Zed Carer
Joined: Thu 13 Dec, 2007 20:27
Posts: 1642

  Z3 roadster 2.8
Location: Wakefield

Post by Zed Carer »

Looks very nice Jonttt - good find

aj2007 wrote
Hi Jonttt, looks fantastic, I have placed an order on the strength.
When do you want me to drop my car round for the treatment
I've just emailed to check if they have got my color - so that will be another one coming over for you to work your magic on. Always believe in leaving it to the experts :D

No doubt Titan will be checking your "rear" for any signs of blue at Harewood :P
Hers: Z4 2.0i Sp --------------------- His: Z3 2.8
Image
User avatar
Titan
Joined: Fri 01 Apr, 2005 20:20
Posts: 4002

  Z3 roadster 2.2i
Location: North Yorkshire

Post by Titan »

Zed Carer wrote: No doubt Titan will be checking your "rear" for any signs of blue at Harewood :P
Nice one ZC :roflmao:
But 10 to 1 says jonttt will be wearing jeans (or a gorilla costume) :head:
Image :devil:
User avatar
Vixi
Joined: Thu 16 Jul, 2009 20:18
Posts: 45

  Z3 roadster 1.9i
Location: Swindon/Wilts/StGermans/Cornwall www.goldplating.org.uk
Contact:

Post by Vixi »

Hi Guy's
May I be so rude as to ask the price ? , as I to am interested in geting mine done

Thank you

V :lol:
User avatar
Jonttt
Z Register member
Joined: Sun 28 Dec, 2008 16:32
Posts: 6554

  M roadster S54
Location: Liverpool

Post by Jonttt »

Vixi

Prices are on the website links above but as its euro's depends on exchange rate :wink:
Happiness is not around the corner........happiness is the corner
Image Video or Journal Garage: 2015 FFRR Black Edition, Porsche Boxster GTS, 1997 Porsche Carrara C4S, Ex 2001 BMW S54 Z3m Roadster
User avatar
Vixi
Joined: Thu 16 Jul, 2009 20:18
Posts: 45

  Z3 roadster 1.9i
Location: Swindon/Wilts/StGermans/Cornwall www.goldplating.org.uk
Contact:

Post by Vixi »

Jonttt wrote:Vixi

Prices are on the website links above but as its euro's depends on exchange rate :wink:
Der engage brain girl !!
Thank Jonttt

also how often do you use a leather conditioner on your seats ?
I bought some gliptones leather cleaner and conditioner , which I am very pleased with , but not sure how often I should use the onditioner

thanks V
User avatar
Jonttt
Z Register member
Joined: Sun 28 Dec, 2008 16:32
Posts: 6554

  M roadster S54
Location: Liverpool

Post by Jonttt »

Vixi

It really depends on the condition of your seats, useage and climate. The leather should be kept subtle to avoid "cracking".

I try to treat mine twice a year but mine had been neglected by previous owners.
Happiness is not around the corner........happiness is the corner
Image Video or Journal Garage: 2015 FFRR Black Edition, Porsche Boxster GTS, 1997 Porsche Carrara C4S, Ex 2001 BMW S54 Z3m Roadster
User avatar
Vixi
Joined: Thu 16 Jul, 2009 20:18
Posts: 45

  Z3 roadster 1.9i
Location: Swindon/Wilts/StGermans/Cornwall www.goldplating.org.uk
Contact:

Post by Vixi »

Jonttt wrote:Vixi

It really depends on the condition of your seats, useage and climate. The leather should be kept subtle to avoid "cracking".

I try to treat mine twice a year but mine had been neglected by previous owners.
ooo I may have been being a bit keen , been doing it once a week :oops:
User avatar
Jonttt
Z Register member
Joined: Sun 28 Dec, 2008 16:32
Posts: 6554

  M roadster S54
Location: Liverpool

Post by Jonttt »

:D I don't think you can do them too much......
Happiness is not around the corner........happiness is the corner
Image Video or Journal Garage: 2015 FFRR Black Edition, Porsche Boxster GTS, 1997 Porsche Carrara C4S, Ex 2001 BMW S54 Z3m Roadster
User avatar
Vixi
Joined: Thu 16 Jul, 2009 20:18
Posts: 45

  Z3 roadster 1.9i
Location: Swindon/Wilts/StGermans/Cornwall www.goldplating.org.uk
Contact:

Post by Vixi »

Jonttt wrote::D I don't think you can do them too much......
lol I like the smell :lol:
User avatar
Z3-man
Joined: Fri 09 Jul, 2010 10:57
Posts: 24

  Z3 roadster 2.8
Location: Tobermore

My leather

Post by Z3-man »

Hi, I was hoping to sometime get these products as the result is really astounding! I was wondering though, does anyone know the name of the red colour of the seats in z3s pre 2000, i.e pre-facelift models? Its the popular colour with the red bolsters and the red middle parts with red dots. lol
User avatar
Jonttt
Z Register member
Joined: Sun 28 Dec, 2008 16:32
Posts: 6554

  M roadster S54
Location: Liverpool

Post by Jonttt »

Non ///M interior colour codes are HERE
Happiness is not around the corner........happiness is the corner
Image Video or Journal Garage: 2015 FFRR Black Edition, Porsche Boxster GTS, 1997 Porsche Carrara C4S, Ex 2001 BMW S54 Z3m Roadster
Dakeyras
Joined: Mon 28 Jun, 2010 08:43
Posts: 58

  Z3 roadster 2.8
Location: Dublin

Post by Dakeyras »

wow, great job there Jonttt, and there goes another item on my to do list.
Ballie
Joined: Tue 16 Jan, 2007 19:03
Posts: 137

  M roadster S50
Location: walsall

Post by Ballie »

Jonttt,

Sorry to bring up this old topic, but was just wondering how the seats are still looking after 2+ years of wear and tear? Did the product do the job?

Regards,

Ballie
Image Proud to be British!
User avatar
Jonttt
Z Register member
Joined: Sun 28 Dec, 2008 16:32
Posts: 6554

  M roadster S54
Location: Liverpool

Post by Jonttt »

I wish I knew, I sold the car and the new owner didn't join the forum :head:

The german stuff has great reviews on the German forums though so I would expect it to last as well if not better than any other product out there and the colour match really is perfect stright out of the bottle.
Happiness is not around the corner........happiness is the corner
Image Video or Journal Garage: 2015 FFRR Black Edition, Porsche Boxster GTS, 1997 Porsche Carrara C4S, Ex 2001 BMW S54 Z3m Roadster
Ballie
Joined: Tue 16 Jan, 2007 19:03
Posts: 137

  M roadster S50
Location: walsall

Post by Ballie »

Cheers anyway,

Excellent write up and find.
Image Proud to be British!
User avatar
Ian_C
Joined: Sun 10 Dec, 2006 20:10
Posts: 2415

  Z3 roadster 2.8
Location: Lytham St Annes

Post by Ian_C »

I've had the Imola coloured product on my seats for approx 12 months now, still going strong :thumb:
Current...1998 ///M Coupe
Image
Previously...1997 Z3 2.8
Image
User avatar
baretto
Joined: Sat 16 Aug, 2008 17:45
Posts: 110

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Post by baretto »

I ordered some beige oregon colour restorer and it finally arrived today, however the colour restorer is actually blue! I am assuming that the colour restorer should be the same colour as the leather and not blue?
User avatar
baretto
Joined: Sat 16 Aug, 2008 17:45
Posts: 110

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Post by baretto »

I contacted the supplier and they told me to give the bottle a good shake for 5 minutes and the colour is now beige.
So if anyone buys this stuff and it looks blue, just make sure you give the bottle a good shake!
User avatar
Sorcerors Apprentice
Joined: Thu 26 Aug, 2010 21:53
Posts: 272

  Other roadster

Post by Sorcerors Apprentice »

I stop shaking mine when it goes blue.
Image
Lazeodoom
Joined: Fri 17 Aug, 2007 15:57
Posts: 262

  Z3 roadster 1.9
Location: Birmingham

Post by Lazeodoom »

This has reminded me to sort out my own seats which I assumed were beyond saving! Having seen the results above I can see my own seats being renewed to what seems to be perfection!
Post Reply