Scuffed/scraped leather seat repair - Grey Dakota in 2007 BMW 335i

[andrew b]

One of the only cosmetic flaws on my car, other than some mild swirls and RIDS, when I bought it as a CPO in June were some scuffs/worn color spots on the driver's side seat bolster.

I finally got around to fixing it. I used a bottle of Color Flex from Magic Mender. They have a great selection of color tints to match factory color codes, and you can buy either the entire kit with the repair compound and the Color Flex, or just the Color Flex itself. I didn't get the whole kit, since I have no tears or holes in my seats. (Note: I would have bought something from Autogeek, since they are my go-to place for detailing supplies, but I couldn't find anything to do what I needed)

The Color Flex is water-based and can be applied with a foam brush, or a cloth, or pretty much anything you'd use to apply paint or stain. I used a small foam brush. It goes on easily, and dries to the touch within about 10 minutes. According to the instructions, it cures in about 24 hours. This was consistent with what I experienced.

My grey color went on and appeared lighter before it dried, and after the second coat it is pretty much an exact match to my leather. You can see the edges if you are extremely close and know where to look, but part of that might also be the fact that my car has had 4 1/2 years to age.

I am quite pleased with the results, it was an easy fix, looks great, and didn't cost much. Here are some before/during/after photos:

What I got - the bottle of Color Flex and 3 foam brushes - $24.95 + 7.45 shipping.
http://photos.imageevent.com/j_andrew/335i/websize/IMG_1175_DPP_web.JPG


Seat damage: The color was worn off, along with most of the grain texture, but not much more than that. Note in the third picture, at the very top you can see where I put just a bit of the Color Flex on to test. It's just a dab, without blended edges.
http://photos.imageevent.com/j_andrew/335i/websize/IMG_1165_DPP_web.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/j_andrew/335i/websize/IMG_1169_DPP_web.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/j_andrew/335i/websize/IMG_1167_DPP_web.JPG


Immediately after the first coat - you can see it's still damp. because the Color Flex is water-based, it's easy to control and dries very thin.
http://photos.imageevent.com/j_andrew/335i/websize/IMG_1176_DPP_web.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/j_andrew/335i/websize/IMG_1179_DPP_web.JPG


And here it is after the second application, with a dry time of about an hour. Note that I turned on my work lights since I was doing some other detailing, and forgot to turn them off when I took the photos. The work lights are causing that orange-ish glow on the side of the seat. The color match is actually much better that it appears in the photo - the flash really emphasizes the difference (partly also due to the texture difference, as well, since the grain is worn off).
http://photos.imageevent.com/j_andrew/335i/websize/IMG_1195_DPP_web.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/j_andrew/335i/websize/IMG_1198_DPP_web.JPG


As I said, overall I'm very pleased with the result. I'd recommend the Color Flex if you need to cover worn or damaged spots, and I would personally get the full kit to try if I had to fix a tear or hole.
andrew b

[oldmodman]

What a find!

That stuff does a really great job. I think I'll get a bottle for my car since I have both scuffs and edge wear like yours.

Thanks!

[shoeless89]

That turned out amazing! I don't have leather seats but I have some friends that would love this!

Sent from my DROID Pro using Tapatalk

[Acer9103]

Where can I purchase that?

[Jons6.7]

WOW that turned out awesome. I think I will be ordering some to that for my 2 cars just for the wear spots that look like yours.

[slickooz]

Looks GREAT!! Going bookmark their page. Thanks!

[andrew b]

Where can I purchase that?


Here's the link to their main page (http://www.leatherrepairkits.com/). Auto colors are off on the left-hand menu under "Repair Kits and Color Charts". Organized by Make.

Update: after curing 24 hours, the couple places that looked like they didn't quite blend (can be seen towards the bottom in the photos) are pretty much invisible. Those spots were a bit larger and I think had more of the Color Flex on them.

The other thing to comment on is that the leather doesn't feel any different in those areas. I was worried the repair spots would be "hard", but the leather feels exactly like it does on similar non-worn spots.

[fredcandetail]

why didn't you clean those seats before repairing them ... smh

[Bunky]

Thanks!

[andrew b]

why didn't you clean those seats before repairing them ... smh

Yeah, nice catch. :)

I did clean them with DP interior cleaner, but didn't have a brush. In the light I had, they looked ok, then the photos showed the grime still stuck in the grain.

The areas to be treated were clean though, went over them multiple times with the DP, and then with IPA (per the instructions for the color flex).

Update - after three days, I can't even see the lines where the color flex is blended into the surrounding color. This stuff is pretty cool. And I think I've used about 4 ml...have enough left I could probably over an entire seat LOL.

[andrew b]

Yeah, nice catch. :)

I did clean them with DP interior cleaner, but didn't have a brush. In the light I had, they looked ok, then the photos showed the grime still stuck in the grain.

The areas to be treated were clean though, went over them multiple times with the DP, and then with IPA (per the instructions for the color flex).

Update - after three days, I can't even see the lines where the color flex is blended into the surrounding color. This stuff is pretty cool. And I think I've used about 4 ml...have enough left I could probably over an entire seat LOL.


So I looked at the photos again and it bugged me - surely my seats aren't *that* dirty.

Must have been the flash/light when I took the photos. In daylight the seats don't look like that at all (dirt-wise), although a couple places could use a good cleaning with a brush.

[slickooz]

You can use IPA on leather seats?

[andrew b]

You can use IPA on leather seats?

It's not really to clean, it's to remove any residue from cleaning or conditioning. Pretty much like an IPA wipedown after polishing. I don't think I'd make a practice of it, though.

The instructions tell you to clean the seats first, and then:


Preparation:
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!Open one of the alcohol pads (included with kit) and
wipe over the area that you are going to repair, just as if you were cleaning it.
If you are repairing a large area, you might need more alcohol than is supplied
with our kit. You can use common rubbing alcohol (70%Isopropyl alcohol) on
a lint free rag, a premium paper towel or blue shop towel. This
will make sure that there is no residue left from previous conditioners or cleaners.I didn't get the full kit, which includes the alcohol wipes, so I just used my normal IPA solution (20%).

Link to full instructions. (http://www.leatherrepairkits.com/Online_Repair_Instructions.pdf)