Hi! Second question for my dreamcar is changing the color of the existing leather upholstery, or re-upholstering alltogether. I would do more research on dyes, but my understanding is that there is an independent tanning process (if you need white leather, fewer options), and then it's drenched in aniline dyes, which coming from coal, are quite cheap. Then it's oiled, or waxed. So if going from a lighter to a darker color, say tan or blue to black, then it's a question of a strong solvent to strip off the oil/wax? Look for something meant to take the oil paint right off a century-old canvas? Then evenly wiping on the new dye, careful not to hit the rest of the interior, and re-oiling after the fact? Probably not actually something I would do, just because the plastic and (polyester?) floor mats, ceiling lining, etc, would not match any longer. More likely is if I got a wagon with cloth, I'd like to replace it with leather of a close color match. Maybe even have fun with bitone leather seats, while I'm going through the trouble! I wouldn't then be messing with restaining, and the risks of a blotchy uneven job (as per above). Has anyone done this? Probably not going to attempt anytime soon, but curious.... How many hours did you put into it? 40? 100? 200? $$ I can estimate looking at hides of various quality on ebay, and sizing up the square footage on the car, probably several hundred dollars in materials. -Bernard
A friend of mine just had his Jaguar XJ12 coupe done and it cost him about $6,000 to change the leather interior with new leather. That's not a bad price for value. I did a 1956 Porsche 356B with new pigskins back in 1967 myself on my mother's industrial Singer machine for under $300. Leather is a job for a shop that has lots of experience. You have to be able to identify the ability of the skins to get the stress on the skins just right or they will tear and wear faster.
Thanks! I also just ran into a thread, where someone recommended a shop in PA or DE that was doing leather work for about a thousand (probably, you get what you pay for-- and if it's a collector car a $6000 job will show. But I won't have a collector car for a while). -Bernard
Cheap source? Hi Bernard, I'm new here but wanted to contribute something for my first post. I came across this source, I can't vouch for the quality of the hides or the dye, but the pricing sounds attractive. Here's the link. Dial in your car model and get a quote. They also offer two tone covers as you mentioned that. For a mid 90's Caprice wagon it costs less than a thousand, so it's maybe worth looking into, getting samples or googling the newsgroups for buyer feedback and car club advice about them. http://leatherseats.com/ Cheers, Vic
No '72 Ford I tried plug in my 1972 Ford Gran Torino wagon but the model wasn't included in the list of cars for which they make seats. I should probably save the leather for a more collectible car, though.
