A journey from Maine to San Diego and back during the hottest time of year in a heat wave in the Soutwest has resulted in a small split in leatherette on the bolester of my seat.

Any suggestions on repair?

What color is it? If it's black it would be easier to replace. If it's tan, no longer available, then I want to know too!

Black.

I'd refer a repair rather than replace. Got to keep it as original as possible. <grin>

I understand. Forgive me, I'm new to this CW thing & spent 16hrs this weekend cleaning my back trunk. Christ do I understand now . I'm never doing this again... it's murder.

That's what I said.

I understand Pat has "shrink-wrap" stretched across the trunk opening after he cleans his, to prevent dirt from filtering in. (It is pick on "Pat Week", right? <grin>)

BTW any thoughts on the repair problem....

James,
I've worked at an import car dealership for almost 29 years now and have seen innumerable vinyl upholstery repairs done by a variety of vendors. Most would involve placing a matching color "bandage" over the tear/cut/spilt and then heating said overlaying patch with a heat gun. The heat "melts" the patch, filling and bridging the gap left by the tear/cut/split. The very best repairs that I've seen have matched the vinyl perfectly but have always left a small, perceptable "bump" where the patch filled in the void where the rip had occured. There may be a repair system/restorer out there that can effect an undetectable repair, I'd like to see what is used and how it's done. I showed a number of vendors my sun damaged (cracked) dash top and all said that they could repair it, but that the repair, when completed, would be apparent.

Barring any valuable input from the Forum, maybe a high-end (M-B, Ferrari) upholsterer might be able to help. Let us know if and how you got it repaired.

Paul

I've heard of the "bandage" with heat gun approach, however have yet to locate a source of a DIY (if one is even available). You have any sources?

I've tested the cold patch method (basically color matched adhesive with embossing material to impart a finish typical of the original) on an old seat without much success.

The "perceptable bump" would be preferrable to to replacing the leatherette panel. It's a question on maintaining orginality (and
keeping the split from expanding) and restoration.

Picture please. I had a tear in my seat and Brad Mayeur called in a guy who did an almost imperceptible repair. I'll try to post pics before and after tonight. Dark brown seat.

Paul

Here you go. The black mark on the foam was my feeble attempt to hide the tear just prior to judging. <sigh>


Click to view attachment

Al,
You say that now, but just wait until your first event. It'll all be worth it. You may take a few months off, but will have seen areas to improve on, most of which simply require a little back breaking, knuckle busting, tetanus shot work.
Pat

Here's a "before" picture of my seat. It went through the backing a little bit. Now all I need do is take a picture of the "after!"

Paul

James,
I just finished talking with the vinyl/leather repair vendor who calls weekly at our dealership to do upholstery repairs on our used car trade-ins. As we talked, he finished up a leather tear fix on about a 10 year old Nissan Maxima........virtually undetectable.
Anyhow, I asked him about any commercially available product that you might be able to use to effect your repair. I was not surprised when he answered "No, not really", thinking that he was probably protecting his livelihood and market, though I told him it was for an acquaintance who lived out of town (yeah, sure he probably thought).
In his defense, however, you should see the back of the truck that he works out of. He has hundreds of bottles of upholstery dyes/colors and no doubt very many "patches" or "tapes" that he uses to bind the tear. He also has several different heating sources ranging from what looks like a hair dryer, to a sun lamp to a heat gun. BTW, he typically charges us, the dealer, $50-$100 to do nominal repairs on upholstery.
Finishing up our conversation, I asked him for suggestions on your account. He offered that your best course of action would be to contact a high end N/C dealer (M-B, Porsche, BMW, etc.) and see if they can arrange the repair for you or give you a contact that you can deal with directly. Our own vendor, BTW, does make "house calls" so maybe if you can find a source near you, the repair can be made under your watchful eye.
I"m sorry that I haven't been able to provide you with anything more concrete than this, but I hope it will give you some direction.

Paul