leather damaged by seat heaters repair

[oldcarguy85]

Hey all,

Sorry if this has been asked before. I just bought a VW gti (2000 GLX) and the leather has been burnt up a bit by the seat heaters.



The area where teh heating elements are is hard and rough. I`ve wet sanded a small area, and it makes it a bit better, but i didnt want to go too far without seeing what the professional opinion is. I might be able to post a picture later if necessary.



What should i do?





Thanks,

Jordan

[David Fermani]

Would love to see some pictures to see how bad it is? Sounds like a safety issue to me?



Welcome to Autopia btw!

[oldcarguy85]

Would love to see some pictures to see how bad it is? Sounds like a safety issue to me?



Welcome to Autopia btw!



i`ll see what i can do about pics. Im not too concerned about the safety -- even if it`s a problem i jstu won`t use them, i jsut wnat the leather to look better. The car has 156k miles on it, so maybe the previous owner just used teh heaters a lot.

[Roger Koh]

i`ll see what i can do about pics.





The better the pictures (good quality); the better is the help!



Roger Koh

info@leatherdoctor.com

[oldcarguy85]

hi all -- sorry for the really late reply with pictures. Let me know what you think.

http://www.jordancary.com/car_pics/leather1.JPG

http://www.jordancary.com/car_pics/leather2.JPG

http://www.jordancary.com/car_pics/leather3.JPG

[wascallyrabbit]

that isn`t going to be a simple repair. likely that you have to redo the seat. roger koh will be the man to guide you through the repair.

[careboy]

Welcome to here.

http://www.primeaffiliate.com/track/images/20.creation.jpg

[oldcarguy85]

any ideas? Should i continue wet sanding?

[wascallyrabbit]

contact Roger Koh <info@leatherdoctor.org>

[Roger Koh]

any ideas? Should i continue wet sanding?



Leather Rough:

It’s Ok to remove the finish roughness.



Recommendation:

I would only recommend not lower than 800grit. Try not to sand into the leather grains; the deeper it goes the rougher it will be. Leave the final sanding to in between color coating and/ or topcoating.



Leather Hard:

The heat has caused the original fatliquor to evaporate as VOC (volatile organic compound). It is the diminishing fatliquor that cause the leather fibrils to shrink and/or becomes stick together. The condition of the hard and stiff leather when put to use with weight and stress with flexes it will begin to crack. It is recommended sit it over a cushion to spread out the stress to avoid coarse creases that will lead to cracks.



Recommendation:

The leather hardness could be relaxed with hydration to return to the original softness – thereafter fatliquor it to hold the leather with softness, suppleness and strength when dry for use.



Leather Refinishing:

The general structure of refinishing is as follows; with options that matches your desired result.

1] Wet Prep

2] Dry Prep

3] Adhesion Coating

4] Color Coating

5] TopCoating

6] Non-Stick Rub Resistant Protection



Roger Koh

info@leatherdoctor.com

[gtpaul]

What ever you choose to do, make sure that you have that seat heater disconnected or fixed...

[zaweashton]

That`s done pretty bad, You should get the heater checked... for the leather the only way is t get it replaced I think.