Leather seat bolsters faded and cracked- what to do?

**Chaseme** · 06-06-2007, 10:27 PM

My mom`s seat bolsters on her 2001 BMW 3 series are completely faded, cracked and have lost color.

So I decided to ask you gurrus what would be best to do to get the color back and recondition the leather.

So what do you guys suggest, or who can you guys suggest? We are located in St. Paul, MN, if you know someone that could fix this problem my parents and myself would deeply appreciate it.

Pic of seat bolster:

Up close:

Thanks in advance,

Chase

**todd@bsaw** · 06-06-2007, 10:50 PM

Once it gets that bad the only "recondition" option is to have it reupholstered.

Off the top of my head I don`t know of anywhere in the area but I could do some looking around for you and ask some friends.

**Chaseme** · 06-06-2007, 10:54 PM

I`d appreciate that Todd, thanks

Chase

**Mobilejay** · 06-06-2007, 10:56 PM

To get the color back you might try a leather cleaner. I have had good results with Z9 (Zaino`s leather cleaner) It might just be that dirty. As far as the bolster, I think you might need it re done, in that case dont worry about cleaning the leather

**Chaseme** · 06-06-2007, 10:59 PM

Could this probably have been avoided by using leather conditioner every once in awhile to begin with?

**Mobilejay** · 06-06-2007, 11:32 PM

Yeah more than likely. My girlfriends car has leather seats and everytime I wash it I use zainos leather conditioner, and their cleaner and conditioner every other wash or every 3 washes

**Chaseme** · 06-06-2007, 11:38 PM

Does Zainos leave an oily residue like Armor All?

**Mobilejay** · 06-06-2007, 11:51 PM

No, not at all and it smells delicious. There are a few other products that people like as well. Do a search for leather conditioners and see what people say and chose a product you think would work great for you.

**imported_steveo3002** · 06-07-2007, 08:11 AM

you either have the choice to pay to have new leather sewn in or re dye it...no leather conditioner will restore those cracks and damage (although id suggest you use on the good stuff )

heres my results that i had with a leathermagic kit...as you can see nearly all the bad stuff sanded out, no filler was used

before

after sanding

done

comparison shot next to my untouched passenger seat the pic shows some speckles , thats just my poor photo skills , the repair is almost undectable to the eye

i am very pleased with the results , its just what i wanted ! time to repair that bolster was around 2hrs (i already had the seat out):xyxthumbs

**klnyc** · 06-07-2007, 08:50 AM

Steveo,

What type of sand paper are you using on the leather? 4000grit?

**imported_steveo3002** · 06-07-2007, 09:21 AM

no you can be quiet rough with it....i sanded the worst with 180 and then stepped down to 240 and 320 , all done dry

you have to sand well to get all the cracked stuff off

**blucpe** · 06-14-2007, 06:49 PM

once you decide how to fix your problem, you might want to, please don`t take this wrong, learn how to get in the seat without constantly rubbing the bolster with your body. try sitting in the seat then putting your legs last. i have a vet, one of five i`ve owned and that`s how i`ve always gotten in them and i`ve never ever had a worn bolster. it`s the constant rubbing of your clothes against it that wears it out, of course it doesn`t hurt to clean and condition on a regular basis, hope this helps.

**NickelPlated.45** · 06-14-2007, 06:58 PM

Originally Posted by blucpe

once you decide how to fix your problem, you might want to, please don`t take this wrong, learn how to get in the seat without constantly rubbing the bolster with your body. try sitting in the seat then putting your legs last. i have a vet, one of five i`ve owned and that`s how i`ve always gotten in them and i`ve never ever had a worn bolster. it`s the constant rubbing of your clothes against it that wears it out, of course it doesn`t hurt to clean and condition on a regular basis, hope this helps.

That`s good advice. And yeah you should be able to repair and redye the bolster(yeah there`s a weird word). I`ve seen some pretty amazing turnarounds with leather seats.

**imported_SHICKS** · 06-14-2007, 07:12 PM

I have the same exact seats and year in black. Mine are a little faded, but I have been using zaino leather in a bottle for 3 years now and it has not gotten much worse over time. I think yours are pretty much toast, not much you can do. I would actually see if I could find a seat from a junk yard or from someone who has replaced theirs with something else on a BMW forum.

Steve

**Carl Johnson** · 06-14-2007, 07:57 PM

Originally Posted by blucpe

once you decide how to fix your problem, you might want to, please don`t take this wrong, learn how to get in the seat without constantly rubbing the bolster with your body. try sitting in the seat then putting your legs last. i have a vet, one of five i`ve owned and that`s how i`ve always gotten in them and i`ve never ever had a worn bolster. it`s the constant rubbing of your clothes against it that wears it out, of course it doesn`t hurt to clean and condition on a regular basis, hope this helps.

best advice ever, I know some people will give me weird looks when I get in my bimmer, but who cares, at least the day when I sell my car, the seats will still look brand new, which doesn`t hurt the resale value.