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  1. #1

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    How do I treat dried out leather?

    I have a 2011 Toyota Camry which I bought in 2013. When I purchased it, the leather had been neglected and was drying out and the problem is only getting worse. I haven`t known what to do to fix the problem, and I`m finally getting around to posting about this.


    The leather seems to have developed "scales" that are flaking off. The problem appears on the driver`s headrest as well as the top of the driver`s seat.


    Here are my questions:

    1.What step(s) should I take to fix this?

    2. What product(s) should I use?

    Thanks in advance,


    Jonathan




    Headrest Closeup:






    Headrest 2:





    Top of Seat (Hard to see):

    Last edited by GearHead_1; 01-18-2015 at 09:58 AM.

  2. #2
    Mike The Guz's Avatar
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    Re: How do I treat dried out leather?

    Take a look at this write up from Vega. It should help.

    Leatherique Interior Detail
    Competition Ready Team 1929 Bentley
    1999 Silvermist Metallic Pontiac Grand Prix GT
    2002 Arctic White Chevy Camaro SS
    Likes Ronkh, jkrueger2020 liked this post

  3. #3
    tom p.'s Avatar
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    Re: How do I treat dried out leather?

    Yes, Leatherique + proper application = answer you seek.
    Cars: bringing people together
    Likes jkrueger2020 liked this post

  4. #4

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    Re: How do I treat dried out leather?

    Thanks! I`ve purchased some Leatherique and will give it a try. Is it a problem to use it now given that we are headed into winter? I thought I had heard that you should do this when it`s warm outside so the leather soaks up more conditioner. Or does it not matter given how bad mine is?

  5. #5
    tropicsteve's Avatar
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    Re: How do I treat dried out leather?

    do you know if your leather is coated from the factory? many newer car leathers are coated and it looks like the coating is wearing away. not sure if one of the new leather coating systems can help if that is what it is.

  6. #6
    tom p.'s Avatar
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    Re: How do I treat dried out leather?

    Jon, you`ll get max absorption with heat. You might consider putting a small heater in the car and then covering the seats with a plastic (cleaners style) bag and permit the stuff to dwell for a number of hours. I`d also suggest wearing gloves when using the product.

    Steve is correct....it does look like the clearcoat on the leather is fading away. I don`t know if the Leatherique process will make that worse. You could contact the owner (George) of Leatherique and ask him for a recommendation so you don`t make things worse.
    Cars: bringing people together

  7. #7

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    Re: How do I treat dried out leather?

    Sorry but my opinion is that "leather" is shot, if in fact it`s a leather at all. If it`s a used vehicle bought from a dealer it may have been re-sprayed and it`s always done in a cheap manner to just make it look good for a re-sale.

    When you clean it does the color transfer to towel? Thats a good sign it has been re-sprayed.

    Anthony
    "The Art & Science of Auto Detail"

  8. #8
    Swanicyouth's Avatar
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    Re: How do I treat dried out leather?

    Quote Originally Posted by Anthony O. View Post
    Sorry but my opinion is that "leather" is shot, if in fact it`s a leather at all. If it`s a used vehicle bought from a dealer it may have been re-sprayed and it`s always done in a cheap manner to just make it look good for a re-sale.

    When you clean it does the color transfer to towel? Thats a good sign it has been re-sprayed.

    Anthony
    I agree. It looks like the urethane protective "clear coat" topping the leather is flaking off is the source of your scales. Just like when clear coat starts failing on paint, there is nothing that can be done to remedy it but to remove it and re-apply. No detailing products in a bottle can fix that.

  9. #9

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    Re: How do I treat dried out leather?

    Do you know what product I would need to get to re-coat the clear coat after removing the old stuff?

  10. #10

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    Re: How do I treat dried out leather?

    Quote Originally Posted by jkrueger2020 View Post
    Do you know what product I would need to get to re-coat the clear coat after removing the old stuff?
    You don`t. Buy seat covers
    "The Art & Science of Auto Detail"

  11. #11

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    Re: How do I treat dried out leather?

    Quote Originally Posted by Anthony O. View Post
    You don`t. Buy seat covers
    That stinks. The car is only 4 years old. It shouldn`t be like this. I don`t want to use seat covers - makes me want to trade the car in.

  12. #12
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    Re: How do I treat dried out leather?

    You can have the leather re-coated by a professional; which is certainly a cheaper alternative to trading in the car or replacing the factory leather. Or, you can re-coat it yourself.

    This involves removing the seats from the vehicle. Coloring leather isn`t difficult, the difficulty is getting the sheen / color to match. However, if your doing the whole seat - matching panels on the leather shouldn`t be a big issue.

    You can get everything you need to recolor the seats for probably ~ $150 or less. It really just takes time and patience. Another benefit is that you will have extra color correct dye for future touch ups.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  13. #13

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    Re: How do I treat dried out leather?

    Quote Originally Posted by Swanicyouth View Post
    You can have the leather re-coated by a professional; which is certainly a cheaper alternative to trading in the car or replacing the factory leather. Or, you can re-coat it yourself.

    This involves removing the seats from the vehicle. Coloring leather isn`t difficult, the difficulty is getting the sheen / color to match.

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    The color isn`t coming off. I think it`s just the clear coat. So I shouldn`t have to die it, should I?

    Can anyone recommend a good leather clear coat product I can purchase to re-coat it with?

  14. #14
    Swanicyouth's Avatar
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    Re: How do I treat dried out leather?

    Quote Originally Posted by jkrueger2020 View Post
    The color isn`t coming off. I think it`s just the clear coat. So I shouldn`t have to die it, should I?

    Can anyone recommend a good leather clear coat product I can purchase to re-coat it with?
    The problem will be to just remove the clear coat completely without scuffing or disturbing the color coat. It`s like if you burn the clear coat on your paint - and you just want to add more clear coat to fix the problem.

    Leather clear coat is (poly)urethane based and is "harder" than the color coat. It`s meant to be a protective barrier for the softer color coat.

    While it`s probably technically possible, it`s quite difficult to completely remove a single layer of the top coat without disturbing the lower layer (color coat).

    To the best of my knowledge, there is no chemical capable of doing this. Usually when refinishing leather, you "scuff" or abrade the previous coating to an extant that the new coating will bond. The color coat will not survive this step in mint condition.

  15. #15
    Pay Attention Boy... RTexasF's Avatar
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    Re: How do I treat dried out leather?

    Give it up.......pay to have it done by a professional and that`s all she wrote.

 

 
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