Woolies leather renovation stuff

[firedrake1942]

Ian, That is so useful. Mine look exactly like the underside of your seats, although the leather on top is in a different pattern without pockets. I have small tears on the outside corners of the lower seat sides which I need to repair before they spread and on the passenger seat a couple of the strips have small tears which I will repair again from the underside.

The seats in my June 57 look like they are a hangover from the Series 2 probably until they used them all up as they are the same shape with the curved back.

The foam on mine looks like it is disintegrating but I may try your trick of filling and maybe stabilising with some sort of spray glue.I now have considerably less terror and will wait for a good couple of days to do a trial run on the passenger seat first.

Many thanks again

Jon

[ian.mcdougall]

No problem just take your time,plenty of pics and stand back well pleased with yourself when its finished

[firedrake1942]

Ian et al. I have finally got around to doing the passenger seat. First hiccough was that the 1957 Dunlop foam was much more degraded than Ian's and had stuck to the metal seat plate. Having overcome that one I found that two of the welds on the frame had parted company - so off down to the local garage where a very nice man did an excellent and very neat job (Wish I had listened to my father who worked for British Oxygen and could weld anything!) I then spray painted the visible bits of the frame, gloss black.

I adopted Ian's method of stuffing the voids in the foam and this has left me with a beautiful firm seat. I have not touched the squab as frankly it did not need it.

The tears in the skirt and the seat itself mended beautifully with leather glue and patches behind. Then on to my terror, the use of Wooloies paint ,which looked much too pink. I am used to 60 years of faded red leather looking distinctly orange but with cloth and toothbrush they have come up a treat.

I wholeheartedly recommend the Woolies leather and vinyl stuff. As ever, preparation and cleaning are key, but the results speak for themselves.

You can see the difference between passenger and driver's seat. Now for driver's and rear seats..

Ian thanks for all the help and encouragement.

JM

[ian.mcdougall]

Your welcome.That's what this site is all about, getting help and advice that you can use and hopefully you can post something up that helps someone else,with some other problem.

[firedrake1942]

Now finished rear seat and driver's seat. Dunlopillow latex foam very perished but same (Ian's) method of stuffing worked well. So firm and comfy now. Tears in the skirt fixed with self adhesive leather tape on the backand are now invisible. Replaced some tacks and screws on the squab,

The rear seat looked okay before treatment but springs had been compressed, so re-orienting the metal frame made a great difference. The fabric attaching the cover to the frame had degraded as had the sewn string. Before replacing these ties, I managed to get a layer of 1" foam between the horsehair and the seat cover right across the seat. . Sewed back up again and dyed.Looks ace.

Piccies show the driver's seat destuffed and put back together after the steel frame painted and awaiting Woolies dye. Rear set half done for contrast

Again thanks to all for the support that made this transformation possible. I have scheduled in regular quarterly feeding of the leather to keep them as good as they look today.

[stevey]

Fantastic work! Was there an existing colour code for your red? Might have to invest in doing the same.

[firedrake1942]

Sorry missed this one. I don't think so, I think it is all done on the leather sample you give them take from somewhere unobtrusive. Matches are therefore bespoke. Well worth doing tho. I have sealed and fed the seats. Comfort and height are added bonuses. I am now toying with the inner rear wheel arch coverings. All these that I have seem seem to have dark marks (and in my case tears). It is almost as if the glue underneath has discoloured the vinyl. Woolies do a near match and I think I will recover. The problem is, that each time you improve or store something, a neighbouring bit starts to look grotty.....

[myoldjalopy]

I think there would have been a code. On my bottle of dye it says 'Antique Green' 27119. Have a look again Jon. It might help Stevey out, although sending a sample to colourmatch is simple enough.

[firedrake1942]

There is a code 'Red 29204' but my point was that this is a match or mix based on the sample I gave (That sounds wrong!). I think Stevey has a Series II and whilst the seats, from his car photo look similar, the red may not be a match, so sample may be the best way forward. It may of course be that I was given the nearest match to their paints as opposed to a bespoke mix, in which case it would probably be suitable for other older cars.

Either way, as you say sample is quick and easy and their return service is quite quick, within 7 days as I recall.

[stevey]