Dying Seats now with Magic Mender

[john_eckels]

I dye'd my seats a few weeks ago with Leatherique. If you read my previous thread, the dye that I applied was for the Lexus LS, not the LX and it was a bit too yellow. After receiving some flack from my wife and co-workers I decided to re-do the job. This time I decided to use Magic Mender, http://www.leatherrepairkits.com/ . They have actual color charts by make and model on their website. This took the guesswork out of color selection. Most importantly, their dye fully cures in 24 hours, and they claim that you can put your item to use in as little as 1 hour after application, compared to Leatherique requiring your item to remain untouched for a full 48 hours. I could not afford to let my LX sit around for 2 days this time around. Upon receiving my order, foam brushes and a styrofoam tray are included with the order. See first photo. I tried the foam brushes on my armrest and I did not care for the way the product went on. It did not auto level very well over a large area. I think Leatherique is a little better in terms of leveling out. In terms of price, Magic Mender is 1/2 the price of Leatherique. $20 for an 8 oz bottle VS $40. Leatherique is a little thicker and can be thinned. In the end it took 9 oz of Magic Mender vs 7 oz of Leatherique for the same job. I put the foam brush aside, and got out my spray gun. If you dont have a spray rig, you can get spray bombs a Napa and other places that sell paint.

I originally intended to apply the Magic Mender directly over the Leatherique. I thought that would be OK since they are both water based. I tried this on the armrest and after the second coat, the Leatherique started to blister and lift. OMG, (fowl language omitted) I now have to strip everything. I got a bucket of hot water and used one one of the foam brushes and started wetting down the seats. After sitting for a minute or two, a brushing with synthetic 0000 steel wool would literally rip off the leatherique dye. See Photo 2. I tried rubbing alchohol and it took the leatherique off like a hot knife thorugh butter. This was a very nasty job and I highly recommend getting the correct color the first time around.

Photo 3 shows the seats fully stripped and prepped for round 2 of dye applicaton. Some crack filler was aplied to highly worn areas.

Continued

 

[john_eckels]

Three light coats were applied with the spray gun. Image 1 shows after the first coat. Image 2 shows the seat dry after the third coat. In a few weeks I will report back to see how the dye holds up.

 

[Bat Masterson]

Thanks for posting this information. I also bought Magic Mender and is sitting in the box waiting for the weather to warm up and me finding time to do it.

As much detail as possible would be great--I will follow your instructions (if it worked out successfully of course)...good luck. Looks good so far!

Dave

 

[jamisobe]

If that doesn't work try: http://colorbondtuner.com/

Colorbond is what Ford uses from the factory. The website sells it in rattle cans. I used it a few months back and it still looks great. The wife thought I bought new skins when she saw them finished.

 

[e9999]

if you havent' already, you may want to say something in the leatherique thread if you would no longer recommend to go that way?


the stripped seats look very good though. Were they this nice before you started the Leatherique job?

 

[Bruneti]

Couple questions for you:

1. If you had plenty of time, and all things were equal (correct color match, price, etc) which product was the best to work with and gave the best results? Leatherique or Magic Mender?? I may do this over the summer and postpone new leather seatcovers.

2. Could you use the Magic Mender product to level and blend a few flakes out of the leather on a steering wheel, and then go over the whole thing with the correct color of spray dye? Maybe then add a clear coat for more durability?

 

[john_eckels]

if you havent' already, you may want to say something in the leatherique thread if you would no longer recommend to go that way?


the stripped seats look very good though. Were they this nice before you started the Leatherique job?

I have nothing against Leatherique. They have great service. The only problem I had was with the color. The only interior color code I could get from Lexus was oak, the color of the dash. The parts manager told me that the seats were ivory. Lexus has three different shades of ivory, which I discovered from the Magic Mender site. The LX uses only one of the shades. I tried to be fair and netural in my write-up. I do see two advantages of Magic Mender, on-line OEM color charts, and a much quicker cure time. In terms of long term durability, I don't have the answer

 

[john_eckels]

Couple questions for you:

1. If you had plenty of time, and all things were equal (correct color match, price, etc) which product was the best to work with and gave the best results? Leatherique or Magic Mender?? I may do this over the summer and postpone new leather seatcovers.

2. Could you use the Magic Mender product to level and blend a few flakes out of the leather on a steering wheel, and then go over the whole thing with the correct color of spray dye? Maybe then add a clear coat for more durability?

1. If you brush, Leatherique it seems to self level better. Krysti, the owner of Leatherique recommends brushing over spraying.
If you spray, Magic Mender. It seemed to spray a little smoother. I exchanged emails with Cindee Nelson, the owner of Magic Mender and she recommends spraying large areas and the foam brush for touch-up. If you are looking at cost, Magic Mender has an advantage.

2. Never use the color to fill. You want a razor thin layer of color. You can probably use crack filler, like I did on a couple places on my seats. I would recommend consulting either company about the best solution. They have a lot more experience than I do.

 

[Bruneti]

2. Never use the color to fill. You want a razor thin layer of color. You can probably use crack filler, like I did on a couple places on my seats. I would recommend consulting either company about the best solution. They have a lot more experience than I do.

Oops. I thought "Magic Mender" was their crack filler and not the dye. My bad. It probably wouldn't hold up on a steering wheel anyway, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask.

 

[airlaird]

How does the Crack filler work?

So how does the crack filler work...is it a putty or is it just the dye?
airlaird

 

[turbocruiser]

if you havent' already, you may want to say something in the leatherique thread if you would no longer recommend to go that way?


the stripped seats look very good though. Were they this nice before you started the Leatherique job?

Again there's absolutely nothing wrong with Leatherique as long as you send a sample to match ... trying to match things with the codes (particularly when there are two different colors for LX vs FJ) is really really really hard. Leatherique is THE choice for everything from the Ferrari Club to the Mercedes Club to the Porsche Club, etc. Anyways, John has certainly had an aggravating attempt at matching but again sending in some headrests would have had this right all along.

 

[djradiorick]

does anybody know if the leather hole repair kit that comes with magic mender is of any use? I have two holes I need to fix.

the headrest is probably a hole that i cant fix because it has grown too large, but would anybody know how much it would cost at a leather repair shop...without having them dye the color, I could do that.

the white stuff is just duct tape residue from when i used duct tape to hold the seams together.

 

[john_eckels]

Contact Cindee@MagicMender.com for your holes. They look very fixable to me. For the headrest, get a new one. I have seen them for $25 on ebay. If you cant find one, try cruiserparts.net

Too bad you missed this one
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Toyo...9QQihZ011QQcategoryZ40017QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[john_eckels]

Here is a 3 month update as promised. As a whole, the stuff has held up very well. The only problem I have encountered is with the infamous crease on the side bolster which I think every seat has. I filled it before the application, but I think I need to cover a larger area. I think adjusting the round knob which losens and tightens the side bolsters has contributed to the cracking. The leather is weak in the area of the crease and I think there is more movement than the color allows. BTW, the Leatherique did the same thing in that spot. Finally when it gets HOT and the sun shines on the seats for a few hours, the Magic Mender gets a little soft and rubbery. After sitting on the seats for about 20 minutes, my clothing tends to stick to them. I find this mildly annoying. When my Coolinite Carnuba wax arrives, I am going to try an applying some to the drivers seat to see if that helps.

 

[AK SloPok]

Thanks for posting this, I have some "wear" on my seats and its good to know there are a couple of possible solutions other than new covers or seats.

 

[rtarh2o]

I know this is an old post but need to do my seats and wondering how this is holding up for you?

 

[bhmmapping]

I think John has been banished, so he won't be able to respond

 

[Bat Masterson]

You may want to ask MaineMike. I dyed my front driver's seat last year. Turned out pretty well except for one open crack that had a failed patch.

Dave

 

[rtarh2o]

Anyone else done this? Just wondering how it holds up. I bought a car a couple years that the seat had been repaired (they disclosed that when I bought it) only took about 3 months for it start coming apart again. It wasn't bad but if it doesn't last long it isn't worth the trouble.