Yet another Leather seats thread

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S

SJWantsADiesel

10 Year
Joined
Jul 30, 2014
Threads
24
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194
Location
San Francisco, CA
Hi,

I bought a 2000 Land Cruiser with leather seats. The seats look, well, old. There is one rip on the driver side in the bottom part of the seat but other than that the leather mostly looks a bit worn and some in places what look like surface cracks.

So I searched for various options including earlier threads on this forum. I got a quote from a local leather repair/refurbishing shop as well. The options are:
- Refurbish/Repair existing leather - $600
- Get neoprene covers from Metric TLC - ~$1500
- Get leather replacement kit from RoadWire - $2500

I didn't check any cloth options because with kids, leather turns out to be easier to maintain (yes, we let kids eat in the car!!)

Haven't checked a local shop for replacement. I am thinking go with the cheapest option but the repair guy already said that depending on state of the leather a refurbishing may or may not last long. Any feedback/suggestions are most appreciated.

Thanks
 
If you're willing to DIY, check out the leather colorant kit from furnitureclinic.com. They are very well known in the BMW community and I used their products to restore the leather seats in my M3. Came out just like factory. Only problem is they don't have toyota colors in their database. I have to send them a swatch of the ivory leather and they will color match. It's on my list of to do's.

 
RND1 said:
If you're willing to DIY, check out the leather colorant kit from furnitureclinic. They are very well known in the BMW community and I used their products to restore the leather seats in my M3. Came out just like factory. Only problem is they don't have toyota colors in their database. I have to send them a swatch of the ivory leather and they will color match. It's on my list of to do's.
Click to expand...

Thanks, my DIY skills are pretty poor but let me check it out.

ElHefe said:
- Get neoprene covers from Metric TLC - ~$1500

^^ What is this?
Click to expand...

Sorry, Metric TLC is leather kit for ~$1600 (depending on your choices of course). The Neoprene stuff was another site, I think.
 
I live in Houston, got a local shop to completely redo drivers seat, both armrests and top of console for $750. Very happy!
 
RND1 said:
If you're willing to DIY, check out the leather colorant kit from furnitureclinic.com. They are very well known in the BMW community and I used their products to restore the leather seats in my M3. Came out just like factory. Only problem is they don't have toyota colors in their database. I have to send them a swatch of the ivory leather and they will color match. It's on my list of to do's.

Click to expand...


Any experience with this kit? Most of these types of repairs do not tend to last more than about a year before you must repaint the leather again.
 
Yes, with a black leather interior in my M3. It's held up excellent - the bolsters are very deep on that car unlike the LC and they typically wear very fast, but mine still look perfect 2 years after using the leather colorant kit. I'm going to use it for my LC, but haven't had the time to send them off a leather sample yet.

This kit is different than others I've seen in which the color coat is applied first and then followed by a clear coat. Much like an exterior paint finish, the clear provides a layer of protection for the color.
 
Another option not mentioned would be to recover those bottom seats in a high quality marine grade vinyl which would be a fraction of the cost of leather. Our 99 drivers seat bottom, center console, arm rest and passenger seat bottom were heavily worn with several small rips. New vinyl in those places an the interior look very much cream puff again. You would be hard pressed to find the difference between the vinyl and the leather at all. There is vinyl on the sides of the stock driver and passenger seats factory from
Lexus anyway.
I have redyed seats before but heavy wrinkles, sunburn, and rips cannot be redyed effectively.
I will take some pictures for you when my wife returns from vacation next week, I "think" that's the best route for you as it cost me less than 400$ to have a professional reupholster the damaged areas.
Obviously new leather is ideal but is rather have a clean alternative and save my money for other maintenance and service repairs.
 
Quick iphone pics vinyl and leather

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MetricTLC sells a drivers seat bottom leather cover only, about $300 delivered with installation tool/kit. Don't know firsthand anything about quality, fit, etc. - I ordered one a couple weeks ago but not sure when it will ship. You can do a search on MetricTLC on Mud to get some more background on them.

My drivers seat bottom has started a rip also. Evidently pretty common, because MetricTLC sells just the drivers seat bottom cover for people like me who just want to replace the leather to prevent further damage caused by growing rip. (I gave up on having a new-looking vehicle a lonnnng time ago.)
 
Colorplus and owner Joanne.... maybe $150, and they have Toyota colors. And in case you aren't satisfied with their Toyota colors, she has a custom match that is spot on.
 
^^ Yea they opened the distribution center on Long Island about a year ago I believe. When I ordered my colorant kit, I had to order from England. I'm going to send my swatch to NY to see what they come back with. Let us know if you decide to try them?
 
99RichieLx470 said:
Another option not mentioned would be to recover those bottom seats in a high quality marine grade vinyl which would be a fraction of the cost of leather. Our 99 drivers seat bottom, center console, arm rest and passenger seat bottom were heavily worn with several small rips. New vinyl in those places an the interior look very much cream puff again. You would be hard pressed to find the difference between the vinyl and the leather at all. There is vinyl on the sides of the stock driver and passenger seats factory from
Lexus anyway.
I have redyed seats before but heavy wrinkles, sunburn, and rips cannot be redyed effectively.
I will take some pictures for you when my wife returns from vacation next week, I "think" that's the best route for you as it cost me less than 400$ to have a professional reupholster the damaged areas.
Obviously new leather is ideal but is rather have a clean alternative and save my money for other maintenance and service repairs.
Click to expand...
dasgeek said:
Pictures please...

How long ago did you have the seats redone? How are they holding up compaired to the factory seats?
Click to expand...
dasgeek said:
Pictures please...

How long ago did you have the seats redone? How are they holding up compaired to the factory seats?
Click to expand...
dasgeek, did you ever get ahold of the upholstery shop ninja used in Houston ?
 
dasgeek said:
Pictures please...

How long ago did you have the seats redone? How are they holding up compaired to the factory seats?
Click to expand...
99RichieLx470 said:
Quick iphone pics vinyl and leather
Click to expand...
99Richie, looks good, I also have tried the dye program before ... where did you go for the "marine grade vinyl" ?
 
Usually most upholstery shops have different grades of vinyl. Stuff that is used to recover boats hold up better with water and sun exposure but plain ole vinyl will also work just fine. I have died leather before on a BMW I owned not on a lx470. It's ok. I prefer a recover myself. New stitching and piping always looks best to me but to each there own.
I had to redye every single seat in the bmw because while the color was pretty darn close it was not close enough for me. The guy who upholstered my seats was pushing for leather but I knew what I wanted and what I needed to pay and my wife doesn't know its vinyl, just the entire forum. Good luck in your decision seat were recovered 10k miles ago 6mo.
 
Has anyone used Magic Mender or Leather World Technologies to repair their cracked leather seats? I am also considering Leather Clinic, so thank you for the opinions on that.
 
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