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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > BMW E90/E92/E93 3-series General Forums > General E90 Sedan / E91 Wagon / E92 Coupe / E93 Cabrio > Seat Leather Restoration?



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      06-28-2024, 08:30 PM   #1
MyPocketsHurt
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Seat Leather Restoration?

Hi guys.

My front driver seat cushion on my E90 has seen better days. Looking for some help on either cleaning / restoring or buying new cushions or full seat.

I have attached the picture of the “damage”. I’m honestly not sure if it’s just a lot of wear or oil/grease marks that won’t come out.

I detailed my full car and used Pol Star 5:1 to try and clean it and didn’t make a dent in the scratching looking parts.

What do you guys think this is? Scratch? Wear and fading? Can this be detailed or restored?
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      06-28-2024, 09:25 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MyPocketsHurt View Post
Hi guys.

My front driver seat cushion on my E90 has seen better days. Looking for some help on either cleaning / restoring or buying new cushions or full seat.

I have attached the picture of the “damage”. I’m honestly not sure if it’s just a lot of wear or oil/grease marks that won’t come out.

I detailed my full car and used Pol Star 5:1 to try and clean it and didn’t make a dent in the scratching looking parts.

What do you guys think this is? Scratch? Wear and fading? Can this be detailed or restored?

I bought a kit here for my 1 series convertible. Worked great. I did all front and rear seats. Just make sure you pick the right color you have.

https://autoleatherdye.com/collectio...nd-repair-kits
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      06-28-2024, 09:35 PM   #3
MyPocketsHurt
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I’m curious if these kits will be able to restore these wear areas where the leather is very worn down and dull though. I am also thinking of redoing to Saddle Brown if that’s the route I am going to have to go.
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      06-29-2024, 09:10 AM   #4
eljay
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You have some scratches and cleaning will not repair those.
That said, start with Leatherique kit. You will be impressed.

Which reminds me that I want to do my interior again.
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      06-29-2024, 09:11 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MyPocketsHurt View Post
I’m curious if these kits will be able to restore these wear areas where the leather is very worn down and dull though. I am also thinking of redoing to Saddle Brown if that’s the route I am going to have to go.
Yes!
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      06-29-2024, 10:44 AM   #6
Runnin'Rich
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You can buy a passenger seat cushion off eBay and swap it on to your drivers seat.

You’d be surprised how much more supportive fresh foam(upholstery) feels on your drivers seat.

The leather colour kits will dye the scratches so they are less visible - they work really well
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      06-29-2024, 04:42 PM   #7
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+1 on Leatherique, you can get the set of small bottles they sell to try it out and is plenty for the entire car. It won't get rid of those marks completely, but it should soften and even out the color so it's less noticeable. I've had this happen from the studs on the back of jeans.
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      06-29-2024, 05:48 PM   #8
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I have used Leatherique and Chemical Guys quick detailer on my former E46 and they did a good job. I have a kit from Leather Repair that I'll use on my drivers seat and door card because of discoloring and I'll report back on the results.
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      06-29-2024, 06:08 PM   #9
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Is oyster the color? I have the same if you do. It looks cleanable to me. They have leather brushes that will help remove the dirt and grim with whatever product you use.
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      06-29-2024, 07:11 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eljay View Post
Yes!
Okay awesome that’s mostly what I was worried about like re dying leather etc but scratching still remaining underneath?
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      06-29-2024, 07:13 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Runnin'Rich View Post
You can buy a passenger seat cushion off eBay and swap it on to your drivers seat.

You’d be surprised how much more supportive fresh foam(upholstery) feels on your drivers seat.

The leather colour kits will dye the scratches so they are less visible - they work really well
Sadly I looked on eBay and the options out there aren’t much better in my current colour. I could buy a different colour and Re-Dye it though, might be hard to get white. I am thinking of reducing everything to saddle brown anyways so might be worth it.
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      06-29-2024, 07:14 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by autoart View Post
Is oyster the color? I have the same if you do. It looks cleanable to me. They have leather brushes that will help remove the dirt and grim with whatever product you use.
Yes it’s Oyster. I tried to clean it I used Pop Star 5:1 and went over about 5 times. Unfortunately don’t think it’s any dirt or grime just scratches from pants or something.
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      06-29-2024, 07:17 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tcphoto View Post
I have used Leatherique and Chemical Guys quick detailer on my former E46 and they did a good job. I have a kit from Leather Repair that I'll use on my drivers seat and door card because of discoloring and I'll report back on the results.
Quote:
Originally Posted by autoart View Post
Is oyster the color? I have the same if you do. It looks cleanable to me. They have leather brushes that will help remove the dirt and grim with whatever product you use.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cal122 View Post
+1 on Leatherique, you can get the set of small bottles they sell to try it out and is plenty for the entire car. It won't get rid of those marks completely, but it should soften and even out the color so it's less noticeable. I've had this happen from the studs on the back of jeans.
Thanks, I’m thinking of re dying to saddle brown. Do they have a kit for a complete redye process?
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      06-29-2024, 07:42 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MyPocketsHurt View Post
Okay awesome that’s mostly what I was worried about like re dying leather etc but scratching still remaining underneath?
Yes, scratching means thst physical material on the leather has been removed. To fix it, you have add some back.
But, I would just do a Leatherique treatment and evaluate.
Re-dying one seat bottom is not advisable as it will look different than the rest of the seats and will drive you nuts more than a couple of scratches. At least, it would drive me nuts.
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      06-29-2024, 08:37 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eljay View Post
Yes, scratching means thst physical material on the leather has been removed. To fix it, you have add some back.
But, I would just do a Leatherique treatment and evaluate.
Re-dying one seat bottom is not advisable as it will look different than the rest of the seats and will drive you nuts more than a couple of scratches. At least, it would drive me nuts.
Yeah that’s what I’m thinking but I was thinking of redying the entire interior saddle brown so I’m debating between trying to fix it up as best I can with leatherique or do a full re dye.
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      06-30-2024, 06:19 PM   #16
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Filing it in with oyster is a lot less work, but I get the impression you would rather have saddle brown.
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      06-30-2024, 09:22 PM   #17
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I cleaned my beige seats with a simple plastic nail brush and some AutoGlym leather cleaner. I would scrub a section vigoursly for a few mins and then wipe the grime away that was lifted into the foam with a micro fibre cloth. The easiest technique was to use the nail brush like a knuckle duster.
This enabled me to get all the grime out of the little gaps in the print.
Even scratches returned to the same colour as the rest of the seat and were much less noticeable.
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      07-01-2024, 02:04 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by autoart View Post
Filing it in with oyster is a lot less work, but I get the impression you would rather have saddle brown.
Yeah lol I know it is I just feel like it would be pointless to dye it oyster and then saddle brown later on instead of just doing saddle the first time
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      07-01-2024, 02:52 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Runnin'Rich View Post
I cleaned my beige seats with a simple plastic nail brush and some AutoGlym leather cleaner. I would scrub a section vigoursly for a few mins and then wipe the grime away that was lifted into the foam with a micro fibre cloth. The easiest technique was to use the nail brush like a knuckle duster.
This enabled me to get all the grime out of the little gaps in the print.
Even scratches returned to the same colour as the rest of the seat and were much less noticeable.
Nail brush?
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