Help! I think my seat is ruined

[patholland]

'99 C2 Cabriolet... :oops:

So my buddy had a semi-wet bathing suit on when we went to lunch yesterday, leaving the top down in the heat for a while. When I got in the car last night, I found the car in its current condition.

Most of the bottom cushion leather has hardened, and the cushion has "bloated." Is the seat cushioned ruined? Is the anything that can be done to save it?

Think this may be covered under my comprehensive coverage?

Thanks.

Patrick

[zebswiss]

Try this:

Go to tractor Supply, buy some Lexol leather conditioner (Brown bottle $10 or less for big bottle)

Go to Wal-Mart and buy some Cloth diapers.

Thoroughly soak the diaper with Lexol, Wipe (soak) the seat with the Lexol then drape the very wet diaper over the leather, put a plastic garbage bag over the Lexol soaked diaper and then a folded bath towel over the plastic bag to weight it down. Let it soak overnight or longer. take it off and let it "dry". Then gently buff the residue off with a nice soft cotton towel.

It may not get it back to factory condition, but it should help a lot. Let me know how it goes. -Zeb

[patholland]

Well... It's on there. I really hope that it works. I will keep you posted.

Thanks for the help.

[Chuck Jones]

Zebs suggestion may be something that might work. When I bought my 87 930 factory slant...it had sat in a hot garage covered for a year or so and the leather seats were pretty hard.....I went to a custom leather upholstery shop and the fellow showed me a headrest he took of a T-bird from a werecking yard. It was hard, cracked, and looked like it was done in. He used Dr. Jackson's Hide Rejuvenator (Tandy Leather Factory) on half of it and left the other half as is. The half with the Dr. Jackson's was restored....couldn't believe the difference unless I had seen it myself. Cracks and rough finish was gone...

The process is much like Zeb describes....put it on, cover it with plastic and let it heat up and allow the leather to soak up the rejuvenator. It took me three weeks of application, cover it, wipe it off, re-apply, and the car seats are like new. Doesn't make the leather smell bad either. I now use it on all the leather in the TT, Lexus, and 930....but then you'll find that everyone has their own particular favorite. NOT FOR SUEDE OR ALCANTRA!

[zebswiss]

Patrick,

Any luck? I am afraid your leather might be beyond help b/c when you take wet leather and dry it fast and hot it actually burns rather than just drying out... but it's worth the try.

Chuck, I've used Dr. Jackson's too and really liked it. I just don't live near a Tandy anymore....

I've actually been making my own leather conditioner that works nicely.

I use real bees wax(from a farm), melt it in a double boiler, add cocoa butter, coconut oil(mineral oil if you can't find coconut), aloe vera gel.

Mix is around 70% coconut oil, 25% bees wax, 5% the rest. It may sound oily, but the bees wax makes a cream that penetrates and leaves a nice waxy protection that can be buffed to a nice lustre and won't stain clothes. Smells great too.

Having said that, I also really like Meguire's Cream conditioner, but I won't use it on Perforated seats b/c the white residue builds up.

Have a great day all and good luck to Patrick, Please let us know how your seats come out Patrick. Zeb

Edited August 13, 2008 by zebswiss

[patholland]

I have attached some pictures. Thankfully the leather has softened and returned to its original shape. However, the texture is rough and it looks pretty bad compared to the undamaged side.

Damaged

Undamaged

I am still continuing to condition it daily and letting it settle overnight. I've been using the Lexol, but I have some Dr. Jacksons ordered.

Thanks for your advice.

Patrick

[patholland]

I'll take some better pictures... camera phone stinks