We recently received some great photos from our customer Richard who had used Colorbond Leather Vinyl & Plastic Refinisher to bring the seats in his 20 year-old Range Rover back to life. Colorbond is a popular car seat refinisher manufactured in the USA which we have recently started selling in the UK. It won’t crack, peel or flake and can be colour matched to the interior of your model of car. In Richard’s case he used ‘jRange Cover P38’ to restore the cream coloured seats in his two-decades-old car.
Richard’s feedback shows great results can be achieved with this product, but also that preparation is the key to getting a good finish!
“As you can see by the pictures below it was in a very shabby state to start with but the finish is amazing. The car is 20 yrs old and has done 247,000 miles so the interior has had a long hard life. I purposely wanted to leave some of the wrinkles in keeping with its age. I used a water-based degreaser first to remove the grime and grease, this was applied with a plant spray bottle and I worked it with a nylon rotary scrubbing brush fitted in my battery drill.
I constantly wiped the excess off with a clean wet cloth rinsing it constantly. I was very robust with the rotary brush to ensure all grease was removed. I then cleaned the leather with clean water and cloth to ensure all the detergent and filth were removed. Then I dried the leather completely with a paint stripper hot air gun.”
BEFORE PHOTOS…
“Then using a cork block and 320-grade sandpaper I sanded the leather down. I then used a leather filler to fill all the cracks I didn’t want showing. Once this had dried I sanded the leather for the last time to smooth the filler and key the original surface so to give the leather paint something to grip too. This is very important because If you don’t key the leather the paint will peel so do not rush this part.
I then used a Henry hoover and a clean paintbrush to remove all the dust. Finally, I masked everything up and sprayed the leather with the paint applying it in two light coats first before applying the final topcoat. It’s important to allow each coat to dry completely before applying the next coat. The pictures show the finish below and it’s amazing. I restored the seats, steering wheel, hand brake, gear lever, centre consul, door panels inc armrests and the seat armrests.”
Richard says he was delighted with the product and the results it produced, but that preparation and patience is the key!
“I highly recommend this product but do not attempt this if you have no patience and remember the paint is perfect to use but the finish you get is entirely dependant on the preparation you put in, if you take short cuts you will have problems with paint cracking or peeling trust me I know I did just that. I left the upholstery untouched for two weeks to ensure it was fully cured then I applied a leather conditioner and so far all is well and I’m over the moon with the finish.
It’s a win/win for Richard…
Thank you Richard for your brilliant feedback, photos and advice, you are this month’s winner of a £50 voucher! If you’d like your project to be considered for a prize, send us photos or video to social@plastidip.co.uk