This was one of those winter projects whose scope kept creeping up as time went and confidence grew. It started as a front leather seat cleaning project, quickly expanded to full leather restoration and coloring project, engulfing the back seat as well, followed by the fuel sender maintenance, roof lining tuck and patch. Had to stich the rear bench as the seams have separated in the sun - placed a patch on that to cover it up (somewhat)....

Finally, the project moved on to the ugly gear shifter console - and quickly expanded on to the ashtray, climate control wood cover, custom shifter knob and custom radio surround plate.

We're finally there - thanks to a lot of you for helpful suggestions and guidance - as always, much appreciated.

Including some pics of before and after;

Attached Thumbnails

         

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1987 Mercedes 300SDL; SOLD
1985 Mercedes 300D; SOLD
2006 Honda Pilot - wife's ride; 122K;
1995 Toyota Land Cruiser - 3X locked; 182K

Very nice work! Is that honduras mahogany on the wood trim pieces?

Thanks - that's Zebra wood veneer (flitch type) from Constantine's...

__________________
1987 Mercedes 300SDL; SOLD
1985 Mercedes 300D; SOLD
2006 Honda Pilot - wife's ride; 122K;
1995 Toyota Land Cruiser - 3X locked; 182K

Nice work.
What dye did you use for the seats?
Was it expensive?
Who did you get it from?

Wow that wood is really nice. How much did it cost to do?

Did you use Leatherique? I've just ordered a complete kit of their chemicals to try and restore my jumpseat (560SL). If so, any hints/caveats to pass along regarding Leatherique? BTW, outstanding job!

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1986 560SL
2002 Toyota Camry
1993 Lexus

I think Leatherique is great stuff. I redid the upholstery in my SEC with that. If you send than a color sample and pay a little bit extra, they'll send you an exact match if you redying, too.

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

Thanks all - despite the long time that it took to do it I really enjoyed it.

I ordered the Leatherique kit right from their website - I think the kit cost me a little over $120 dollars. The wood veneer for the console was less than $25 from Constantines - the most expensive was the time invested in the project.

I had some questions about using Leatherique one my seats since all of the leather had a consistency and feel of a cardboard - I was really worried about it. George and others promptly answered my questions so I went ahead and purchased the kit with Cleaner, Conditioner and Dye (standard MB blue that comes with their kit).

In retrospect, George was right: the main thing is to focus on re-conditioning the leather - and it takes time and patience to do it. Follow the directions. I used fine sand paper (400 grit) to gently remove the old dye before conditioning - I think I got good penetration of the conditioner deep into the leather by light sanding first. The armrest was so warn and so dry that I thought it would never soften up but it did... after several applications and nearly a month of cleaning, applying and re-applying. The back bench was split and so dry rotted that it was splitting apart - that too rejuvenated in time (over 1 month though). The heat and time are very important for leather conditioning - since I was doing it in the middle of winter I was using space heater to keep the work area (spare bedroom) very warm.

The thing that was disappointing was the crack-filler - don't count on it working wonders for ya especially on any cracks longer than a fingernail.... I had a big gash to fill in and it didn't turn out that great even though I inserted a piece of leather underneath. The crack filler is just too stiff when it dries and it's not strong enough to withstand the leather flexing and pulling on the seat cushion. The only place that it worked well was on the upright sections of the seat cushion where there is not a lot of flex.

Send me a PM if you have more questions.

Good luck and remember to take your time.

__________________
1987 Mercedes 300SDL; SOLD
1985 Mercedes 300D; SOLD
2006 Honda Pilot - wife's ride; 122K;
1995 Toyota Land Cruiser - 3X locked; 182K