Shoe polish

[Jack Stands]

The leather on my new to me 84 Targa is a dark brown color and is showing it's age. Has anyone had any luck simply using some shoe polish on the interior panels to freshen them up? I tried it on the rear parcel shelf (as there is not any contact with that area) and it seemed to work well and certainly improved the looks after a bit of buffing with a shoe brush.

Thanks for any advice!

[911SauCy]

It would probably work quite well...and also get on your clothes in some capacity or another.

There are many fine products for leather conditioning. Search threads on detailing

[tirwin]

I wouldn't use polish as it is likely to come off as 911SauCy said. There could try a leather dye. Try it in an inconspicuous spot first.

[HawgRyder]

"Tana" makes a good wipe on product.
I changed a motorcycle seat from brown to black and it lasted for a decade and still looked good (sun,rain, and all).
Bob

[Bob Kontak]

I am with all of these guys.

People swear by Leatherique and Colorplus. More for Leatherique.

I find these dying products to be remarkable in how effective they are. My gut feel is that the manufacturer is not that important.

If Hawgrider sat/squirmed his rear on a color changed seat for ten years without issue, try the Tana.

Nix the shoe polish, though. You also jam wax down into the pores which may be an issue for later dying.

Follow the directions on the dye. Tough to screw it up.

[john walker's workshop]

kiwi with the sponge applicator. dries qiuck and doesn't get on your clothes.

[CCM911]

A buddy of mine did his M3 seats with shoe polish, and it worked fine. He swears that it never came off. And he always wears khaki pants, so it would have been obvious had it rubbed onto his clothing.

Originally Posted by john walker's workshop

kiwi with the sponge applicator. dries qiuck and doesn't get on your clothes.

[kshafer1]

Note that this isn't shoe polish which has wax and is probably not a good idea for your seats, however you can find this leather dye in the same rack with the shoe polish.

[jeffbottman]

SEM Color Coat spray is what you need. Find it at pro auto body supply outlets, or on line. Available in a wide range of standard colors. I redid my interior and the stuff looks great and wears like iron. Shoe polish is for shoes, not Porsches.

[Jack Stands]

I'm really thinking of the inner door panels and rear seating side panels. Seems to me that leather is leather and should respond the same to the polish. The panels have what appears to be some water spotting on them from some water leaks, so I just wanted to make those a bit less noticeable. It did seem to work pretty nice on the rear parcel shelf.

[Uncle Enzo]

Used to use it on old M3 black seats. It's was great and since I don't wear white jeans anymore I never had any issues.

[Tidybuoy]

I've never tried shoe polish on seats. However, I have used it on leather steering wheels and it works great. You need to buff long enough to remove any residue but after that, I never got any polish on my hands - I would think the same for seats.

Certainly, we don't ever worry about shoes touching us and staining. Only immediately after polishing would that be a problem.