Hard leather...can I make it supple again?

[fliphkd778]

Is there a way to make my 16 yr. old seats not so hard?

[SoCal Driver]

Wife has something that works on her. Give me a minute to find out what it is.

[Mark944na86]

Originally posted by SoCal Driver
Wife has something that works on her. Give me a minute to find out what it is.

What's the bet we never hear from this guy again!

-Mark

[speedracing944]

A good leather conditioner which is uses in the horse world to soften up saddles is called Neatsfoot Oil. It may darken light colored leather until the oil soaks up but WOW the stuff works great. The best thing is it is not made by Porsche so it only costs $2 for a 8 oz bottle from a saddle shop or Farm and Fleet. I use it on my boots, seats, jackets, gloves, steering wheel cover and shift boot.
It works well on 1/4" thick saddle leather... it works better on seats.

Speedy

[VINMAN]

Speeds right, Neatsfoot is the best stuff to use. Way better than all those high price conditioners that they sell.

[Dan in Pasadena]

fliphkd778 - Check out Leaatherique.com. That stuff is suposedly awesome. I've not used it, but I referred a local guy to it and he used it and raved about it. He "restored" the totally dry ass red leather seats from a Targa and then used the Leatherique dye to put them back to stock red. He claimed they looked as good as news.

Oh and also, on their site it says you slather this stuff on the seats that extracts old body oils, dirt and contaminants after closing up the car in the sun for a few hours...well he did that and said the amonut of pure crap that came out of the leather was disgusting. Totall worth it he
said, Hope it works for you.

[Mark944na86]

I also noticed that www.leatherique.com sells a product for dash crack repair. Looks interesting -- anyone tried this?

-Mark

[SoCal Driver]

So that's why the wife wants to stop by the feed store when we are out in the country visiting her parents.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I used leatherique on my 951 seats, greatly softened them up, minimized the appearence of the surface "cracks", and brought back a lot of color. Highly recomended, best stuff I've tried.

[btsave]

Cheaper and very effective alternative is BABY OIL.
Have used it for years on older restorations and it works great.
Use excessive amounts, try not to get it on the carpets or plastic. Work it in with a terry cloth or your hands and let it sit overnight.
Wipe dry the next day.
Do this over a few days or weekends and then repeat when you wash the car routinely.
Also helps to restore th look of the fin in the rear.

Bart

[fliphkd778]

the leatherique stuff sounds pretty promising. I will have to see if I can't get some..

[Dan in Pasadena]

I've not used Leatherique, but I am curious about it. Matt, did you have any tears or severe cracks in your upholstery? I have some seams coming apart and two very small holes in the middle of the seat on my NA. I wonder if it is worth it to try to repair those problems and then Leatherigue them, or just recover?

[bryanthompson]

Bart, I'm going to give the baby oil on the fin tomorrow morning. thanks for the tip

[rucool]

After spending a fortune on car grade leather treatment I have found
my household moisturiser works the best and smells ok as well.
If you think about it leather is only thick skin, you would not rub
overpriced car grade products on your body!
Another tip is to cover the seat with plastic lunch wrap after applying
large amounts of any leather product for a few days, remove and then
buff with an old towel. this works great
Regarding saddle treatment , a lot of thease products contain animinal
fats and can be a smell issue within the closed enviorment of a car,
not to saythat they dont work well but smell and horses go togther.
soft seats
Russell

[btsave]

Originally posted by bryanthompson
Bart, I'm going to give the baby oil on the fin tomorrow morning. thanks for the tip

Any time

[mike944]

I can vouch for the leatherique leather softener. Works great!

Their dye, well.........that's another story. That stuff sucks. It doesn't penetrate, and it comes off. A solvent-based dye should soak-in and work better than the water-based dye that is really just "leather paint"

[Mark944na86]

Originally posted by btsave
Cheaper and very effective alternative is BABY OIL.

The only potential problem with baby oil on leather is that it is mineral based, and may accelerate breakdown of the fibres in the leather. Just something to consider.

-Mark

[btsave]

Good point about the fiber breakdown, but I've been doing it for years without any problem on some of my oldest cars... Actually, I would think that fiber breakdown is what makes the leather softer. Much like what the chemicals they use to tan the hide originally.