TheNoble

I was thinking about doing something about the leather paint on all the seats in my 2003 CLK320 and needed some info.

1. Called up a leather restoration company around me and they said we will re-dye the whole car for $200/seat. 4 seats = $800....

For that price I though well hell I can just re-dye myself so does anyone know any good brands that make leather dye and where I can get the exact color of my seats' dye?


2. For $800 I can just buy new seats for the whole car from OEM recycled part companies both local and nationwide so are all the w209 seats interchangeable?
If for example I wanted to put tan 2008 clk350 seats (all) into my 2003 CLK320 would it be possible?

Thanks ahead of time!

Yidney

What is wrong with your seats? I have experience with leather dye. My recommendation is do not do it. It just does not last. It comes off a bit every time you clean the seats, and just looks bad after a year. I will never even consider doing it ever again. I'd literally buy a different car before I'd dye the seats. Used seats - OK. New leather - OK. But don't consider dying them.

TheNoble

Nothing radical, but there is some white spots and discoloration here and there. I just want the interior to look...newer.

What about spot treatment? Dying just the small portions where I have the discoloration? Still suggest against it?

Yidney

What color, and is it the driver seat? It won't match perfectly. Have you tried cleaning?

Yidney

White spots??

TheNoble

I'd say mostly the driver seat but the same white-ish discoloration is everywhere.

That's what scares me, not matching. I would hate looking at different shades of black more than looking at aging leather paint.

I have tried cleaning, albeit not super intensively yet (too cold for me right now) but nothing seems to change it.

Ya, IDK how else to describe it. It's just white areas on the black leather. Very small in size and number but there. I'll see if I can get some pictures.

TheNoble

Hope this helps

kennywong1234

I would suggest you to wrap it with new leather, try to source any specialist can do this for you! goodluck!!

TheNoble

How much does that usually run? The way I see it, if it's more than a couple hundred dollars then it's not worth it. I just found two brand new tan leather seats in perfect condition for $300

kennywong1234

$300 is a great deal!! Yes the wrapping service is not cheap and if you can find a $300 seats then go for it!!

DanielFD

I strongly recommend against painting your leather! it totally ruined my leather in my car.. took my 2 hours of scrubbing because the previous owner found it easier to paint then to clean.. Just give your leather some generous scrubbing and leather conditioner. It should turn out just fine on most of your leather. but it looks like some parts of your leather will need replacing (mostly the front of the passenger seat.

TheNoble

The only reason I am hesitating is because I do not know yet if they have the rear seats too... I think it would look pretty odd the two front seats where tan and the back where black lol

Also not sure yet if MY2008 seats will work in my MY2003? Are all seats between w209 coupes interchangeable?

TheNoble

When I get a chance I'm going to give everything in the car a nice scrubbing down. I heard that using Tide with a paint brush and then a towel is really effective and will not corrode the leather as it is PH neutral. Any suggestions on what to use to get a nice deep clean?

Or should I just give it to an interior cleaning and detailing guy I know and get it done for $100-150

Also: what do you mean exactly by replacing parts of the leather??

DanielFD

I just use armorall leather Gel and give it a nice scrub with a microfiber towel. usually does the job right. I've seen a couple shops that replace parts of the leather seat. basically they take apart the leather from the seams on the seat. So instead of having to have full covers made, they just replaces worn leather patches. I hope i'm making sense.

TheNoble

Interesting, I actually have not heard of that being done! I'll ask around and see what that might run me. I'm afraid that, too, will be very expensive since some of these leather companies wanted $200 to re-dye

DanielFD

Agreed, I don't know if its cheap where you are. In general things like that are much cheaper in Lebanon. it would cost around 30-50$ to get something like that done. For example, having your steering wheel rewrapped is around 70$.

TheNoble

Turkey is the same way . Sometimes I feel like I should just wait for all these cosmetic issue build up and then just ship it to Turkey and get all my work done there and ship back maybe add in some upgrades too

Might be in Lebanon this summer, I should just bring the car

pskdude

maybe a vacuum too.

TheNoble

Touche

DanielFD

be sure to PM me if you do come this summer!

Fatz

The leather looks as if it is just dirty to me. Meaning there is "stuff" on the leather and has settled between the high texture parts of the leather.

I've used Meguiars spray leather cleaner/protectant for a long time. It's mostly general cleaning for my car but I've been able to rescue the leather seats of my wife's SUV (several times..... ) using it.

I really apply generous amounts (spray) on the seats and just let it sit for 15-20 minutes; then scrub in really hard with a microfiber towel. I use the spray rather than a paste so I don't clog the leather seating ventilation pores.

TheNoble

I'll try some of it out as I need to clean everything in the car anyway but I am fairly confident that the white spots are permanent damage to the paint of the leather. Actually just got some off Amazon so when the weather is not below freezing I'm gonna give the car a good interior clean

waveterrorist

my issues were salt related and i can tell you leatherique is the product to try

i recently got an oem seat cover for my AMG that was black/blue. i found a super high quality water based dye, followed the instructions and one would be hard pressed to tell it wasn't factory and appears so far to be indestructible.

TheNoble

Alright so the other day I had some time to spare in the morning and I had some TurtleWax leather protectant spray and I let it soak in for 10ish minutes and then wiped hard with a microfiber cloth and the whiteness just came off. There's a lot of deep cleaning I need to do but at least it's just dirt.

Moral of the story, your leather is probably dirty.

DanielFD

Congrats!