ChiTownE63S

After 40k miles my designo white leather needed some healing. Decided to buy some dye and fix it myself... Came out really good.

before and after..

mj_39

Wow! Good job

ChiTownE63S

Thanks.. was surprisingly much easier than expected

E6376

What product did you use and how did you do it?

FastWgn

That came out EXCELLENT!
This was really the first time for you to do this?

Echo thoughts on product and work done etc.

HPMan

Looks great. Please share details on what product you used and how you did it. Thx.

PeterUbers

Nice!! Hope that new paint holds up ... often re-paint jobs don't for some reason

ChiTownE63S

Below are tools and steps I took.
I am not affiliated with seat doctor, they are just the ones that I found with custom vin matched dye and helped walk me through the process and gave me tips along the way.

Tools:
Dye from https://www.seatdoctors.com/diy-leather-dye
Cosmetic foam wedges
Simple green cleaner
Scotch Brite non scratch pads
Hair dryer to help with dry times between coats
Blue painters tape

Step 1:
Clean area with simple green
Lightly use scotch Brite non scratch pad to clean out the cracks and remove any peeling leather
Be careful not to over do it.
Take a clean water soaked towel to wipe clean the area. Do this a few times, then let dry

Step 2:
Tape off area with blue tape
I did the whole lower bolster to make sure the color matched evenly

Step 3:
Shake the dye really well before using
Take a cosmetic foam wedge and drip a few drops onto it and begin the dye process
I used a dabbing technique as it helps with applying evenly without leaving streaks.
Once I put one even light coat I used a hair dryer to quicken the process. It should dry to the touch.

I did this about 4 times and found it very nice and even dye.

Seat doctor told me to use a slightly moist cloth to buff the area 2 days after.

No cleaning chemicals till about 2 weeks after being dyed

I also plan on using carpro ceramic leather protection, which seat doctor told me it will be safe to use on the dyed area after 2 weeks.

ChiTownE63S

I hope so too... I was told it should last at least 2 years or more depending on how it wears. I am really careful at getting in and out of my car. But I was the 2nd owner the damage was done before I bought the car.

ChiTownE63S

Yup 1st time doing anything like this. Only time will tell how it holds up. I will try to do a review of it after a month to show how it's looking.