BeemerFanatic
Events Organiser
Wow great job on the side mirrors, you wanna wrap mine for me?
-
Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
135i N54 Manual Project
- Thread starter PDBoosted
- Start date
BeemerFanatic
Events Organiser
PDBoosted said:
Great thanks , gonna diy my wheels after the lock down.
As you might have seen the car has the Coral red interior which isn't to everyone's taste but I love it!
The seats aren't in the best condition. Very dirty and dry. So next on my list was to see if I can bring some life back into them.
Both the drivers and passenger seat were in a bad state:
But using a number of techniques and some TLC I think they look much better now:
Some comparison shots for you to see the difference:
I think the interior looks pretty good now:
The seats aren't in the best condition. Very dirty and dry. So next on my list was to see if I can bring some life back into them.
Both the drivers and passenger seat were in a bad state:
But using a number of techniques and some TLC I think they look much better now:
Some comparison shots for you to see the difference:
I think the interior looks pretty good now:
Red Interiors FTW.PDBoosted said:As you might have seen the car has the Coral red interior which isn't to everyone's taste but I love it!
The seats aren't in the best condition. Very dirty and dry. So next on my list was to see if I can bring some life back into them.
Both the drivers and passenger seat were in a bad state:
But using a number of techniques and some TLC I think they look much better now:
Some comparison shots for you to see the difference:
I think the interior looks pretty good now:
What a turn around. I agree with GaV techniques please.
Sent from my SM-N975F using Tapatalk
AshG108
///Member
Dude,
You sure your mirrors are wrapped, thats a stellar job on them and the seats....what in the world have you done to get them back to that?
Judging by your pics, I think I know where you stay so to get info out of you will be possible if you dont share! HA HA HA!!
Really man, great job!
You sure your mirrors are wrapped, thats a stellar job on them and the seats....what in the world have you done to get them back to that?
Judging by your pics, I think I know where you stay so to get info out of you will be possible if you dont share! HA HA HA!!
Really man, great job!
cOlDFuSiOn
New member
Wow how did you restore those seats?? Looks mint! 
gavsadler said:
Thanks Gav
I will write up what I did below. Results are great and its easy enough for anyone to give a try.FiRi@Rennzport said:Red Interiors FTW.PDBoosted said:As you might have seen the car has the Coral red interior which isn't to everyone's taste but I love it!
The seats aren't in the best condition. Very dirty and dry. So next on my list was to see if I can bring some life back into them.
Both the drivers and passenger seat were in a bad state:
But using a number of techniques and some TLC I think they look much better now:
Some comparison shots for you to see the difference:
I think the interior looks pretty good now:
What a turn around. I agree with GaV techniques please.
Sent from my SM-N975F using Tapatalk
Red interiors FTW indeed!
I will write up something below on the process I followed
Rick_29 said:
Thanks bro! Yeah as soon as this lockdown is lifted man we will make a plan!
cOlDFuSiOn said:Wow how did you restore those seats?? Looks mint!
Thanks bud! Just a little TLC - See below I will write something up.
AdiS said:cOlDFuSiOn said:Wow how did you restore those seats?? Looks mint!
My guess is a redye.
Looks good.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Almost! But not exactly
AshG108
///Member
PDBoosted said:AshG108 said:
Hahah thanks man - the mirrors aren't absolutely perfect. There are some air bubbles here and there and maybe a wrinkle but looks pretty good to me
Really you know where I live? You must live close bu then? I'm happy to share my tricks on the forum
ha ha ha maybe i do, maybe i dont ha ha ha!
Nah just pulling your leg...but definitely would love to see this car in the flesh. its coming along so well bud!
AshG108 said:PDBoosted said:AshG108 said:
Hahah thanks man - the mirrors aren't absolutely perfect. There are some air bubbles here and there and maybe a wrinkle but looks pretty good to me
Really you know where I live? You must live close bu then? I'm happy to share my tricks on the forum
ha ha ha maybe i do, maybe i dont ha ha ha!
Nah just pulling your leg...but definitely would love to see this car in the flesh. its coming along so well bud!
Hahahha you got me!
If there are any events happening I will be happy to attend after lockdown. All I can think about at the moment is driving this thing!
Benji said:
Sup Benji! Don't know if you remember me - Varsity friend of Rick and Kyle. Kyle told me he found you on the forum and you have a few BMW projects.
Thanks for the compliments. I'm going to do a write up now...
Ok so a couple of you guys have been asking to share my tricks for refreshing the leather interior of my car.
It really isn't rocket science and I'm sure you guys could try it at home and get similar results. This was my first attempt and I basically had nothing better to do and decided I had nothing to loose - If I messed it up I was going to take it to the professionals.
Disclaimer: I am no professional and will not be held liable if you mess yours up using my technique
Step 1:
You want to clean the seats as best you can before anything else, or you are going to permanently embed the dirt into your seats.
I first used some general cleaner. The stuff I had was that F1 Multi purpose cleaner in a aerosol can (I know I got conned into buying the stuff and a garage one day). It doesn't do much but it smells pretty good so I though I'd try that first. At best it makes the interior smell pretty good and got rid of some of the dirt on the seats.
Next was a bit of a home remedy (I mean we are in lockdown and had to improvise). I made a solution of:
1. Hot water
2. Vinegar
3. Clean green
4. Dove soap
Using a clean micro fiber clothe I wiped the seats down good. This method worked pretty well in taking off that unnatural shine on the seats.
Finally, I found a 50:50 solution of clean green and water worked the best. Spray the solution onto the seats, agitate with a cloth, wipe off with a clean cloth.
The seats are now ready for the restoration.
Step 2:
Ok so this is where the risks are taken and you need to be careful.
What you will need:
1. Colour neutral micro fiber cloth.
2. Spray paint that closely matches the colour of your leather seats
3. Lacquer thinners
All paint is basically the same thing. Its pigment mixed with some other ingredients to get it to apply nicely and dry evenly. Now the best method would be to get the right dye for the exact colour of your seats but this is a cheap DIY first attempt during lockdown done with what I could find at home.
What you then need to do is spray a bit of the spray paint onto the micro fiber cloth. Then fold the cloth over and pour some thinners onto the cloth to get it wet.
Now rub down the damaged sections of the seat lightly, section by section. The thinners will bring up some of the pigment from the leather and mix with the paint on the cloth and even out the texture on the seats.
You can do this over 3 or 4 times till the results don't improve.
Remember the thinners takes out some of the natural oils in the leather so avoid overly "wetting" the leather with thinners.
Once you are happy with the results. Let the seats dry over night in a well ventilated area. (I left the car windows open in my garage).
Step 3:
Once the leather has dried its time to replace some of the natural oils and to seal the seats up to protect them from further damage from use, dirt and sun.
What I did was to use some leather cream. Again all I had was a Shield leather care product but will hopefully get something better after lockdown.
What I did was over the next 3 or 4 days I applied some of the leather care to a clean micro fiber and rubbed it into the seats until it felt reasonably dry. I did this everyday for 3 or 4 days. This process puts some of the oils back into the leather to make sure it stays nice and soft, as well as adds a layer of protection against the elements.
I hope this helps some people. I know its a lot of reading and unfortunately I didn't take any pictures during the process but hit me up if you have any questions.
I know its not a professional job but the results speaks for them-self!
It really isn't rocket science and I'm sure you guys could try it at home and get similar results. This was my first attempt and I basically had nothing better to do and decided I had nothing to loose - If I messed it up I was going to take it to the professionals.
Disclaimer: I am no professional and will not be held liable if you mess yours up using my technique
Step 1:
You want to clean the seats as best you can before anything else, or you are going to permanently embed the dirt into your seats.
I first used some general cleaner. The stuff I had was that F1 Multi purpose cleaner in a aerosol can (I know I got conned into buying the stuff and a garage one day). It doesn't do much but it smells pretty good so I though I'd try that first. At best it makes the interior smell pretty good and got rid of some of the dirt on the seats.
Next was a bit of a home remedy (I mean we are in lockdown and had to improvise). I made a solution of:
1. Hot water
2. Vinegar
3. Clean green
4. Dove soap
Using a clean micro fiber clothe I wiped the seats down good. This method worked pretty well in taking off that unnatural shine on the seats.
Finally, I found a 50:50 solution of clean green and water worked the best. Spray the solution onto the seats, agitate with a cloth, wipe off with a clean cloth.
The seats are now ready for the restoration.
Step 2:
Ok so this is where the risks are taken and you need to be careful.
What you will need:
1. Colour neutral micro fiber cloth.
2. Spray paint that closely matches the colour of your leather seats
3. Lacquer thinners
All paint is basically the same thing. Its pigment mixed with some other ingredients to get it to apply nicely and dry evenly. Now the best method would be to get the right dye for the exact colour of your seats but this is a cheap DIY first attempt during lockdown done with what I could find at home.
What you then need to do is spray a bit of the spray paint onto the micro fiber cloth. Then fold the cloth over and pour some thinners onto the cloth to get it wet.
Now rub down the damaged sections of the seat lightly, section by section. The thinners will bring up some of the pigment from the leather and mix with the paint on the cloth and even out the texture on the seats.
You can do this over 3 or 4 times till the results don't improve.
Remember the thinners takes out some of the natural oils in the leather so avoid overly "wetting" the leather with thinners.
Once you are happy with the results. Let the seats dry over night in a well ventilated area. (I left the car windows open in my garage).
Step 3:
Once the leather has dried its time to replace some of the natural oils and to seal the seats up to protect them from further damage from use, dirt and sun.
What I did was to use some leather cream. Again all I had was a Shield leather care product but will hopefully get something better after lockdown.
What I did was over the next 3 or 4 days I applied some of the leather care to a clean micro fiber and rubbed it into the seats until it felt reasonably dry. I did this everyday for 3 or 4 days. This process puts some of the oils back into the leather to make sure it stays nice and soft, as well as adds a layer of protection against the elements.
I hope this helps some people. I know its a lot of reading and unfortunately I didn't take any pictures during the process but hit me up if you have any questions.
I know its not a professional job but the results speaks for them-self!
