Vinyl repair

[OVERKILL]

I have three vehicles with "leather" interior; one actually has real leather (the M5) the other two have the domestic "pleather" material.

Now, the M5 is haunted by the ghosts of 15 dead cows; the seats are a thick heavy leather that appears to wear like iron. That car isn't my concern, the seats are beautiful.

The Charger, our newest acquisition, has the "Daytona" seats in it, which are "leather" buckets with suede inserts. Of course the bolsters aren't real leather but a vinyl that skirts the suede (which probably isn't real suede....) and this doesn't seem to respond well to sliding in and out.

For the record, the Expedition has "leather" seats as well, though I think the seating surface and bolsters are actually leather (the sides are vinyl) but it is very thin, like on my old Town Car and has subsequently cracked on the drivers left-side bolster, but whoopdie doo, it has close to 300,000Km on it, it is allowed to crack, LOL!

But back to the Charger. So I noticed today that the bolster is cracking. It is obviously vinyl and a few small "chunks" have come off, exposing the stitching underneath. As disappointing as this is at this relatively low mileage (120,000Km, just a spring chicken) it obviously needs to be addressed. I BELIEVE I saw an advert for vinyl repair from the dealer I use (convenient....

) but does anybody have any experience with this type of service? How well does it hold up?

Thanks!

 

[KGMtech]

My wife's 2009 Ford Flex has creme leather, the drivers seat at the outermost side is vinyl and started cracking 3 years ago. I tried one of the repair kits, the type that requires use of a iron but it only lasted 2 months. The section of cracked vinyl has now grown to be 6 inches long.

I know the cracked section will have to be replaced, remove seat, remove cover, remove stitching, replace with same colour & texture. Not looking forward to this

Don't waste your money to try to repair that section, it will not work...and if my experience is typical the crack will start in the same area pretty soon.

 

[3800Series]

Iv always used leather cleaners and conditioners. I typically give them a good hand scrubbing once a year.

From past experience once leather starts to harden its pretty much gone.

Also I would put a towel on my driver seats. After years I started noticing my jeans where wearing out the seats.

I really enjoy the feel of leather seats and how easy it is to clean them (for the most part). But with the heat we get here in Mississippi leather really isn't a option. The seats just get way to hot.

 

[Planb]

I recommend a nice new boneyard seat. Might find a great condition one.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Leather interior is definitely high maintenance. It definitely has to be regularly conditioned from day one to stay in new-like condition I've noticed. Kind've like our own skin,preventative care keeps it from future damage.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Leather interior is definitely high maintenance. It definitely has to be regularly conditioned from day one to stay in new-like condition I've noticed. Kind've like our own skin,preventative care keeps it from future damage.


Except the part that has cracked isn't real leather...

The real leather has help up well on the other two vehicles.

 

[mrsilv04]

That fake material that Chrysler refers to as "leather" is a complete joke. It has been horrible for years now.

I've seen several that have been repaired at the Chrysler dealer. I can't imagine that it will last.

I would take a clear adhesive like VLP, and just try to re-bond the exposed edges of the fake leather back to the mesh backing.. to keep it from getting worse.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
That fake material that Chrysler refers to as "leather" is a complete joke. It has been horrible for years now.



Unfortunately it would appear that you are spot-on with your analysis sir

 

[Lyman]

In the past I have taken seats with wear like that to an auto upholstery shop and had the worn part replaced with matching material. Cost me under $200 for the job and had to leave the car for two days. Very reasonable IMHO. I did have to shop around quite a bit to find a shop that was up to my standards. I ended up using a shop that does custom high end jobs and dealer repairs.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Blkstanger
In the past I have taken seats with wear like that to an auto upholstery shop and had the worn part replaced with matching material. Cost me under $200 for the job and had to leave the car for two days. Very reasonable IMHO. I did have to shop around quite a bit to find a shop that was up to my standards. I ended up using a shop that does custom high end jobs.


Thanks for the advice! I'd love to just swap in a set of BMW seats, LOL

But that'd probably be some form of automotive sacrilege and several times the price of just fixing this seat

I'll see what we've got for shops of that type in the area. I've never had to look for one before so I don't know what's available.

 

[Garak]

I mentioned in one of the general topic threads the company Fibrenew. I don't know if they have outfits in Ontario, but they do fantastic work.

 

[cjcride]

The vinyl sides will keep cracking in other spots I bet. Reupholster the seats might be best.

 

[CBR.worm]

One of my cars has vinyl sides on the front seats, and they are starting to do the same thing. The first crack that appeared I glued the vinyl back down to the fabric. Ultimately I will need to get it fixed. Unfortunately, my interior is a dark brown and black combination which is not common and is apparently hard to match.

I'll be interested to know your outcome.