Tidying up scuffed leather

[moonstone]

I'm going to have a go at my drivers seat bolster this weekend. I've got a Colourlock kit in the right colour but I've applied it before and it hasn't lasted. I'm going to use a heat gun this time (as recommended) but I wad wondering if anyone else had any experience and could offer any tips or tricks? I'm thinking I'll try to lightly abraid the the surface this time before I apply it, by using very fine sandpaper or a magic sponge or something.

Any info for whats worked well for others in the past would be much appreciated.

 

[boba fett]

The Colourlock stuff is ok, but I find its not long lasting 5 to 6 months if you are lucky, but I used another brand which came as an Audi kit (not for my TT but for previous RS's I've had) they call it Onyx black if I recall. I will look in the garage tomorrow and get the name of it. Its much better!

I kid you not I used it to redye a mates steering that was shot and worn and it came out really well and a year later its still going strong and you cant get much high traffic than that.

Trick is to clean and dry thoroughly then scuff up the area, then smooth it out with high grit sand paper, clean and dry again, then dap on with a piece of sponge for a textured look or wiping on can have a good smooth finish.

You can't beat a Pro though, I have a contact and he is a magician, mixes his own stuff and you would not know where he has been!

 

[moonstone]

Thanks for this Boba.

I did use a pro to fix a a bad mark on the drivers seat of my RS5. Still got his details. This isn’t as bad and I’ve got the stuff so I may as well give it a bash and bring in the expert if it doesn’t work.

 

[Techno]

I've not used the Colourlock kit for repair, only their cleaning kit.

However, I've used different water based self sealing dyes on a few cars now and found them all to last well. I did a colour change on some leather once and it lasted for the seven years I owned that car without any issue at all. That was Gliptone Scuffmaster IIRC.
I've not needed to use heat, but have usually done this in warm weather, so right now in March a hairdryer can help.

Not sure what they put in their kit; cleaning with (diluted) isopropyl alcohol, to degrease, will help the dye to adhere. Abrading with a very fine abrasive won't hurt either, do that before wiping down with the dilute IPA.
Several very light coats of dye (usually thinning with water) applied with a sponge works for me when blending in a repair.

 

[moonstone]

Turned up not too bad.

 

[boba fett]

Good Job!

 

[Senna11]

View attachment 2982

Turned up not too bad.

Need to up your game and use a GoPro to video your content. Great job!