Leather cleaning
The starting point for every restoration. On dirty leather no colour or protector will hold.
Three kinds of damage with one thing in common: chemistry alone can't fix them, you need a needle or adhesive. A split seam — the thread has worn through and the cover is starting to come apart. A lifting edge — most often on a door panel, armrest or dashboard. A crack at a fold, where the leather flexes with every use.
All three share one feature: they grow. A two-centimetre split becomes ten after a month, and a lifting edge lets dirt and moisture in underneath.
How we do it
- Split seam: re-stitching by machine or by hand, with thread matched in colour and weight to the original.
- Lifting edge: removing the remains of the old adhesive, preparing the substrate, re-bonding under pressure.
- Crack: backing it from underneath, filling and recreating the grain on top.
- Finishing: evening out the colour where the repair has disturbed it.
When that's not enough
If the leather around the seam is so tired that new thread will cut straight through it, re-stitching only postpones the problem — then we suggest replacing a section of the cover. We say so at the inspection, not two weeks later.
Leather treatments — other services
Leather softening
Leather exposed to the sun goes stiff — fastest of all in a car. Softening brings back its suppleness before it starts to crack.
Painting and dyeing
Colours matched to the type of leather: one kind for pigmented car upholstery, another for aniline and semi-aniline furniture leather.
Pigmentation and colour correction
Evening out the shade on worn areas, or changing the colour of the whole thing.
Impregnation and protection
Products that protect against UV, water and denim dye transfer — the most common cause of stains on light-coloured seats.
Leather de-glossing
With long use, leather turns shiny where it is touched. De-glossing brings back its factory matt look.