Mafia experience with Leatherette crack?

[Oli77]

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/othibau/DSC07196.jpg

I was thinking something like this

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41JQH17QD0L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

No, I have not gained weight (I think my father in law had something to do with it - him and his larger size).

[Ryans323i]

My DS seat has a couple a cracks as well. I thought about using a similar product but could not find one that matched. I think the black will work just fine for you.

[Oli77]

I'll buy that vinyl kit and report back on its looks and durability...

[Ryans323i]

I'm gonna be jealous. My cracks bother me.

[Oli77]

Before you get jealous, lets see what it looks like when I am done.

As long as it stops the spread of the split I'll be happy.

Can't really drill a termination hole like Dane on his strut tower.

[danewilson77]

Hehe

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[Ryans323i]

lol.

[MrMaico]

I had a repair done on a black vinyl motorcycle seat and it was hard to tell it was even done. Personally, I would check into having a pro do it. It was only around $35 iirc.

[Oli77]

^ I'll look into that too. Thanks!

[Oli77]

I had a repair done on a black vinyl motorcycle seat and it was hard to tell it was even done. Personally, I would check into having a pro do it. It was only around $35 iirc.

Darn, went to see a reputable pro shop that deals with car upholstery.

$405 to recover the thigh bolster with leatherette - or - $550 to order the entire seat part from BMW and recover the seat.

Little steep but probably the best longest lasting solution.

I am still going to try the vinyl repair kit first.

[johnrando]

I'm gonna be jealous. My cracks bother me.

There's a joke in there somewhere, but it shall remain unstated. :)

[Oli77]

So I bought this, and just applied a coat of vinyl (step 1 in kit).

I chose this because it was a 3M product and cost $2 more than the other kit I pictured up above (might as well spend a little more if it will last a little longer).

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/autogeek_2203_76172302


Now I can't drive it for 4 hours :(

[Oli77]

Here is what it looks like after 30 minutes:

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/othibau/DSC07202.jpg

[Oli77]

6 hours later, added the color match and heat treated a bunch...


http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/othibau/DSC07211.jpg


Looks like a scar, but the bolster does not have the cracks (+1) and it feels pretty continuous.

If I press around it (like in the first pic above), it does not spread apart.

Should I say repaired?

Time will tell.

[danewilson77]

Doesn't look half bad Oli. Nicely done.

[Oli77]

Thanks Boss!

It is a lot better than before for sure, 100%.

Hope it blends more with time (and doesn't crack again).

[danewilson77]

Thanks Boss!

It is a lot better than before for sure, 100%.

Hope it blends more with time (and doesn't crack again).

If it ends up cracking again....tell wife you need to get ZHP....with alcantara......cuz it won't crack......:shifty

[Oli77]

Roight. Good try though!

[Oli77]

I omitted to report back on this. Upshot, tear tore again within a week.

I will re-attempt with a thicker layer of the product...

[Ryans323i]

Thanks for the updates Oli.

[Oli77]

Went at it again since the initial repair barely held up a week.

Add more glue both below and above the crack and did it twice.

On week number 2 now and it is holding up.

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/othibau/DSC07332.jpg

[Ryans323i]

Thanks for the updates Oli.

[Oli77]

Started to crack after 7 months.

I have a feeling the patch will come off neatly and will reapply thicker one maybe.

The good thing is that the "fix" has stopped the progression of the tear.

[spoonerDee]

I did a repair a few years ago using Leather Magic. The end results looked a bit better than yours (don't know if its product or person) and I was pretty satisfied with the kit overall. Never got to test it out much though, it was for the back seat which I replaced eventually anyways.

I did learn a valuable lesson though, never kneel on leather when its about 0 degrees outside :rofl

[Oli77]

Spooner, you realize this is not a leather seat, its leatherette (plastic).

[spoonerDee]

Yup, not even sure if my seat (in my old car) was real leather or not. But I bought the leather magic kit anyway which did a good job of fixing the crack and blending it out.

One tip I can offer is to extend the coloring dye throughout the whole piece you are working on much like you'd do with paint. When you fix paint, you don't just paint the one spot, you blend out by painting the whole panel. So just lay it out to all the stitch lines and it will make the whole piece look like one. Best of luck :)

Not sure how much dye they supplied you with, but could help with masking it a bit better.