Practically Classics Forum

What leather repair kit did you use??

Fatbloke wrote:Next I rubbed down the frame to remove the worst of the rust before brush painting it with 2 coats of black “Smoothrite” (Like “Hammerite” but with a smooth finish. It’ll all be covered up anyway!) After it was dry, I fitted up all the strapping and after drilling new holes, the, what turned out to be a TR6, diaphragm. Then I had to touch up all the scratches resulting from the metal hooks and my ham-fistedness.

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It was now time to get my longsuffering old seat out of the car. I very carefully removed the covers and took very careful note of where all the various clips and sprigs came from and stored them carefully in a jam jar. Which I then knocked over a spread them all across the patio.

I cleaned the covers with “soft top” cleaner and left them in the conservatory to “condition” in the hot sun. (I know! April? In the UK too?) The best bit is though, I did find an old £50 pound note stuffed under the old squab cushion! Things could only have been better if it was a real one and not monopoly!

The inevitable then happened and Mrs FB came in and asked why there were bits of old car seat all over her conservatory. I think she was a bit taken aback by my reply that it was because I didn’t think she’d want them in the dining room, but hey, my black eye will soon fade wont it?

The 2 new foam cushions were put in place and now the wrestling match really began as I tried to fit the covers as neatly as possible. I won in the end and had them all fitted and clipped into place. The final job was to use the vinyl/leather repair kit on the 2 small tears which was really rather fiddly but the repairs look ok from a distance (Quite a big distance) and I’m really rather happy with the results.

Before you look at the culmination of all this hard work and artistry, please remember that I wasn’t aiming for a showroom, concourse winning seat and in that I think I have definitely succeeded! But at least my bottom is now as happy as the rest of me to be driving around in Poppy!

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I wonder how long it will be before I get around to doing the passenger seat??

This one mate.
http://www.repairproducts.co.uk/page3.htm

The 1st one on the page.

Weve used these quite a few times,

http://www.leatherrepaircompany.com/pro ... storation/

Its amazing what DIY stuff can be done if you just take your time and put a bit of effort in, i hate going to shows or meeting up with people in what could be an amazing car, something they have put a lot of money into to only have made things look worse by not doing it properly. i always use proper stuff and put in the hard work, better to do it right than do it twice, yours looks great, looks like it can take a fat bloke for at least another 14 years!! Keep up the great work

I’ve had a reasonably productive weekend on Poppy.

The re-conditioned driver’s seat is wonderfully comfy and looks great (when compared to how it was and from a distance). However, it show’s up how bad the passenger seat is and I’ve been feeling a little bit guilty that my wife and daughters are having to suffer it. So, when no-one bothered on Father’s day, I decided to treat myself to the necessary to re-condition it (among some other insignificant car related items.)

My Father’s day treats to myself arrived and I thought I’d start on something simple.

My 1st job was to repair the intermittent horn that is the bane of my MOT man’s life. It never works for him but I arrive, give it a press and hey presto a working horn and a baffled MOT man. (I know just where to position the wheel to where it works…is that bad of me?) Anyway, I’ve fitted a new slip ring and brush and all in perfect working order now. The only problem is that without resorting to acrobatics and contortions I wasn’t able to work out how to remove the cable trunking under the column to run the new wire from the slip ring. So, it is temporarily taped to the outside of the column until I am more inclined to go upside down in the foot well to work it all out.

Next, it was finally time to tackle the passenger seat. Having already done the driver’s seat, I was fairly confident. I pulled out the passenger seat, stripped off the covers and swept up what was left of cushions from the floor. Nearly all the back straps were broken but I had anticipated this and ordered new ones along with the cushions. I also removed the diaphragm which promptly and catastrophically fell apart. It had looked ok when I inspected it in the car, so I hadn’t ordered a replacement but that was soon rectified. Well, when I say “inspected” what I meant was, given it a casual glance when the seat was raised to allow a back seat passenger access and thought “oh good, it’s not broken!” There was one surprise though. When I pulled the base cover off, a car key fell out. It fitted the ignition perfectly and started the car. It looks like it might be an original key which I think is quite cool.

The seat frame was actually in rather good condition having benefited from not having a fatbloke sitting in it but the “clip rails” still needed slight straightening and I rubbed it all down and gave it a couple of coats of Smoothrite and left it to dry and await the arrival of the diaphragm.

This left me with the opportunity to “have a go” at one of my other long term niggles with the car. No, not the incontinent gearbox but the extremely faded paint on the top decks. It’s more dusty pink than signal red and I’m fed up with having to defend it at car shows etc. Why do so many people expect all classic cars to be pristine trailer queens capable of a good showing at a concours event? They seem to enjoy and think they have the right to point out all my cars defects! I KNOW WHAT THE DEFECTS ARE. I drive mine regularly and the paint is 25 years old. I don’t have the money, space, equipment or time to respray it every couple of years or spend hours and hours cleaning every nook and cranny with a toothbrush! It’s a CAR NOT A SCULPTURE!.......Oh dear…sorry….I got a bit carried away and went into full on rant mode… sore point after a recent show … no disrespect intended to owners of trailer queens, concours winners or toothbrush wielders…It’s your car and I admire you for your dedication and results…just not my thing…sorry again and rant over….

I’d tried to tackle this problem several times before with various types of paint restorers from t-cut to Autoglym’s paint restorer and got mixed results. So I’d started to flirt with the idea of trying to re-spray it panel by panel with rattle cans but there was one process I hadn’t yet tried as I didn’t have the equipment. Cutting compound and an electric polisher.

A Silverline electric sander/polisher was the other “insignificant” car related item purchased, along with Maguires Ultimate Compound which is formulated for use with electric polishers. So, I lovingly removed my new toy from its box and assembled it and plugged it in. Then, with a maniacal laugh, I attacked the car!

I’ve never used an electric polisher before… The good news is that the bonnet, rear deck, fins and door tops all look fantastically red and shiny again. I’m really pleased with them and they way they came up. On these results, I would recommend the process as a last resort to anyone. The bad news? Well, I was planning on re-spraying the boot lid and lower passenger door anyway. At least I have an electric sander for the preparation!

Hmmmm, not so shiny this evening! I think perhaps I hadn't buffed up the simoniz wax properly! not used it b4 and may not use it again!

Fatbloke wrote:Hmmmm, not so shiny this evening! I think perhaps I hadn't buffed up the simoniz wax properly! not used it b4 and may not use it again!

Just wait for the weather to warm and dry up then give it a buff up, it will look fine.
Great work though, amazing how far you've come on in your tinkering..

Kev

Thanks Kevin.

I must admit to being quite amazed myself at how much I've picked up with the help of everyone on here over the last year or so. My confidence to "Have a go" has certainly grown if nothing else!

You never know, one day I might actually be able refer to my car as a "rolling restoration project" without the fear of everyone laughing so hard that they hurt themselves!

Mike, the herald is very much a rolling resto, great project in my eyes

Well done

Kev

For the 1st time in my ownership I now have 2 plump and padded front seats to match the plump and padded driver! all new straps, diaphragms and padding assembled to the restored frame before refitting the original covers to the passenger seat. all went smoothly benefiting from the experience gained on the drivers seat earlier in the year.


But looking at the 2nd piccy, maybe I need to put my steering wheel on straight after sorting the horn out!

Any way, Obviously I had to take her out on a test drive after fitting the seats in case it now goes any faster after all that work and something happened that made my day.

I was at a roundabout in the left hand lane and an Aston Martin DB9 convertible pulled up in the lane next to me. A white van man stuck in traffic on the roundabout shouted "nice car mate! the chap in the DB9 waved nonchalantly and white van man says " No. Not you. The red one!!!"
I might have smiled smugly...just a bit...

And so you should, it IS a nice car but is the smug smile any different to the one that must be plastered on your face whenever you drive it