cracked leather seats

Andy, you stated that you had 'cracks' in the leather. If so, then you can do it. If you realey meant that you have 'tears', then it is best to replace. If it is of any help, send me a picture of the seat in question.

phillip, thanks for the suggestion. my background is electronc/electrical.
i would tackle almost any other project fearlessly, but if i reupholster the jag myself,
it will always look like i did it myself.

this is just not part of my set of skills.there are quite a few projects on this car i will do myself, but i have to know my limitations.

Andy,
Sounds like a good plan. Let us know how it turns out.

Andy; further to my last thread, I probably paid less than $300 to do my MkII, and had fun in doing it. Next month I will do my Jag 4X4 truck with a 2 tone tan/saddle combo. In doing so, I get the chance to soften the leather to retard any cracking. http://www.karamfamily.ca/1984-jaguar-4paw4.html

Andy; I have also used Leatherique and was quite satisfied with the results. Please go to the Ottawa Jaguar Club web site www.ottawajaguarclub.com then to the technical section, then to the leather restoration article for more info. If that is of interest and you want to watch a vidio on the subject, go to my web site www.karamfamily.ca/leather-restoration.html for an in depth application.

i stopped yesterday at a small reupholstery place, a referral from a good friend whose body shop will repaint my jag. this guy showed me the exact same sample books and will do the leather interior (2 front seats and the console) for $1200.

he suggested getting the wool carpet professionally steamed while the seats are out, and replacing the couple pieces (the "mat" pieces under drive and passenger's feet) with original from dealer or whereve

quite a difference in price. now i guess i'll order the leatherique so i can keep it in good shape

there are a lot of cracks on the drivers seat

Andy,

I am a Leatherique distributor and a member of the Jaguar Club of N Florida. I believe one of your other respondents mentioned Leatherique as an alternative to reupholstery. If the cracks in your interior are not widespread you may be able to have just those areas replaced and then use Leatherique dye to restore the rest. You can find out about this process at the Leatherique website: http://www.leatherique.com/do_it_your_self_instruction/how_to_re-dye_lea.... Also, they have a downloadable pamphlet that gives excellent info on the care and restoration of leather. Good luck.
Doug Hodsdon

i only stopped for a price because this company was local to me. he redid the seats in my 1959 mga in 1972 and i recall his price was as much as i had paid for the car. it was interesting to see the swatches, seeing the quality of the leather, etc.

this is obviously something i will have to research before i buy

I AM GOING TO REDO THE SEATS ON MY 94, I WANT TO DO THEM IN REAL LEATHER -NOT WHAT WAS ORIGINAL- ON THE EDGES AND A NICE CLOTH FOR THE CENTRES, i HAVE BEEN QUOTED $750!

Price sounds way out of line to me as well. After winning a 1st place plaque at the local Concours (and forgetting about the bad rotator cuff I had at the time) I reached behind me to put it on the rear seat and ended up letting it fly out of my hand punching a hole in the rear seat. Had the whole rear seat back done in leather for less that $300.

$2,900 sounds really high to me....I haven't priced my XJS in leather, but I used to have FULL leather interiors ( front, back, console, and door panels ) in other cars when I was in the business for a little over $1,000. I am sure that you can find a place that is less and is good quality.

i think it's a real keeper, with 60,000 miles on it. the paint isn't bad, but will be repainted. the seats aren't bad, but have cracks, and will get replaced
the carpeting also will get replaced
after we fix the ac, install a new alpine system with bluetooth,
and take care of the yellowed headlights, it will be a keeper.

thanks for your input. i stopped at a local place today. he offered to do the two front seats and the console (it has a few scratches) for $2200 in vinyl, or $2900 in leather

Andy, I bought a 94 XJS last spring and it had cracked front seats also. I shopped replacement seat covers on line for quite a bit but decided to postpone the cost. I found a local guy who dyes auto seats. He did a great job, but alas, after just a few miles the cracks become evident again. The color match (biscuit) was perfect, but the cracks were disguised, not gone. Since this car is a high mileage driver, I decided to make do for now, but if your 95 is a real "keeper" I think you would be better served by getting seat kits that are already made for it. Try BAS or any of several specialty companies you can find in ads in The Jaguar Journal. Not cheap, but if you want to do the labor yourself, not too bad and a lot of frustrating fun - HA!