In detail: DIY repair of car interior leather cuts from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.
Before proceeding with the restoration, determine the level of damage to the skin of the car interior. Most often, restoration requires no more than painting. However, cigarette burn marks, scratches, deep cuts or abrasions often remain on the upholstery material. In this case, more detailed processing and restoration of leather parts will be required. In rare cases, more often associated with the long service life of the car, a complete replacement of the upholstery is required. If it seems to you that your case requires a complete restoration, then, if you do not have the skills, do not try to carry it out yourself - contact the auto shop.
In this article, we will look at ways to restore the car interior with our own hands. These methods are applicable in the case of minor damage, which any car owner can handle with the necessary tools.
You don't need a lot of tools to paint leather material. If you choose paint in the form of a paste or cream, you may need a foam sponge, a cotton or thin cloth swab, and a soft bristled brush. Spray paints don't require anything other than paper or cloth to protect areas that don't need to be painted.
If your car interior requires a deeper restoration, you may need the following tools:
fine-grained sandpaper (M20);
small scissors;
tweezers;
putty knife;
iron (it is not advisable to use an iron with a metal sole);
teflon lining.
Regardless of what type of restoration is required for the upholstery of your car (repair or painting), the first step is to clean the interior of personal belongings and other interior items. After that, the interior should be washed and only then, in good daylight, inspect the interior of the car.
Video (click to play).
Once you have formed an opinion about the extent of the damage to the skin, decide whether you will dismantle the damaged parts. On the one hand, it is much more convenient to work in an open space, thanks to which you can provide yourself with good access to light, and the car - the absence of chemical odors in the cabin. On the other hand, when dismantling the elements, you can not only damage other parts of the upholstery, but also disrupt the mechanisms of operation of one or another part of the machine.
After all the above manipulations have been carried out, start cleaning the surfaces that you plan to undergo restoration.
To do this, use any detergent to clean the surface, and then gently wipe the area to be repaired with an alcohol-based solution. Keep in mind that some solutions may contain not only alcohol, but also chemicals that can further damage the surface. So first check the effect of the composition on a small, inconspicuous area of the skin.
After cleaning and disinfection have been carried out, the defect should be treated with sandpaper. Once you have completed this step, you can proceed to the more detailed process of restoring the car's interior trim.
Having finished the stage of preliminary preparation of the surface to be restored, check that all the funds necessary for the restoration are present.
If you decide to limit yourself only to painting the upholstery, you will need paint and clear varnish.As already mentioned, paint can be paste, creamy and in aerosol cans.
As for the varnish, the choice should be stopped on a two-component polyurethane varnish for leather surfaces. And if you decide to provide the cabin with additional protection, you can always find substances in specialized stores that form a protective layer against moisture, dust and ultraviolet radiation.
In order to repair deeper skin defects, you will need tools that you can easily find in your garage or purchase in specialized stores.
These should include:
reinforcing mesh;
thermal adhesive;
"Liquid skin" (a special substance that imitates the surface of a leather product);
teflon gasket;
liquid gel, with which you can repeat the pattern of "native" skin on the restored area.
If you are the proud owner of sewing equipment and cutter skills, then it is in your power to independently carry out a complete hauling of the car interior. However, the process is laborious and energy-consuming.
You can reposition the seats as follows:
Remove the seats from the vehicle.
Remove the old upholstery.
Take measurements from the seats or use old material as patterns. If you were not satisfied with the geometry of the old sheathing, you can carve out something to your liking.
Sew on the new upholstery and pull it back onto the seats.
The hauling of the ceiling is easier because the patterns are simpler than the patterns for the upholstery of the seats. Besides the fact that you need to dismantle the old material and then fix the new one, you should take care of having all the necessary slots for the lighting parts.
In any case, the restoration of the interior of your car is not so much a painstaking and difficult job, but rather a pleasant care of your favorite vehicle.
In this video, you will learn how you can repair and paint your car leather yourself.
Leather upholstery has always been considered the hallmark of a more prestigious and comfortable car. Leather is both a modern look and a higher practicality. Leather upholstery is much easier to maintain and not too difficult to repair. Unfortunately, even the best and most expensive leather is still not eternal, and over time, various types of damage appear on it, for example, scratches, which greatly spoil the appearance of the interior. In addition to the seats in the car, door panels or other elements can be trimmed with leather. They are also often damaged due to carelessness, which significantly spoils the whole picture, therefore, among motorists, the question of repairing the leather cover has always been relevant.
Depending on the type and complexity of the damage to the leather sheathing, the method and means by which these defects are eliminated are determined. For greater ease of understanding, damage to the skin can be roughly divided into three degrees of severity.
The simplest and most frequent lesions on the skin are light abrasions and small scratches that are of a shallow depth. In these cases, only the paint on the skin is damaged. These types of scratches are fairly easy to repair and do not require much effort or expense. More serious damage is accompanied not only by damage to the paint, but also by shallow cuts in the skin itself. The skin layer is not damaged to its full depth, however, such damage can expand its area if not given timely attention. Repairing this kind of scratch is also quite simple and does not require any special skills.
The most complex skin lesions have not just deep scratches, but whole tears of the leather material.Such damage is difficult to repair, requires more experienced hands and the availability of special tools and tools.
Previously, only highly qualified specialists were involved in the repair of leather upholstery. Such repairs were quite expensive for the car enthusiast. Today, in most cases, this problem is solved much easier and not so costly for the budget of the car owner.
The automotive market is literally flooded with a variety of leather repair and maintenance products. These include various restorative polishes, aerosol paints, liquid leather, special powders, and more. If you use funds from a trusted manufacturer and adhere to some recommendations, you can restore a leather interior with any type of damage.
Repairing light scratches and abrasions on the skin is the easiest to repair. If only the layer of paint with which the leather is painted is damaged, then for repair you will need either a special polish with a filler, or spray paint.
It is recommended that any product be tested in a less visible area before repairing. This is especially true of an unverified product from a little-known manufacturer. After checking, you should carefully prepare the affected area for repair: it must be cleaned of dirt and dust, properly dried and degreased.
Further repairs include applying paint to the scratch, drying and polishing. When applying paint, the formation of smudges should be avoided, since it will be difficult to eliminate them. After applying the paint, if everything went well, all that remains is to polish the restored area and enjoy the effect.
A more complicated repair procedure awaits the motorist if the scratch has spread to the skin itself. In these cases, so-called liquid leather, which is sold in various colors, is most often used for refurbishment. With such a repair, the most difficult thing will be to choose the right color that will merge with the main shade of the interior. Otherwise, the repair of scratches will not give the desired effect, but on the contrary, it will stand out against the general background and it is unpleasant to cut your eyes.
As in the previous case, repairs should begin with surface preparation. In addition to cleaning the scratch from dirt and degreasing it, you should carefully remove the loose pieces of leather (if any). A scratch that is too deep can be pre-filled with regular fast-acting glue. This will allow the edges of the scratches to be pulled together to prevent further spread.