Heat Damaged Leather

[Saab6]

FIrst off, the car in a 92' Saab 900S 3dr hatch, 150k miles..

One of the benefits of purchasing an older driver that has been in the south it's entire life is the condtion of the body and paint...No rust! Pretty nice..

One of the bad things is that most of the interior is heat damaged..

My leather is badly heat damaged, I took it to an upholestry shop to see if my driver seat could be sewn and they said that it would only be a matter of time beforethe leather starts to badly crack..

But in the meantime the leather is just very stiff on the seat bottoms. THe back rests are slightly softer but the bottoms are just really hard when compared to our 01' 9-5..

I used some GC leather cleaner/condtioner (1step product) and it helped a little but not too much..

Any options what I can put on them to make them a little more plyable and soft?? It is badly dried out..

Thanks!

[Pete-FWA]

Re: Heat Damaged Leather

Originally posted by Saab6
FIrst off, the car in a 92' Saab 900S 3dr hatch, 150k miles..

THe back rests are slightly softer but the bottoms are just really hard when compared to our 01' 9-5..

Good find on a rust-free Southern vehicle

The leather in the '92, NEW, was far firmer than anything in the '99+ Saabs. It was more "European" (firmer, more durable) than what was typical for American vehicles with their softer, often "glove soft" leather seating surfaces.

Back to the dried leather...it's very hard to bring much softness back to leather in such condition. Is it clean already? Once you've gone through your cleaning step, my favorite Meguiar's product to use for conditioning alone is this:

Gold Class Aloe Leather Conditioner

Once you have the seats clean and dry, a thorough application of this product adds protection and a nice feel. Unfortunately, it is limited by the shrinking and drying of the leather.

[Saab6]

Thanks, I'll give the GC conditoner a try..I'm not suprised to hear that the older european cars had firmer leather, GM is almost close to a vinyl as far as softness..

I was wondering if any type of leather oil could be used to soften it? My only fear would be the fact that it is died and not natural color..I'll try to cross reference w/ an upholestry shop..

Thanks for the input..

[Pete-FWA]

There are many off-brand potential remedies, but nothing Meguiar's prescribes.

Frankly, I've never seen anything work all that well in such a situation, but the answer may still be lurking.

Definitely check with a trim shop...they may have some sort of oil to try. When I've used them, they seem to make more of a mess than they do softening, but it can't hurt to try something.

[Octane100LL]

For cleaning I use Meguiars GC. But what you need is more than just a good cleaner.

Leatherique is a two step process which works wonders on old leather and mostly used to help replenish old, cracked leather. Best results are on a hot summer day in the sun, use plentifull, and let it soak in for an entire day. I used it on my wifes old MB and the leather came out super soft.

It's not cheap but well worth the $$. Do a search on Google.
leatherique.com

[Edited for commercial link; 2hotford]

[ColonelCash]

I've got a 95 Trans Am that is the same way....leather is almost fried. I have a couple bottle of Leatherique on the way, will post the results with before & after pics.