Are you tired of the barrage of marketing for new and better?
Does the future of our environment concern you?
I struggle with the push to replace anything that isn’t perfect.
Our landfills are growing and our environment is suffering.
It’s time to repair, restore and make use of the items we have.
The tired, sun baked yet completely functional leather captains chairs in our Wanderlodge are a perfect example.
Do you want to know why?
Is the restoration of your captains chairs a good investment?
The seats in our 1985 Wanderlodge were built in 1984. That makes them at least 37 years old.
That’s old, almost antique maybe even ancient.
Thing is they are still functional, solid and comfortable.
Only they are showing their age.
Like a prune that’s been left out in the sun far too long.
The exterior is stiff, brittle and wrinkled.
The years of neglect has turned them into big blue raisins.
Are the captains chairs still comfortable?
When you consider the amount of time spent driving with your butt planted in the captains seat it makes sense to have comfortable seats.
Should you replace with new captains chairs?
If you’ve spent anytime searching for replacement seats the phrase sticker shock is nothing new to you.
New leather captain chair prices start in the low $1000 each.
And the prices climb very quickly.
Want arm rests add a couple hundred more to the price.
How about heated, cooled or rollers to massage your buttocks?
Cha…Cha…Ching!
And if the leather is good why not get the latest and greatest thing “Ultra Leather”.
Easy pezy.
And…
Shazaam! Your wallet resembles a nerd at the gym.
What does it cost to restore your leather captains chairs?
There’s another option.
Restoring the existing chairs.
Restoring your leather chairs is quick and only costs a few sheckles, denero or dollars.
The total cost for the restoration of 2 Flexsteel full leather captains chairs came in under $200.
And the results are shockingly good.
Like…
Shazaam! Totally buff superhero, sexy suit and cape good.
What was our product of choice?
The product of choice for the restoration of the blue raisins is Leatherique Restoration Products.
The website is old, generic and built in the early days of the World Wide Web.
The website conveys a simple message.
Leatherique is focused on the results of the product.
You won’t find a wiz-bang sales page or sleazy tactics.
Just straight talk and no frills.
The product formulas were developed for the restoration of luxury and collectible automobiles.
The likes of Duesenberg, Bentley, Ferrari, Jaguars, Porsche, Mercedes and the ultra rare.
Dyes are custom blended to match your existing colors.
Color matching requires a sample of your existing seat.
I found extra material on the bottom side of the seat and snipped off a piece to send in with the order.
And make sure to download Leatherique’s free ebook, it’s an excellent read.
What causes the leather to deteriorate?
Our Wanderlodge was parked outside for much of its life.
The seats were left exposed to the ravages of the sun.
Decades of exposure to the suns rays.
And to make matters worse the seats received no attention.
No covers, no cleaning and no care.
They were extremely dry, faded, cracked and crusty.
A depressing sight.
A Restoration process you can complete in 5 simple steps.
The restoration process spanned multiple days.
But most of the time was for the leather to absorb the conditioner.
Along with an overnight cure time for the dye.
Tip: The conditioner works best in hot humid conditions. The heat helps the pores in the leather open up and really give the conditioner time to soak in and force the grime out.
What supplies are used?
The restoration kit we choose was Leatherique kit #2.
Included with the kit are bottles of their Pristine Clean, Rejuvenator Oil, prepping agent and color dye of your choice.
This provided enough supplies to restore 2 captains chairs front, back, skirting and the arm rests with enough left over for 1-2 more leather captains chairs.
Other supplies we used:
- Disposable gloves
- Fine sandpaper (for repairs)
- Paper towels
- Plastic container with locking lid (big enough to hold the entire contents of dye)
- Soft paint brushes
- Soap and water
- Scrub brush
- Old toothbrush
- Microfiber towels
- Contents of the Leatherique kit
Step 1: Cleaning the leather
Begin with a simple cleaning, soap, water and a medium duty brush.
An old toothbrush worked well for getting into the crevices of the seats.
Removing the light dirt and loosening the deep grime helps the Pristine Clean cleaning solution work on the tuff stuff.
Next, use the Pristine Clean cleaning solution per the directions.
Simple wipe on and wipe off.
The arms and corners where hands and your arms touch tend to absorb sweat and attract grime, so spend extra time here.
Step 2: Repairing any damage
Now is the time to repair any gouges, tears or splits.
The kit comes with sandpaper to rough up the area needing repair.
The new material and repair cement needs something to bond with.
Be careful and don’t overdue it.
A light sanding will produce a fuzzy surface and that’s all that’s needed for the new material to bond.
Our leather had some deep gouges.
A light sanding and filling with Leatherique’s crack filler was done.
After dry another light sanding blended the repair with the surrounding.
Take your time here because the details will show after applying the dye and it sucks to redo it.
Step 3: Conditioning the leather
Time to soften the leather.
This step requires time to let the conditioner work.
If the seats are removed from the RV find a warm sunny spot the seats can sit for several hours.
If the seats are still in the RV position the front windshield facing the sun for maximum heat.
Now, apply the conditioner generously and work it in with your hands.
Bare hands work but gloves are recommended. Snug fitting gloves work best.
Massage it into the leather, like you would a Charlie horse that kicks you awake in the middle of the night.
Next it is a good idea to cover each seat with a clear plastic bag.
The cover helps hold in the humidity and keep the curious bugs from sticking to the surface.
Large clear trash bags work best.
You know, the kind used at your favorite choke & puke.
And, unless you want every dog in the area outside your door stick to clean unused bags.
Depending on the age and condition of your seats you may want to repeat the conditioning step.
Our seats were dry as a popcorn fart and capable of scratching the skid marks off my lucky skivvys.
After the conditioner has done its work it’s time to remove the sticky residue.
Paper towels work well.
At this point the leather should be softer and supple to the touch.
Tip: If the leather is severely neglected (like ours were) a second round of conditioning on the worst spots helped.
Step 4: Dyeing the leather
Now comes the step where the magic happens.
Again, heat helps so if possible complete this step in warm conditions.
Before you slather this stuff on take a few minutes to prepare.
The dye will stain most anything it comes into contact with.
Especially your hands. Gloves are strongly recommended.
And it works best if the gloves are snug so you will need multiple pairs.
Paper towels, rags and work clothes are also recommended.
It’s a good idea to test the dye color.
Find a spot that is hidden or hardly ever seen.
I tested the dye on the drivers seat skirting that faces the wall.
Brush a small patch and let it dry.
Our seats are navy blue and the dye goes on light and drys dark.
Shake up the dye really, really well and pour the entire contents into a container.
Use a cheap plastic container with a snug fitting lid. This will keep the dye from drying out.
In our case the color was darker than the original.
The company promises to mix a new color to match but in our case the color was close.
Since I was dyeing the entire seats and dark colors cover light colors better I decided to proceed.
The dye gets tacky quickly, like within 2-3 minutes.
So you need to keep moving and resist the temptation to brush over areas where you have already applied the dye.
Each captains chair took about 15 minutes to apply the dye.
Don’t worry about perfection because a second coat is covered the imperfections.
After completing the first coat it’s a good idea to pause for a few minutes and let the dye dry completely.
A perfect opportunity to admire your progress with an ice cold beer, a reward for completing this step.
And here is where the multiple pairs of gloves are needed.
Peel those gloves off and watch the paint dry.
And if the wifey catches you drinking …. errr I mean working. Stand firm that this step is critical. You must monitor the process lest it spontaneously burst into flames (it could happen).
When the first coat dried there were places where the lighter color beneath was visible.
A second coat covered everything very well.
TIP: Multiple brushes were used. Very small brushes were useful when applying the dye in seams and folds.
Finally the last step is to wipe down the leather with a soft microfiber towel. Buff and shine.
Step 5: Final shine
After the dye has completely dried the last step is to shine it up.
A clean microfiber towel works well.
The directions suggested applying a wax.
We skipped the wax step because I didn’t want slippery seats.
And you are done.
Are the leather seats good as new?
The pictures don’t convey the feeling of the leather on your skin.
The visual transformation is exceptional. These seats look 99% better than before.
And the feel of the leather, well lets just say the lucky skivvys are safe again.
Total labor time to complete the restoration of 2 leather Flexsteel captains chairs: 2 hours.
Total time from start to finish for the cleaning, conditioning and dyeing of the leather: 3 days.
Total cost for materials including gloves, paper towels and 3 cold beers (1 for each chair and 1 more to celebrate) came in at: $200
Note: There is almost 1/2 bottle of conditioner and dye remaining.
The restoration was completed in 2018 and the leather looks as good today as it did the day it was done.
I am happy to say that the time and money investment in restoring the existing captains chairs was well worth it.
And I would do it again without hesitation.
Restoring the existing seats saved us at least $2000 versus the cost of new seats with shipping.
I am happy to say that restoring leather seats is one of the best investments we’ve made on the interior of our Vintage RV. Second only to the New Flooring for the RV.
What’s been your best investment on the interior of your Vintage RV?
Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.
~ Thomas A. Edison
