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960 Leather help

With leather?

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Okay - so I checked my currently shredding seat and yeah - it's totally real leather on the top side.

TestPoint said:
Nothing works like the Summer. Take the seats out, treat with the Rejuvenator, cover with black garbage bags in a warm place for a couple days. Repeat until you are happy.
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Whoa! That's some amazing results!! Here's hoping mine come out that well...

DEK2688 said:
^ +1 for summer.
[snipped]
The one thing I can stress to first time users is that Leatherique needs time to work. Days, not hours.
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Thanks! I'll keep that in mind. Would you recommend going out and recoating the seats with rejuvenator oil each day?

I might bring my seats inside, but likely I'll just doing it outside on one of those weeks it's going to be 100 degrees for a few days...

Thanks for the tips!!

For a first time application that's meant as a quick life saving measure, how important do you think it is to remove all of the plastic hardware to get the leather underneath the trim?

Also - how do I remove the upright parts of the rear seats in a wagon? I think it's just the four bolts under the spring loaded board, correct?

15A said:
Tan is the most short lived and unforgiving.....even from new. A nice set of real (beige) sheepskin covers work wonders.
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Yeah - I figure one of these days when I get a good enough paying job I'll have the seats remade from a higher quality leather, from scratch - hopefully by then I'll have a garage and live in a cooler climate that's more forgiving to the leather :p
 
In a warm environment the Rejuvenator soaks in immediately to over a day or more. Keep applying the oil and cover until you get tired or the oil starts to sit on the surface rather than soaking in.

Clean with the Leatherique cleaner and discover where 30 years of sweat salt and all the other dirt was stored.

The 245 rear seats have a spring loaded retaining attachment at the pivot point. You have to hold the clip back to remove the seat.
 
No, not bolts. You leave those brackets in. It's actually a hairpin clip on each side where the seat pivots on the wheel house. On the early seats, I think there is also a clip between the two seat halves. Then, the shaft they pivot on slides out through the bracket upright on the floor. I'm going from memory. I haven't removed one in a couple of years.

I'm just going to drop this here to tempt you.

QIujtAs.jpg
 
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Aaaa that looks so beautiful!

Took the better seat cushion to the auto upholstery repair guy that my brother recommended - the owner was out today so I can’t get an official estimate, but they said the panel with the stitching holes needs to be replaced. I’ll get an estimate tomorrow likely.
 
Huh, so the guy called me and said there isn't much he can do since matching the leather is going to be too heard. He also thought, looking at it, that it was vinyl.

I'm certain that the main part of my seat cushion is leather, since I can literally fold over the torn flaps and look underneath. Did Volvo make tan leather seats and tan vinyl ones? I pulled these cushions from the JY from a late 940, but they were not from this car, so I don't know what they're original story is.
 
Yep, if they are 940 seats, then the side bolsters will or may be vinyl.

Only 960 seats have full skin lower cushions.
 
^^ Leatherique will sort of soften vinyl, but nothing like petroleum jelly will. I'd tend to not get Leatherique on the vinyl as its an expensive thing to just waste.
 
Couple things I forgot to add about treating the leather that I got from George, the owner of Leatherique. First, beginning in the mid to late '80s auto seat covers changed from vat dyed leather to a vinyl 'painted' finish on leather. It helps to lightly cut through the previous finish on the leather with the finest auto paint scuff pad you can find and rubbing alcohol. Stay away from any stitching. Don't scratch the leather just lightly scuff the surface until it loosens. Clean with damp rag and again with alcohol until the color quits coming off. You will be amazed at what comes off! At that point you are dealing with the leather itself not the vinyl finish that Volvo sprayed on.

Remember vinyl gloves!

Now start with the Rejuvenator.

20140815_152152.jpg
 
TestPoint said:
Couple things I forgot to add about treating the leather that I got from George, the owner of Leatherique. First, beginning in the mid to late '80s auto seat covers changed from vat dyed leather to a vinyl 'painted' finish on leather. It helps to lightly cut through the previous finish on the leather with the finest auto paint scuff pad you can find and rubbing alcohol. Stay away from any stitching. Don't scratch the leather just lightly scuff the surface until it loosens. Clean with damp rag and again with alcohol until the color quits coming off. You will be amazed at what comes off! At that point you are dealing with the leather itself not the vinyl finish that Volvo sprayed on.

Remember vinyl gloves!

Now start with the Rejuvenator.

20140815_152152.jpg
Click to expand...

Oh man that looks nasty haha!

I see you redyed your seats though - If I'm not dying them, I should not do the light scuff and clean thing right now, correct?
 
This process is really for refinishing old, hard leather to bring it back to life. If you have decent leather that just needs cleaning just clean it.

The Leatherique color finish is the same vinyl 'paint' that came on the seats. While vinyl is porous and leather treatment stuff will eventually soak through this process gets the Rejuvenator into the leather much faster.

When completely soaked then the Cleaner will pull up all the junk out of the leather fiber.

Then you 'paint' it back to better than original. I used a brush but many use a small touch up air sprayer.
 
TestPoint said:
This process is really for refinishing old, hard leather to bring it back to life. If you have decent leather that just needs cleaning just clean it.

The Leatherique color finish is the same vinyl 'paint' that came on the seats. While vinyl is porous and leather treatment stuff will eventually soak through this process gets the Rejuvenator into the leather much faster.

When completely soaked then the Cleaner will pull up all the junk out of the leather fiber.

Then you 'paint' it back to better than original. I used a brush but many use a small touch up air sprayer.
Click to expand...

Ah okay! Thanks :D I?ll just do the RO and PC for now - my back seats especially are still very nice and crack free but they are bone dry; later on when I have a second car and can take the time I strip and repaint them, and seal off the cracks.

Thanks for all the advice! It?s really be a big help.

What I?ll do someday, I imagine, in 15 to 20 years or so if she?s still in one piece (and I have a good paying job) I?ll have some new seats made from scratch and fully leather, and have them vat dyed.
 
I bought that '82 245 new in 1982 so I have a lot of seat time in it and also a lot of restoration time. It quit running in 1996 and went into storage until I had the time to work on it which was about 2012. As a hobby restoration it got far more attention to detail than a daily driver.

With good leather in the back seats wait until summer and do the Rejuvenator and black garbage bags trick. It will make a big difference without going through all the work and time of a complete restoration.

20140922_173343.jpg
 
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