Leather identification

[happytadpole]

Got a driver's seat hole in my 1998 2.8 Z3 - caused I believe by blocked rain channels in the door rubbers, causing water to run along the roof frame instead and drip onto the seat. (A previous owner's neglect, not mine - I'm now trying to bring this car back from the brink.)

Anyway, the VIN decoder tells me this is Oregon leather in Taninrot, Q2TD. Could anyone confirm?

Also, does any trimmer still have stocks of this leather for repairs or would I have to shell out £1000 for a NOS seat cover?

Ta...

 

[Stevo7682]

Someone else may be able to confirm but as far as I know the napa leather on the headrest seat sides and backs is available but the pattern Oregon center panels are no longer available
Could be a better idea to find a full seat in better condition than the one you currently have.
Stephen.

 

[mrscalex]

There is a supplier in Poland for Oregon. But I've never been able to find out who.

The pragmatic thing is to get a donor cover and transfer the panel over. Or just replace the whole cover. I have a pair of black Oregon seat bases in good order. You will need to recolour but that's fairly straightforward. PM me if interested. Not looking for silly money.

 

[mrscalex]

And yes Q2TD is correct.

 

[happytadpole]

Thanks for the colour confirmation. I should have mentioned that they're sports seats, and a good pair of replacements would seem to be worth almost as much as the car!

Is it really possible to recolour black leather to red and achieve a colour match?

 

[mrscalex]

Thanks for the colour confirmation. I should have mentioned that they're sports seats, and a good pair of replacements would seem to be worth almost as much as the car!

Is it really possible to recolour black leather to red and achieve a colour match?

Well you're asking 2 separate questions. Recolour no problem. Exact colour match a little different. I use Furniture Clinic and their product is very good. But I did have a mis-match once with Lotus White. That is a stinker of a colour to match because the leather discolours. So what do they choose sell? The discoloured version to match existing? Or how it left the factory when it won't match anything but is the right colour for a complete restoration? I would be fairly certain they went the former route. But when you are colouring a whole base in a darker colour it's not so much of a concern.

I am very tempted to offer to re-colour mine for you. I do a lot of this stuff. But if you are in any sort of hurry (like quicker than 3-4 weeks) I'd be struggling.

If you are interested I'll send a few pictures of what I do. As long as I get a fair price for the seat base itself the re-colouring will be inexpensive.

 

[mrscalex]

Actually just realised you said they were Sport seats. I have no spares there. But the idea of the donor leather from a non-Sport base is still valid. As long as we can be certain the non-Sport base has an area of leather large enough.

 

[Jjim]

With dying you won’t be able to achieve the darker colour on the raised pattern.
well not without a huge amount of time and effort.

 

[mrscalex]

With dying you won’t be able to achieve the darker colour on the raised pattern.
well not without a huge amount of time and effort.

A full restoration of a pair of Sport Seats is around 30 hours for me.

 

[Andrew Buxcey]

Hi there. I had my Tanin Red seat repaired about 18 months by a Polish Trimmer in Chelmsford (Q Trim) He purchased half a hide so he could repair the bolster on my drivers seat. He may still have some in stock! This is the plain leather section not the mottled leather sections
Andy