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11-11-2016, 09:11 AM | #1 |
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Painting your seats
My 06 z4 came from florida. The seats were faded but in good shape. They looked tired and needed a reboot. The entire inside [as you can see] is an ugly cream with everything but the trim kit matchy matchy. I decided to take on painting the front seats. It can be done in a period of 24 hours. But be forewarned, when you're doing a complete color change, you must take your time and let the applications dry. If it's a drastic color change ie: black to white, then you're better off stripping the seats, then painting them. In my case, I went from bmw beige to bmw cinnamon. I will show you the good the bad and the ugly. If I can do it, ANYONE can, believe me when I say this. There are many videos out there to show you how to remove the seats as well. Just make sure you have enough room on both sides of the car so that the door is open all the way. I made this mistake, and had to go UP and out the passenger side with the drivers side seat or risk scratching everything up with the seat track bits when pulling it out.
Ok so-you're ready to disconnect your seats yes? It's easiest to make sure the passenger seat is all the way forward [to tilt back to disconnect the harness] and the drivers side seat should be all the way forward [to tip back and access the harness disconnect]. Before you disconnect anything [after the bolts are out [make sure you put all the caps/bolts and nuts in a cup so you don't lose them all] make sure the battery is disconnected [black cable on the right]. It has to be done in this order-otherwise you won't be able to get the seats out because you cannot reach the floor bolts. There is a plastic clip that needs to be pried open before you can ease the connection out of the bottom of the seat harness. Once the harness is out-you can take out the seats and start taping them off. Originally I wanted to change the entire color scheme of the interior as well. After doing the seats I decided against it. One job at a time. Ok so your seat is out and you're ready to prep it. Use rubbing alcohol and a clean cloth to remove the oils from the leather. Once your surface is clean and prepped, you can tape it off. My suggestion is to get thick frog [green] painters tape, and the plastic drop cloths to do this. Instead of masking the entire back strip by strip, use the tape to line the back of the leather [where the 2 parts of the seat meet up behind the bolster line] and just create a form. Then take the edges of your plastic drop cloth and attach them slowly to the piece of the tape exposed. This will save you a lot of time and LOT of tape. I'm sorry I didn't get a photo for reference of the back but you can kind of see it here in the 2nd seat photo. After several coats, I realized that I did not wait long enough for the seat portion to dry. Using a white cotton cloth, I wiped down the seats from top to bottom. It felt gritty and not smooth, this is because it did not dry properly. At this point in the process, they just looked like regular cinnamon worn seats. I was happy with the outcome, and decided to leave them as is. I could have however sanded the bottom seats, used alcohol once more, and start the process over-but I was not in the mood to do that. While the seats are out drying [setup a fan as well, it will save you time instead of leaving them over night, I am not one for patience..heh..] take this time to clean the entire interior of the cab. Wipe down the back walls, clean the seat belts, gummi the seals, work on the carpet, vacuum, etc. Also-the alcohol dripped onto the leather of my center console, creating brighter circular spots in it. I used olive oil [yes, ..google it for car interior updates] and it WORKED! the oil removed the bright spot, and made the leather console sections above the parking break look great. Ok so-now that the seats are finished [to my liking anyway and they were far from perfect but you can learn from my mistakes!] it's time to apply leather conditioner back into them. They'll become hard and stiff if you don't and this will cause them to prematurely deteriorate, so best to apply at least 2-3 coats of leather conditioner back into the seats. Put them back in and admire your work! I also took the time to change the black mats to dark gray with carpet paint. Materials used: rubbing alcohol clean white cotton cloths from home depot colorbond leather seat paint [aerosol can] colorbond dark gray carpet spray [aerosol can] http://www.colorbondpaint.com/ *After your seats are reassembled you'll have to reset the time on the clock, and don't be surprised if you have electrical issues. Just open/close the top a few times and everything should reset itself. Last edited by z4chick; 11-11-2016 at 11:31 AM.. |
11-11-2016, 10:45 AM | #2 |
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Looks good. Does the finish on the seats feel the same as stock/new or is somehow different (slick, harder, etc.)?
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11-11-2016, 11:22 AM | #3 |
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Thanks! It's much harder. also-I realized these were actual covers. Now if they were oem I couldn't tell you. But they were super soft when I started. It's because we strip all the lanolin out before coating. Colorbond confirms this as well. You just need to continue to recondition them until they're soft again. I compare it to having a new pair of leather shoes. They need to be re-broken in. I've put 3 coats of conditioner on so far, and they're starting to get back to normal.
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11-13-2016, 11:43 AM | #5 |
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Thanks! I have no idea. The car says sport package..ive only had it for like 2 months. Also-in the spring when it's warmer, im going to have to sand down the bolsters in a few spots and do a touch up. I did it in 50-60 degree weather. It really needs to be a little warmer for it to set properly.
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11-13-2016, 02:52 PM | #6 |
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Those are Sport Package seats. They lack the embossed "M" logo in the headrest. These have good lateral support for street driving.
And they are made very well. Great job on those seats by the way, you will really like them. |
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11-13-2016, 08:47 PM | #8 | |
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Thanks.. I'm trying to update her to sporty looking instead of old.. the short amount of time I've owned her, i've really started making her my own. |
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11-20-2016, 07:18 AM | #10 |
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11-22-2016, 02:15 PM | #12 |
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It was super easy.. You'll have a bit of spray paint can jarred finger when it's all over.. your forearms may ache a bit but that will go away LOL.
I will tell everyone that is entertaining this idea that you should NOT do it if the temperature isn't a consistent 65 degrees plus. I did it on a gorgeous 60 degree day here in the Midwest but it is fall. And because the seats were cold, even over night I can see tiny spots of flaking and cracking. In the spring when it's warm im going to have to do a quick sand and touch up, but only when the seats are back up to a normal temp and outside in the sun. I won't have to take them out again, but touch ups are needed. VS the bolster touch up I've done before in warmer weather. I had no issue with my black the last time I used the product because it was warm out. So temp does make a difference. |
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12-11-2016, 08:40 AM | #14 |
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There's a little gun-attachment you can get for aerosol cans. It turns the button into a vertical trigger. That would help for a big job like this. I've used colorbond on my car and have had mixed results, some surfaces adhere to it like factory colour and others flaked off. Your interior looks great! please update with how they hold up.
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12-11-2016, 11:33 AM | #15 |
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Thanks everyone I'm SO gravely sad.. so here she sits.. salt has hit the ground and 10 degrees overthrows the midwest. I have to wait until spring to look up in the breeze and see stars.. I do have an entire season to think of new mods though When the season comes back around Ill touch up the tiny specks I've noticed flaked off the seat [you have to really look to see them].
I saw a video the other day on how to take out the door panel inlay.. we'll see.. I like the idea but the more you mod the more you have to upkeep. I will dr colorchip my road rash in the spring as well. ::cries:: I just want to drive [and people in hell want ice water.. I know I know lol] |
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04-23-2017, 12:02 PM | #16 |
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Now that the weather is warmer - update 4-23-17
We have had some 70 degree days/weeks this April and the z has been out a lot. Let me share with you the updates about the colorbond experience.
First-the mistakes 1. I had no idea these seats were so hard to come by [the sport seats]. if I did-I would have thought twice before using colorbond to paint them 2. Do not attempt this in cooler temperatures. I think in october it was 50-60 degrees when I attempted the first go around 3. I contacted the local dealer in regards to covers. 3a. they don't make seat covers for these seats 3b. if you don't paint them you have a chance to get them DYED...but it's rare to find someone to actually do it 3c. the dealer [when it was in for service] actually scratched the HELL out of my passenger seat with their fingernails and cleaning products because they had no idea I already painted the seats. It left the leather a holy unpatched mess. After contacting every upholstery shop and getting quotes from $6k - $9k [I paid 7k for the car here.. so this was outrageous] I decided that I was going to have to wait for a spring day to fix the seats. The bolsters on the drivers side were cracking anyway due to the leather loosening up. Again I cannot stress this enough-WAIT until its at least 70 degrees outside to do this. lightly sand rub down with alcahol [lightly], mask everything off in the car and you're ready to go use LIGHT passes, pass once, leave alone for 3 minutes to dry [don't forget to extend the leg base, I had forgotten about these last time] So this is what they looked like Before and after I fixed them today. The beauty of the colorbond system is that it's so easy to use.. |
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04-23-2017, 07:44 PM | #17 |
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Hi this company makes the oem leather seat covers for the sport seats , I had the same issue as you . All you need is a shop to remover the old leather covers and install the new ones . https://www.lseat.com/products/2004-...QqQaAvHx8P8HAQ
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04-23-2017, 08:53 PM | #18 | |
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04-24-2017, 09:46 AM | #19 | |
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04-24-2017, 12:54 PM | #20 | |
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I'm in ok shape now, but I'm definitely going to take a look. Thanks for posting this ap! |
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04-25-2017, 07:47 AM | #21 | |
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Maybe you should just go back on there and request another? |
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