The CSL Seat Saga

[NZ_M3]

That looks very very good gazzzar .... like Mark said, more info on the coating and application method. PLEASE share :thumbs:

[Alx007]

Very interesting - looks good:

I had the seats repainted too.

It looks good and matt, but the texture is softer than OEM:



Cheers,
Alex

[gazzzar]

I am glad to see that you like the result
The soft feel coating is made by ICA paints.
This is the exact paint:

http://www.icaspa.com/web/eng/prod_detail.php?ID=284

I've done it with the transparent one. It is two compound polyurethane coating/paint. (paint and catalyzer/accelerant). You have to make it 3 parts (paint, ICA's name for it is VS):1 part(accelerant, ICA's name for it is C200). One liter from the coating is enough for the front and the rear seats. It is very important first to remove entire part of the old OEM coating (it is really very hard work, because it is rubbery surface and the sandpaper becomes unusefull at a short time. If you did not remove the oem coating the new one in dry condition will be with small cracks, because of the soft base (old coating)). After this you have to spray a primer for plastic, then the the black paint (I forgot the RAL number of the paint, but the colour is up to you , it has to be a conventional acrylic (NOT WATER BASED) paint, and after the black paint is dried you have to spray the soft feel coating (spray it two or three times/hands) and after this you have to wait 48-72 hours (at a normal temperture 20-25 degrees celsius - NOT IN PAINT CAMERA AT HIGH TEMPERATURE), after this the seats will be dry and ready to put back the alcantara covering

In case you are not able to do all this process, you may send the seats to Bulgaria and we will make it for you.....of course at a reasonable price

PS: My opinion is that this coating is more durable and scratch resistant than the oem one
PPS: Sorry for my bad English, but I hope the info will helps you

[NZ_M3]

Interesting product from ICA - although it looks to me to be architectural coating system for wood? Looks good though!!

I do have one concern however, as it's not an automotive approved product - with heat and moisture, you don't know if it's going to release harmful toxins. Automotive interior coatings are environmentally friendly and tested as such and must pass stringent tests.

It also sounds very much like the Vibrance soft touch clear coating from PPG (which is automotive interior use approved):

http://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=t&rct...G4MoA77ggkbzeQ

I might go and grab some of this and get my painter to give it a go and see what it is like - as it is readily available and seem easily applied.

However I've come across another product that might actually work and is much much better suited (given it's what Audi uses) - it is made by Bayer and it seems more consistent with how the CSL seat coating is finished:

http://www.bayercoatings.de/BMS/DB-RSC/BMS_RSC_CAS.nsf/files/Broschueren/$file/MS00038520-E-Softtouch-06-08.pdf

[gazzzar]

Interesting product from ICA - although it looks to me to be architectural coating system for wood? Looks good though!!

I do have one concern however, as it's not an automotive approved product - with heat and moisture, you don't know if it's going to release harmful toxins. Automotive interior coatings are environmentally friendly and tested as such and must pass stringent tests.

The ICA coating is suitable not only for wood, but also for plastic


This company made paints especially for furniture finishing. Furniture for homes, offices, hospitals...it cannot be toxical or smth like this
There are not many finished projects with renovated csl seats, but mine is finished and I see the result - now they are looking much better, the plastics are with soft touch effect, you cannot easily scratch them, they are flat/matt black ....very similar to the OEM effect, but for me more durable and because of this for me I have obtained my wish
Other option are this paints - http://alsacorp.com/products/softtouch/softtouch.html
But for me was difficult to buy this from the states, because of the bulgarian custom regulations (the paint is flammable/toxic and I have to pay duties for it).
Other is Mankiewicz, but it is very hard to comunicate with them....
I try to connect with a bulgarian branch of Bayer, but they told me, that they are selling their products only in industrial quantities...
It is your choice Good luck

[Neil M]

Good post on the seats refurb gazzzer, but wouldn't a CF laminate backing be far more suitable and slightly more durable, than this pseudo 'Plastisol' type paint?
It's what BMW should have made the seats from in the first place, if they weren't being run by accountants.:whistle:

[ChrisCSL]

my experiences with Mankiewicz:

My body shop dealt with Mankiewicz in former times, with restoring hifi systems.
So they got in touch and asked for "Alexit 341 - 83"

They are not very helpful, but thankfully did not deny the demand completely.

Just today, the answer form Mankiewicz was: "You need 1 Liter of Alexit paint? That is possible. Just tell me what colour you need. Alexit 341-83 is only the identifikation number of the paint-series, the colour code is missing."
Because they only deliver to automotive industry, but don't know what they are exactly doing with their paint, they don't know which colour was used on CSL seats. And there are hundreds of colours available...

So I am a bit confused.
Has anybody a clue, what the right colour code is?
Or even know where to get some kind of colour chart (in the www?) to choose a colour from?

Is Nextel comparable to Alexit?
What would be the right Nextel colour? B34, B21 or S139?

http://www.nextel-coating.com/technischeinformationen/default.asp?lng=ger

@gazzzar: Any news / details of your solution with the italian paint?

sooo:
my body shop talked again to them and asked for a certain RAL Color. They mached the seats to their color card, unfortunately I don´t know the exact number. Mankiewitz is able to suppliy the paint in this color. But the minimal order quantity is 10 kilogramms. Thats better than the quote for Tom, where they said it is minimum 25kg, but also way to much. Price would be 50€ / 42 GBP per Kilo, without thinner and postage...

I think I will leave it this way and hope that somebody here will discover a good alternative solution.

Chris

[JezP]

Just had the bootfloor replaced at vines in guildford and thought i would get a quote at the same time for a brush up on the seats trim mark the main paint man there said he could fix a small crack on rear centre console and save me a lot of the price buy doing the front seats whilst in the car he uses a special protection for this around the inside of the car plus my rear seats were loose anyway so that was easy enough a couple of pics not very good quality first pic has sunlight glare at the bottom but very happy with the outcome.

[Olive]

Me again on very a old topic :thumbs:
I would like to know if there is a tuto to explain how to remove the garnish of the seat before prepare for painting and also for the ones who painted their seats, did you remove the "foam" aspect ?
It is very difficult to keep a good paint with this material.

Did you remove it ? How ?

Thanks

Olivier