Leather Seat Recovering?

[m3f_MMMMMM 3]

My driver's seat is starting to show major signs of wear (the light dove grey interior doesn't hide much). The rest of the seats look great.



Has anyone ever had their seats recovered?

Can new seat leather be ordered from BMW or a 3rd party company?

[m3f_porschetec_4d0a5fb1fc]

i know that feeling. i have magma interior and it cannot be matched because of the marble effect in the dye. so i have no choice but to buy replacement leather pieces from bmw. not cheap. gonna cost well over $1,000 in leather

[m3f_vqman]

My seats are in great shape, I'm considering pulling them out and saving them...and using some ricey racing seats in the meantime...

[m3f_deilenberg_6310b1785a]

i know that feeling. i have magma interior and it cannot be matched because of the marble effect in the dye. so i have no choice but to buy replacement leather pieces from bmw. not cheap. gonna cost well over $1,000 in leather



Ditto on the Magma - IMHO - it sucks. It is fragile - scratches easily, can't be refinished and is Dog awful expensive to replace.



I'm thinking along the lines of:



http://www.leatherseats.com/



Take a look at the "Gallary" - the 3000GT two-tone would be nice with a dark tan in the center, black on the outer parts.



They have patterns for several BMW E36 interiors - no Vaders - yet (if enough people ask them..)



They want $650 for front/back for my '98 convertible. Sounds quite reasonable to me - then I just dye the inserts in the door panels and rear panel to match (Fern green, with black/magma interior.)

[m3f_porschetec_4d0a5fb1fc]

nice selection............but i'd rather stick to the factory look. would love to get my hands on m3 evo interior from europe. black with red centre's would be nice.

[m3f_AMPowerJ_e8f979e5cd]

I am staring the same problem in the face everyday. I was thinking about recovering everything in alcantra or some alcantra/leather combo. I really don't want to drop over a $1000 into my interior when that can go towards FI or some other performance mod.

[m3f_porschetec_4d0a5fb1fc]

I am staring the same problem in the face everyday. I was thinking about recovering everything in alcantra or some alcantra/leather combo. I really don't want to drop over a $1000 into my interior when that can go towards FI or some other performance mod.

you know it would be worth it...........having nice new seats again

[m3f_m3bez]

Check out http://www.leatherique.com they seem to have a good system. I used their leather rejuvinator on my dove gray, didn't hide the natural wear (surface cracks) but sure softened them up. Also gives them a nice semi mat finish and the interior that new leather smell.

[m3f_e36_m3_Turbo]

Hmm Evo m3 leather would be nice if i could get it in blue and black.

[m3f_bigneil_f35a8c7058]

I replaced my front seats with Vaders and it's been great, except I still can't get the SRS light to go out (needs latch sensor or something). But my back seat had dry patches and finally cracked last week. It's from water getting in the vent rear windows (coupe).

[m3f_luckym313]

I have always wanted to try that leatherique stuff, I always here about it. I have not had great experiences with leather treatment/dye in the past.

[m3f_bartolome1_2ee8ae1536]

If it were me I would find a reputable upholstery shop in town and see if they can replace the worn pieces of leather . If they don't have a matching source for Magma then they could probably refer you to a shop that specializes in leather.



I went through this exercise when I had some "ricey" Sparco Torino II's reupholstered in Modena.



The cost of the leather and labor was around 600-700.



http://www.methodair.com/gallery/image-cache/Motorsports/My_Vehicles/E36/Seats/modena_sparcos12_disp800.jpg

[m3f_racer_boy76]

Yeah like ^ he said. Find an interior shop and replace the pieces that are bad. I asked someone who owns a shop myself about replacing the drivers side seat bolster leather and foam and then dying some of the passenger side seat and it was going to be about $500. Sounds expensive I know. He said they do bmw's all the time. I guess it's expensive since they have to take the whole leather off the seat and fix the bad pieces. Sounds complicated to me, but maybe not others.

[m3f_salty_80d4b8491b]

What I would love is a Euro cloth interior with decent side bolsters in the front. Did the sedans ever come with such seats in Europe? Cloth is the superior interior material IMHO.

[m3f_tjspigweed]

Try a master shoe repairman. They will clean, sand, paint, and condition seat with cover in place...great for smooth surface leathers like the dove grey or black...won't work for soft porous leathers or suede. Smoother surface on seats is actually paint. Shoe/leather paints are available in all colors.



Don't tackle removing or replacing seat covers yourself....there are tons of fastening rings that have to be cut and replaced with a special tool