How Can I Cover Up the Scars on My Leather Car Seats?

Routine maintenance on your leather seats can ensure they remain in good condition.

Leather car seats add a dash of class to your vehicle while they provide comfort. Unlike cloth seats, though, leather can start to scar over time. The repeated use of the seats in the car can leave black marks and cracks on your seat. That doesn't mean that you need to replace your seats when these scars appear, though. With a little work, you can repair the scarring on the fabric and keep the seats looking brand new.

Things You'll Need

• Pillow
• Cloth
• Gloves
• Cyanoacrylate glue, such as Super Glue
• Leather repair kit
• Sponges

Instructions

1. Open your car door and set down a pillow in front of the door to rest your knees on (you will be leaning into your car for a while). Do not sit on the leather seats as you try to repair them.

2. Clean the leather using a sturdy piece of cloth. Remove any dust or dirt from the surface of the leather that may interfere with the repairing process.

3. Don a pair of gloves to protect your hands from the leather repair compounds you will use. Some of the solutions you use to repair the seats will dye your hands, and wearing gloves will help prevent this.

4. Pull back the seat belt and secure it to the back door. The leather repair compounds you use for the seats may dye some unsightly splotches onto the seat belt.

5. Glue any large cracks in the leather together using transparent cyanoacrylate glue. Lay weight on top of these glued sections to ensure they stick together until the glue binds them thoroughly.

6. Dampen a sponge with light filler from your leather repair kit. Start at the top of the car seat and work downward. Spread the light filler over the surface of the leather to help make the cracks and scarring less apparent on the seats. Leave the light filler to fully dry before you do anything else to the seats.

7. Fill larger cracks and scars in the leather seats with leather repair compound. Most of these cracks will be on the low part of the seat because that is where your body applies the most pressure when you sit in it.

8. Apply leather colorant to the seat with a sponge once the leather repair compound dries. The colorant should match the color of your seat, effectively covering some of the scuffs and cracks on your seats.

References

• Furniture Clinic: How To Restore Leather
• Driver Side: How To Save Money On Fixing Car Leather