My S70 has black leather and my problem are small white lines along cracks in the leather. The cracks are very small and you can't feel them with your hand, but you can see the white lines. What is the best way to make them black again? It's only a small part on the typical part of the drivers side bolster so I don't want to redo the whole seat.

 

Two suggestions.First is get some real good saddle soap from a shoe repair shop and clean the leather real well and see if softening it up with the saddle soap makes it look better. If not: ther same shop may have some black leather dye you can use and redye the cracked spot. Our local dealer has a guy that comes by their shop every so often and redyes worn leather seats in cars they have traded for. Hope this helps. BJ

 

Already tried conditioning it. With the dye do you need to do the whole seat or can you just do part of it? Some of those dyes say you have to sandpaper the whole seat and I really don't want to do that. The seats are in really good shape, it's just a few spots that the white lines make ugly.

 

The very few times I have used dye on leather I have just done the affected part, let it dry completely, conditioned it again and hand buffed it out. Looked fine. I suppose there is always going to be a minor color match problem with new dye on faded leather especially black, but I dont see anyway around it unless you dye the whole seat. BJ

 

Thanks, I'll look into a dye kit.

 

Check out my other post:

https://volvoforums.com/fb.asp?m=26347

These guys can make you a custom dye if you send them a sample. If you give them the color code from your car they may even have the exact color in stock. They are very good about matching, especially if you pay a little extra for a custom-matched dye. They will lighten or darken it up for you if you're not happy with it.

 

they also make this paste which is really good also

 

Do you mean the crack filler paste? I have used that and it's pretty good.

 

I use one of those leather polish lotions you can pick up at any auto car store. If for nothing else it shines off the seat a bit and gives the car a brief new scent (and semi peace of mind). I also try to minimize the time my car is parked in direct sunlight or undergoes exposure to moisture when possible.

 

Saddle soap is always good, but is primarily for cleaning only. I have always used Lexol in both cleaning and conditioning the leather and it is very good. It is the product most manufacturers use for leather, though it is a bit expensive. The with the white lines (or dark line for lighter leathers such as tan), if a general good cleaning does'nt help then you will need to re-dye the seat. I have not used the paste, this sounds interesting. Is this for sealingopen cracks ordoes it work similar to what a clay bar does for paint?

- Henry

 

If your leather is worn through or cracking, all the conditioner and cleaner in the world aren't going to make that much of a difference. Trust me. I actually gave up on trying to soften the stiff coated leather andpurchased the factory Volvo Leather Service Kit. It comes with three products: 1) cleaner 2) "lack" or"vernis"and 3) "touch-up pencil". Separately you have to order that actual colored paint that is color-coded to your leather.

Yesterday, I attempted to use it, even though it didn't come with instructions. The "Lack" and "Touch up pencil" were marked "A" and "C" so I figured that the color pencil was "B" and that's the order things go in.

Nope.

I guess you use A, then C, then the color. Lack is apparently a lacquer, but it doesn't go on top as the final protective coat. For one thing, it has a tint to it that looks like you threw up on the seat. I am not sure if I applied the products, as I said, in the correct order, but having put them all on in the order where they looked the best, it came out looking very nice.

In any case, even though it looks great I wonder, since I went off on my own, if its durable and will hold up, particularly if it gets wet (as the products are water based).

Does anyone have a set of English instructions for the kit?