Painting car leather: do-it-yourself restoration of the steering wheel, seats and interior

A car is one of the best assistants ever created by man. A car helps people out in various life situations: transporting things, going on vacation or visiting, getting to work and home comfortably. Many people spend most of the day here: first, standing in numerous traffic jams, then going to a meeting or lunch, and finally, returning home in the evening.

As a result of active use, interior elements wear out: scratches on plastic panels, cuts or abrasions on leather products, etc. But even the most careful handling will not save the car interior from the negative effects of external factors. Detergents actively used in modern dry cleaners negatively affect the surface of the leather interior. Thus, the cars of drivers who abuse such services lose their decent interior appearance over time.

In the struggle for the ideal condition of the interior, car owners resort to various methods. Firstly, you can purchase individual interior elements: panels, door inserts, covers. Secondly, you can update the appearance by changing, or rather, reupholstering all or several seats. In this case, when ordering updates to individual elements, there is a high probability that they will not be able to choose an identical color for you and will reupholster it with leather of a different shade. In addition, both of these methods are quite expensive. Painting the car's leather is more affordable and attractive for car owners.

Restoring and painting leather car seats: important advantages

Modern technologies and the professionalism of our craftsmen prove that it is possible to eliminate absolutely any defect in a leather interior without leaving a trace of past damage on the surface. Painting car leather has a number of advantages:

This service is very convenient for those who decide to update only certain elements of the interior. It allows you to completely preserve the original color of the interior. The paint tone is carefully selected so that it completely blends with the remaining details. Thus, there will be no difference between the remaining and updated elements;
The service is provided quite quickly. Complete painting of the leather interior will take no more than 3 days. For comparison, making covers and reupholstering will take you at least 2 weeks;
Painting a car's leather makes it possible to completely update the appearance of the interior by radically changing its color. A dense layer of new paint is applied perfectly evenly, so that not the slightest reminder remains of the old seats;
the whole process is carried out very carefully, using the latest materials, allowing 100% preservation of the texture of the leather;
painting leather is a relatively economical procedure, although the quality of the painted interior is in no way inferior to the interior of new cars.

Why choose painting?

Painting the interior of a car is convenient, at least because you don’t need to disassemble the interior to repair it. In addition, all repairs are carried out with your own hands.

In a general sense, this repair method has the following advantages:

The original appearance of the interior will be completely preserved, since only individual elements can be repaired, and the paint for their repair is selected according to color;
One of the most economical options;
A fairly short period of time for completing all work.

Defects in leather seats and interior

Quite a lot of car interior elements today are made of leather. It covers the steering wheel, front panel, seats, and side trim. Defects can occur in a variety of ways: a dropped cigarette, skin scratched by animals, accidentally cut by some transported item. The most common defect is abrasions. It is quite obvious that wear and tear on seats is an inevitable process, since they are subjected to too frequent loads. In this case, you have two options: restoration or painting the interior.

Often small cracks or cuts form on the surface of the skin. Small cracks actually exist for a long time unnoticed. Then at a certain point they become visible. There is a stereotype that with this type of defect, the only correct solution is to reupholster leather products. Although today a less expensive method has been developed - treatment with polymer compounds that must match in color.

Large tears and deep cuts are much more difficult to repair, both at the initial stages and at the final stage - painting the car's leather. But even here it is not at all necessary to resort to reupholstering the interior or replacing individual elements. Modern technologies today make it possible to disguise even burns in the cabin. It is enough to carry out high-quality repairs, carefully paint the surface, and not a trace will remain of the previous flaws.

Classification of skin lesions

It is customary to decorate many interiors of modern cars with leather. This gives solidity, presentability and beauty. You can cover the steering wheel, armrests, headrests, seats and side trim. There are many reasons for leather wear and damage:

Attrition. The most common damage, because a person spends a lot of time in the salon. In the car you can wait, negotiate, communicate and even do “adult” things. You can completely reupholster the interior and replace the trim. But paint is the simplest solution.
Gusts and cuts of considerable depth. This is the most complex type of defect. It’s a bit difficult to fix without changing the casing – that’s what many people think. But a good master is able to carry out repairs before painting so that the defects become completely invisible.
Small cracks and unnoticeable cuts. Such shortcomings are formed over time and are completely invisible at first. Modern polymer products can disguise many of them without changing the interior trim.

Necessary paint and tools for repair

Minor defects on the leather seat coverings can be removed yourself. To do this you will need the following accessories:

paint or a set of paints (beige, brown, white, black shades);
tweezers;
a set of small spatulas;
cooling pads;
reinforcing mesh;
thermal iron;
Teflon gasket;
airbrush

The result and durability of the painted surface of a leather interior primarily depend on the quality of the materials used. Acrylic paints are widely popular today. Such paints are perfect for both leather, vinyl and plastic interior parts. Such products are highly elastic, do not crack or peel over time, and are easy to apply and subsequent use.

You can choose a paste or creamy composition. These products are applied using a brush. To obtain a bright, rich color, paint must be applied in 2-3 layers, with the obligatory drying of each of them. Drying time for leather paint is approximately 1 hour. Defects that arise during the work can be removed with a solvent or masked with special wax compounds for furniture.

Tips for prolonging color results

Using interior paint gives excellent results. The integrity of leather parts is restored, the material becomes soft, elastic, and the effect of shrinkage and roughening of the skin is eliminated. The original color returns, or the interior completely changes its shade.

To preserve the results for a long time and avoid over-upholstering the sheathing, you must follow important tips. You should not carry animals or objects that tear or scratch the skin in your car, and do not use aggressive chemicals when washing. It is advisable to have a cover on the driver's seat to protect the upholstery during intensive use. Following the rules will allow you to enjoy the attractiveness of your car’s interior for up to 5–7 years without disappointment.

Do-it-yourself restoration of a leather car interior

Painting the leather interior of a car is a rather labor-intensive process.
But it is not at all necessary to contact a car dealership to provide this type of service. It is enough to familiarize yourself with a little information on how to paint a leather interior, purchase the necessary materials and master all the intricacies of paint application techniques. In this case, painting the leather interior will be a very economical, fast, and most importantly, effective procedure. The work begins with a thorough cleaning of the interior, preferably using special neutral cleaning agents that do not harm the surface. If necessary, defects will have to be repaired, which takes place in several stages. First you need to trim the edges of the leather tears at an angle for better adhesion to the composition. Next, stick a reinforced backing on the inside, then fill the cavity with a special compound that forms a new layer of skin. And at the end you need to recreate a copy of the texture using the applicator.

By this time, you should have selected a paint that absolutely matches the color of the interior leather. After all the procedures performed, the surface of the leather interior must be degreased, thereby ensuring better adhesion of the paint to the surface. Isolate the interior elements that you do not intend to paint, and begin applying the selected material.

If you purchased paint in an aerosol can, the painting process is greatly simplified. It is recommended to spray the composition at a distance of 15-20 cm from the surface. The spray head of the can should move quickly, leaving an even new coat of paint on the surface.

This paint, paste-like or creamy, must be applied in several layers. Drying time for spray paint is about 15 minutes. After the first layer has thoroughly dried, you can apply the second. After applying the last layer, the car must be thoroughly dried for several hours. After drying, you can use a solvent to remove minor paint defects: sagging, smudges.

Step-by-step instructions on how to paint car interior parts

Repairing worn holes and various scratches is carried out in a certain sequence to ensure the highest quality result:

First of all, you need to degrease the skin around the hole and remove dirt using a special product that can be purchased at car markets or in specialized stores. To ensure uniform application of paint and prevent the appearance of streaks, areas adjacent to the damage should also be treated;
the protruding edges of a hole or scratch are trimmed to avoid sloppiness;
the area to be repaired is treated with fine sandpaper;
A reinforcing mesh is inserted into the hole, after which the space is filled with a special material, like liquid leather. Thanks to the reinforcing mesh, the substance will not be able to penetrate into the seat or fall out;
Powder is applied to the mesh, which turns into glue under high temperature. To do this, you should first select the optimal temperature for the heat iron so as not to completely ruin the upholstery;
the working area is covered with a Teflon pad, after which an iron is passed over it several times, ensuring the material adheres. Next, cooling bags are placed on the treated surface, smoothing and quickly cooling it;
remove the gasket and remove the mold, after which it is filled with bigel - a special viscous agent, and heat treatment is again carried out using an iron and a Teflon gasket. Next, apply a cooling bag so that the composition cools down and acquires the consistency of leather;
while the bead is cooling, an impression is made from an undamaged area of skin by application, which allows not only to repair the hole, but also to achieve a very realistic pattern that masks the repaired area;
Next, select a color that matches the color of the upholstery and paint the area to be repaired using an airbrush.

Results of restoration and painting of leather interior

The quality of painting a leather interior is determined at every stage. Therefore, we advise you to clean the interior and degrease the leather as thoroughly as possible. Modern materials will help refresh the appearance of the interior, while simultaneously preparing the car for seasonal changes. Today we have the opportunity to purchase paints that adapt the material to low temperatures, making the skin softer and more elastic. In addition, the materials contain moisturizing components that can prevent the leather surface from drying out in the summer, increasing the service life of seats and other elements.

The main results of painting a leather interior are:

softer and more elastic surface;
restoration of performance characteristics by restoring surface integrity;
elimination of deformations of the source material (shrinkage, roughening of the leather surface);
restoration of color and effects (mother of pearl, silver, gold).

Leather painting is a very responsible process that requires a high level of professionalism from the craftsman. Regardless of the scope of work - complete painting of the car's leather or its individual parts, a person must master the situation and be sufficiently knowledgeable in modern technologies for working with paints. Leather does not tolerate smudges, and it is more sensitive to the application of several layers of paint than body paint.

Unevenly applied paint can ruin the entire interior. Fixing a mistake is much more difficult than redoing the entire process. Therefore, we advise you to contact only trusted specialists with a good reputation.