Leather repair and paint protection

F

feersum_endjinn

Member
 London
Hi All,
I have red leather (M) seats on my Z4 coupe and a recently I noticed that the driver's side seat has quite a few scratches/scuff marks on the right side of the seat, similar to this picture but fewer marks:

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7235#p111146

I called a few BMW dealers to find out if they can repair this and am still waiting for them to call me back!

In the meantime can anyone recommend any places in London that would do this sort of repair work? Ideally I would prefer a mobile repair service. Googling didn't really bring anything up. I am thinking about buying some leather cleaner+conditioner from Halfords and doing some cleaning myself but I would really like a "professional" repair job done on the seats.

Also can anyone recommend a company that does the paint protection/paint guard thing in London? I checked with BMW and they charge £350 - £400 which seems quite expensive.

On a side note, I have not been able to find a single hand car wash company in the N1 area that also does a wax and polish. Lots of places that do hand wash and interior cleaning (£10 to £15) but no one seems to offer a valeting + wax and polish. :(

My car is parked on the street 24/7 so I am quite keen to get it waxed, polished and then have the paint protection put on it.

Thanks!
 
Not sure about the leather repair and no doubt someone will point you in the right direction. BUT as for the wax/polish the best option is to do it yourself. Good wash and preparation etc etc. Never been a fan of paint protection products a bit like Snake Oil - grab your money and not much in return. Loads of threads on here abour waxing/polishing so a search will point you in the right direction.
 
Leather cleaner won't repair scuffs - it might hide a few light ones - but you're possibly better off with a specialist and having it dyed.

As above, either DIY detail or get it done by a Pro - not a dealer!

If you were to travel, KDS Keltec get lots of positive feedback on Pistonheads, and they are in Kent - I know they can also do the leather dye.
 
Plenty of detailers if you scour the web.
They will get the car looking how it should and protect it correctly with something that works effectively.
They should also point you in the right direction of maintaining and protecting the car after treatment.
Do shop around, dont just go for the most expensive or the cheapest, check into background, insurances, how long they have been doing car preperation for etc.
Majority of the main dealer sealant/protection packages will do nothing for the car as the dealerships never do adequate prep to ensure the best comes from the protection + if your looking at taking it to the polski washes then my advice is dont spend out on a detailer or protection package as the car will be ruined within the first 2 visits as they have no common knowledge of what they are using and dont care about anything other than the car has less dirt on it.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone!

In reply to "scottbt" - any reason why you say that I shouldn't take the car to the "polski" washes? Is it because they use the wrong type of chemicals? There are so many around in London that it's just convinient to go to them! But I would be more than happy to take them to a different car wash - can you suggest what I should look out for? There's a place called "The American Car Wash Company" in London - anyone used them?

I would love to wash the car myself but living in an apartment in London means I have to park the car on the side of the road and doing any washing, cleaning, etc is just impossible. Plus I just terriefied of a white van racing down my street and knocking me down while I'm cleaning the car! :cry:

If anyone can recommend a detailer or point in the direction of where to search for them I would be very grateful!
 
The hand car washes use extremely cheap trade products that arent too protection friendly.
All will use hydra blades which scratch the paint, flunky/leathers to dry which arent to dandy on paint either and if you have ever had chance, check out there wash water :D
It looks grimier than a public loo in skegness during peak season.
Ive seen them before popping into the petrol station which they are based behind down my way and purchased a couple of bottles of fairy washing up liquid and dolloped it straight into the wash trough they use which I might add is filthy black, thats what they are wiping over your car :o


Detailers, majority will travel so its all down to whom fits the bill and budget really.
Plenty of skilled guys here but I am biased as im one of them :oops: :
http://www.dodojuice.com/dads/index.html

If nothing takes your fancy then you could try any of these:
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=59863

Do be prepared for a hefty price tag from some due to there well known names.

Personally I would go with tim from envy due to he is a fellow dodo detailer but more so is his work is excellent and he certainly has a large selection of waxes/sealants, you will be spoilt for choice.
 
As above on the Polski washes never go near one or any hand car wash or any sort of car wash but i feel your pain often i see people washing the car on the street and think sod that it is scary and i would not do it been run over myself not something you want to repeat.

You could perhaps try a detailer to do a full correction then see how much they charge for a revisit for regular washing say once a month but do not waste your money on the super guard products.

Re the Leather for after care this stuff is great has a nice natural matt finish http://www.lttleathercare.net/
 
I wanted to get some of the Gliptone Liquid Leather scuff kit but can't seem to find my leather colour. How do I find it out? Is there a code somewhere?
 
NikB said:
I wanted to get some of the Gliptone Liquid Leather scuff kit but can't seem to find my leather colour. How do I find it out? Is there a code somewhere?
Click to expand...

I couldnt get anthracite grey either for my two tone - only the imola red.
 
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