C70 leather refurb
 

Been doing a bit of fettling to what was my daughter's car, but is now my little project. Surprising how a bit of leather colourant can lift an already nice interior.

That does look nice :) The secret is doing it before it gets too bad.

Hi Mark1Stu,
the leather looks stunning. Which make of colourant did you use? Did it darken the leather at all as it was worked?

My C70 has the very pale grey interior which although it is in almost unworn condition could do with being re-conditioned as the leather itself is very soft or flexible. I'd thought about working baby oil as a softener/reconditioner but don't want to risk changing the colour.

Thanks. I used a Woolies kit (I sent the centre cubby lid off so they could match it. Cost about £50 from memory. Perfect match, the colour on the worn sections matching the rest.

I was able to match the insert colour myself - which turned out to be 2 spoonfuls of silver and 1 spoonful of a beige C70 colour I had. Bit of luck that!

I ragged it on, then tabbed it by rag where it needed more. Any more than a couple of coats and you risk making the top surface too heavy and plastic looking. Less is definitely more.

Good luck! The C70 interiors need more love than the old 240 leather interiors from my experience.

Thank you so much for the info - I have to say that whilst the quality of the original leather isn't in question - it has little or no wear, finding a suitable refurbishing oil/wax/colourant etc. could be a nightmare.

The pale grey of mine looks wonderful, no cuts, wear, stitches fraying etc. but trying to make it pliable/flexible/soft is a completely different matter. A couple of upholsters have looked at the seats and door cards and have basically said, all you need to do with it is give it some TLC with baby oil!

I personally wouldn't use baby oil, not unless you like the sensation of sliding about on a slippery surface in a tart's boudoir.

I use Dr leather conditioning wipes on both the Volvo's and find they provide just the right amount of cleaning and conditioning without leaving a sticky mess.

I use Connolly Hide food on the Silver Cloud upholstery, but of course that is a different finish to modern leather and that is still supple after 53 years. Autoglym make a similar leather conditioner to Connolly, but I find that leaves a sticky mess, even though applied sparingly on the Volvo leather as it is treated - as all modern car leather is-and the conditioner cannot permeate the original surface.

Attachments showing the C70 interior and Silver Cloud interior.

I thought that might be a bit of an issue:angel_smile:

I'll try the Dr Leather as suggested - there are no stains or wear marks on the seats so the least likely to darken the leather is probably the best way to go - I did see a Wheeler Dealers programme where Mike Brewer used baby oil on some light tan seats but again it was older 70's leather so maybe tanned differently.

p.s. the sheen on the Silver Cloud's bonnet is truly magnificent!

Looks a great job. My grey seats are showing a little ageing and light creases / cracking. Drivers side rest has some scuffs. Ive seen these kits and watched the videos but been worried messing it up and making it look worse.

The Woolies kits are very good and an imitation of the original Connolly kit - that is meant as a compliment, not derogatory.

It is relatively easy to apply and difficult to mess up, so go for it, you will be pleasantly surprised. As Mark1Stu found, less is more and it is easy to apply a little more colourant, but difficult to remove.

An alternative is colourant supplied by www.dynamixdyes.com they are based in Northern Ireland and supply a water based colour matched to the Volvo upholstery colour code. I have used it on both Volvos to cover minor wear and is just dabbed on with the sponge supplied. The colour match is perfect and very, very easy to use.

If your leather is badly worn it may be best to use the Woolies kit which is more 'heavy duty' however, what you want to avoid is the 'Dowager Duchess' look who has ladled the make up on to cover the natural creases and lines.