[LakeSurfer]

I cleaned and conditioned the leather in my E93 M3 this weekend and found a few spots of wear specifically on the steering wheel and the shifter knob that id like to diy correct and I also wanted to flex on my custom hand laid "forged" carbon console.

Has anyone attempted to re stain/paint worn out leather in their black interiors and if so would you mind sharing your experiences and products?

I appreciate it.

-Mark

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Lubrication is key to polishing your knob. Use Leatherique. Slather it on your knob and park in the sun for a day. It'll get steamy hot in there, but you need that to soften your knob and let the Leatherique penetrate it. At the end of the day, you'll have made quite a mess and need to clean up. Get a microfiber towel, put Prestine Clean on it, and clean the goo off your knob. After getting hot and wet all day, it should now be clean and feel soft. If it's still stiff you'll need to polish it again.

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

Lubrication is key to polishing your knob. Use Leatherique. Slather it on your knob and park in the sun for a day. It'll get steamy hot in there, but you need that to soften your knob and let the Leatherique penetrate it. At the end of the day, you'll have made quite a mess and need to clean up. Get a microfiber towel, put Prestine Clean on it, and clean the goo off your knob. After getting hot and wet all day, it should now be clean and feel soft. If it's still stiff you'll need to polish it again.

Bravo!

[LakeSurfer]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

Lubrication is key to polishing your knob. Use Leatherique. Slather it on your knob and park in the sun for a day. It'll get steamy hot in there, but you need that to soften your knob and let the Leatherique penetrate it. At the end of the day, you'll have made quite a mess and need to clean up. Get a microfiber towel, put Prestine Clean on it, and clean the goo off your knob. After getting hot and wet all day, it should now be clean and feel soft. If it's still stiff you'll need to polish it again.

I actually cleaned and conditioned it yesterday not with Leatherique though and after all the gunk and grease was removed you can see the finish has been slowly worn off. The leather feels great, its soft and smooth now, looks worse in person.

[LakeSurfer]

My wheel got the same treatment, conditioned and cleaned. Its always been a little funky but is getting worse.

From what I understand BMW sort of paints opposed to dyeing the leather, we;; I guess its sort of both, ot gets dyed a base color and than "painted" but I could be wrong either way its all clean and the Top coat is wearing off.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Originally Posted by LakeSurfer

My wheel got the same treatment, conditioned and cleaned. Its always been a little funky but is getting worse.

From what I understand BMW sort of paints opposed to dyeing the leather, we;; I guess its sort of both, ot gets dyed a base color and than "painted" but I could be wrong either way its all clean and the Top coat is wearing off.

Same has happened to the top of my leather wheel, too. I plan on rewrapping it.

[LakeSurfer]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

Same has happened to the top of my leather wheel, too. I plan on rewrapping it.

I would re wrap it but I cannot find anyone who sells the leather for my steering wheel version. Yeah I could just pickup a non electronic performance wheel covering but i would not be able to get the cutouts for the shift lights and the center display to look proper i'm sure. I would LOVE to get rid of that Alcantara though, that crap is garbage on a street car. it takes about a week after cleaning it to get dirty and then it becomes super slippery.

[freakystyly]

It's tough to re-dye high touch areas, especially if you're planning on driving the next day. Best bet would be to pick a long weekend you can park it and sponge on a few layers to let dry and cure over a long period of time. Texture would be hardest to match.. I'm not sure, but is the wheel supposed to be that glossy?

There's one or two threads on here about re-dying whole interiors, the people may even still be active on the forum.

[Efthreeoh]

There are places you can go to have that service done. I'm sure you'd be happy with it at the end.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Originally Posted by LakeSurfer

I would re wrap it but I cannot find anyone who sells the leather for my steering wheel version. Yeah I could just pickup a non electronic performance wheel covering but i would not be able to get the cutouts for the shift lights and the center display to look proper i'm sure. I would LOVE to get rid of that Alcantara though, that crap is garbage on a street car. it takes about a week after cleaning it to get dirty and then it becomes super slippery.

Send an email to Dallas Custom Wheel. They specialize in rewraps. Their website is mega old but their business is very alive and kicking.

dallascustomsw@yahoo.com

[LakeSurfer]

Originally Posted by freakystyly

It's tough to re-dye high touch areas, especially if you're planning on driving the next day. Best bet would be to pick a long weekend you can park it and sponge on a few layers to let dry and cure over a long period of time. Texture would be hardest to match.. I'm not sure, but is the wheel supposed to be that glossy?

There's one or two threads on here about re-dying whole interiors, the people may even still be active on the forum.

yeah, its actually just the wheel and the shiftier so I would re dye all of it and not just the worn out spots to avoid mis match.

The gloss is from the conditioner I put on it. your supposed to put it on thick(ish) and let it soak in.

[LakeSurfer]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

Send an email to Dallas Custom Wheel. They specialize in rewraps. Their website is mega old but their business is very alive and kicking.

dallascustomsw@yahoo.com

Id like to do it myself if possible. the time and cost to send it out in my eyes wouldn't be worth it as I would just pick up a used wheel from ebay minus the electronics. Id actually prefer to get rid of the electronic wheel. it looks very 80's when its all lit up and running and I only use it when Im showing it off and its really not that cool to show off in the first place.

[tcphoto]

Colby wheels is great source, they offer refurbished wheels and I’m sure that someone would be interested in purchasing the wheel.

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by LakeSurfer

I cleaned and conditioned the leather in my E93 M3 this weekend and found a few spots of wear specifically on the steering wheel and the shifter knob that id like to diy correct and I also wanted to flex on my custom hand laid "forged" carbon console.

Has anyone attempted to re stain/paint worn out leather in their black interiors and if so would you mind sharing your experiences and products?

I appreciate it.

-Mark

Nice carbon job! Mind sharing a few more pics?

[mecheng77]

Lol

[Gold333]

The best investments I made on my E92 M was a brand new shifter knob from BMW and a wrapped wheel from ebay and a brand new handbrake and cowel, and LUX angel eyes white headlight leds, and new doorsill slats. They are cheaper than you think.

Also new turn signals and new wheel logos and a machine polish overall.

Alpine white E92 looks brand new. The car is a timeless design as it is.

For those intent on restoring leather, products from Swissvax are the goto brand in Europe for Concours d’elegance type competitions. The cleaner, milk and glaze have no rival in my experience when it comes to leather restoration.

[colorado.e9x]

I personally recommend the spit and lather technique. Makes it come out great every time

[LakeSurfer]

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

Nice carbon job! Mind sharing a few more pics?

For sure. It was/is a long process but worth it in the end. It's certainly not for everyone but for now it's still new and relatively exclusive to super cars so it has that going for it. Lol.

[tlow98]

Is it a wrap?

[LakeSurfer]

Originally Posted by tlow98

Is it a wrap?

The carbon? No it's real carbon fiber. I hand made the prices, well I "skinned" the oem parts with chopped carbon strands.

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by LakeSurfer

For sure. It was/is a long process but worth it in the end. It's certainly not for everyone but for now it's still new and relatively exclusive to super cars so it has that going for it. Lol.

Amazing work! Looks really really good.

Did you have any fitment issues? I'm assuming layering on top of previous trim and then resin coating increases the dimensions slightly.

[LakeSurfer]

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

Amazing work! Looks really really good.

Did you have any fitment issues? I'm assuming layering on top of previous trim and then resin coating increases the dimensions slightly.

Thanks I appreciate it.

I vacuum bagged the parts so the layers on top are very thin. The center console was leather so I took it all off and adding the carbon probably made it close to OEM thickness.