Ferrari 328 Interior Restoration Series: Part 4

This is the last post of a a multi-part series on a project I tackled to restore the interior of my 24-year-old Ferrari 328 GTS using products from Leatherique.  Throughout this series, I’ll give you some background and show you the “before” condition of the leather.  I’ll walk through the Conditioning and Cleaning process, the Re-Dying process and, finally, show the end result.

I hope this series as much fun to read as was the actual restoration work (and seeing the end result).

Part 4:  “I look really good after I dyed...”

Several months have passed since my last update.  Since then, we’ve attended a couple car shows (including the 2011 Ferrari Club of America (FCA) Meet in Savannah) and spent a lot of time traveling. 

As Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, I finally have some time to update the series on re-dying the interior of my Ferrari 328 using products from Leatherique.

Just to recap, the entire interior of the car was dirty, faded and very tired.  However, the leather was in remarkable condition (including the driver’s seat bolster—which is notorious for being extremely warn).  My goal was to restore the leather without impacting the color of the stitching.  I also wanted to restore the leather to its original color.  Referencing the Original Ferrari V8 book by Keith Bluemel, I ordered dye from Leatherique based on the color code.  When I received the dye, I noticed it was too light.  I proved this by cutting a swatch of leather from under the center tunnel (where UV fading is not an issue) that showed the leather in its original color.  I sent the swatch to Leatherique where they gladly re-tinted my dye to a perfect match. 

This photo shows the first round of dye compared to the swatch (in an inconspicuous area behind the door pocket).  

Once I got the dye color straightened out, I began prepping for the dye.  This included several applications of the Prepping Agent.  You know it is working when you see old dye appear on your white terry towel (purchased in a bundle at Lowe’s).  

Remember, the key is to break up the existing dye on the surface of the leather so the new dye will adhere.  Removing too much dye will likely remove the grain of the leather, which is part of the lure of the old Connolly leather in these classic Ferraris.  Prep with caution…once the grain of the leather is “sanded away”, it’s gone forever.

Once everything was prepped, I began the ever tedious process of cutting in around each and every stitch with a hobby brush.  This proved to be very effective and not too difficult.  It just took a steady hand, lots of patience and many evenings and weekends.  

If you look real close in some of the pictures, you’ll notice a white material on the seats.  That is the Crack Filler (insert plumber jokes here) sold by Leatherique.  It basically is a pliable, dyeable spackle-like material that lets you fill in cracks, scrapes or other imperfections in your leather and then dye it.

I have to admit I was a little skeptical using this product.  However, using toothpicks and an old credit card, I found it very easy to apply and make it look correct.  Toothpicks to apply, the credit card to run across the surface to get it level with the surface.  I followed with light (very, very light) sanding to make certain there were no bumps in the surface.  (Just like you would fill a nail hole in drywall with spackle).  This process might require several evenings to allow for adequate drying time between applications. 

Once everything was cut in, the process of “wipe dying” began.  This involved using the dye, thinned with bottled water.  Basically, “stir” the dye according to the instructions provided by Leatherique.  Pour some into a plastic container (I'd recommend only using containers from Bojangles...just have your cardiologist on speed-dial) and thin it slightly with a cap full of bottled water.  I found it also helpful to slightly dampen the white terry towel I was using for the dying process.  This allowed me to apply the dye in very thin, even coats.  Remember, too thick and you get the “Tammy Faye Bakker” look—which is not necessarily too appealing to Concours judges...unless one of your judges is Jim Bakker... 

To speed the dying process, I would use a hair dryer to dry between coats.  This allowed me to apply several coats in one sitting.  The thinner the coats, the more natural the dye looks on the surface. 

So, after the hours of cleaning and conditioning very tired, dry leather, repairing a couple minor scrapes, “cutting in” around countless stitches and applying several light coats of dye this is the end result:  

Door Pockets (one dyed, one not):

Seat Backs (one dyed, one not):

Driver's Seat (Before and After):

Here are some photos of the car being judged in Savannah.  The car didn’t win an award, but showed extremely well.  The car scored in an award range, but wasn’t the highest in its range (thus, no award).  It’s easy to feel defeated when so much time is spent bringing a car back from the dead and not winning an award.  Yet, being judged provides a “punch list” of items to address with the goal of bringing it back for another judging. 

I hope you have enjoyed reading about the re-dye process and have learned something along the way.  For this project, on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being “I’m the kind of person that rebuilds transmission in my sleep”, one being “All I do is put gas in my car”), I’d give this project a difficulty level of 4.  It’s not overly difficult, but requires patience, persistence and a keen eye for detail.   

In the upcoming months, I’ll try to keep more current with product reviews and, although there are tons of blogs that cover paint correction, maybe even walk back through the steps of prepping the paint for the FCA National Meet in Savannah.

Until then, “Keep er’ between the ditches”….