<E30> Interior Rehabilitation (Long)

[Bob.Fluharty@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Bob Fluharty)]

        Sharp-eyed digestors may recognize my name as the guy who asks all 
     the questions about seats, seat parts, seat struts, seat replacement, 
     etc. After all this research and consideration of options, I've 
     finally rehabbed my interior. For what it's worth, here's the story.
     
        I have an '87 325is with the sport seats in burgundy (cardinal) 
     leather. I love these seats as far as function and comfort, but 
     several problems had developed. The door-side bolsters were worn and 
     cracked - on the driver's seat they were worn clear through. The rear 
     seat was faded and scratched up by the previous owner's dog. The 
     adjusting mechanisms inside the seats had lost their "push" and become 
     balky. The vinyl parts (door and rear side panels), which presumably 
     matched in color when new, had aged differently and picked up an 
     orange tint which didn't look good at all with the burgundy. On top of 
     all this, I don't like to sit on leather. I like the way it looks and 
     the way it smells, but not the feel of it, especially in summer.
        So I started weighing options. A local upholsterer with a good rep 
     gave me a ballpark figure of $2500-$3000 for a complete cloth interior 
     - way over budget. I considered keeping the leather on the bolsters, 
     but replacing the center seating area with a coordinating fabric. I 
     asked on this digest, the parts digest, and the major salvage yards if 
     anyone could sell me left-side bolsters, or just the leather 
     coverings, but got no offers. I looked into  the feasibility of 
     redying. 
     
        Eventually, this is what I did:
     I took the front seats out, cleaned the crap from the mechanical parts 
     (dog hair, lint, and solidified grease), and relubed. I removed the four 
     gas-pressurized struts from each seat. There are two for the backrest 
     adjustment and two stronger ones for the vertical adjustment. All eight 
     were worn out; however, I realized that the worn vertical struts were 
     still strong enough to do the backrest.(They're all the same length; 
     diameter varies slightly.) So I only had to replace the vertical struts. 
     I called around but couldn't beat the BMW Store/Cincinnati friendly CCA 
     price of $39/each. 
        Next step was to redye everything which wasn't being replaced. I 
     used a product called Nu-Life, which is made by Kiwi and sold at the 
     bigger shoe-repair shops. Their color #622-maroon is a near-perfect 
     match for my original burgundy. First you clean with their nasty 
     solvent, then you treat with Lexol (skip this step for vinyl), then 
     you spray on the dye in several light coats. The cleaner and the dye 
     both require good ventilation.
        I dyed: the back seat top and bottom, the front seat headrests, the 
     leather-covered hard shell front seatbacks, the door panels, and the 
     rear interior side panels. Everything but the rear panels I removed 
     from the car. While the door panels were off, I went ahead and 
     cleaned/relubed the latches/locks/window mechanisms.
        The results were great. It was easier than I feared to get an even 
     finish. The dog scratches almost (not quite) disappeared. The color 
     is perfect and everything matches, with a nice satiny look. I don't 
     know how well it will hold up in the long run, but for now, I'm very 
     satisfied. Cost of cleaner and 3 spray cans of dye - about $20.
        Next, back to the upholsterer, but now for just the front seats. I 
     chose a low-nap, abrasion-resistant burgundy fabric (matching the dyed 
     parts) for the bolster cushions, and a burgundy and gray plaid for the 
     center sections. Labor and material cost - $1100. (Sidebar: I had 
     several lower cost estimates; one was about half this. But so many 
     people in this field struck me as flakey, and I've heard some horror 
     stories. I finally decided to go with the firm that had a good rep and 
     seemed professional. I'm not sorry - quality of the work was 
     excellent, and it was completed in 2 days.)
        While the seats were out, I shampooed the carpet and the 
     headliner, and cleaned and treated with Back-to-Black the console and 
     the plastic door parts.
     
        It's all back together now, and it looks fantastic - worth the 
     money, worth the hassle. The plaid livens up an otherwise pretty plain 
     interior  -  now I'm playing with the idea of using some leftover fabric 
     elsewhere in the cabin (shift boot?). I was slightly concerned that the 
     front seats in fabric would look out of place. I don't find this to be 
     the case at all - probably because the color match is so good. All in 
     all, a very rewarding project  -  I recommend it.
     
        Sorry for the length - I actually tried to keep this short. If 
     anyone wants more detail about any aspect, feel free to email.
     
     Bob Fluharty        '87 325is              Cincinnati OH

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End of bmw-digest V9 #541
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