(almost) completed another Pedro DYI project

[ChrisZang]

Pedro, thanks again for your DYI pages.

I just finished covering the door arm rests and door pull cover in leather
http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site_3/Leather_Upholstering.html
I found some super thin black leather on eBay for $20 and it sure feels much nicer to have your elbow rest on soft leather instead of hard plastic

Well, I am almost finished:
When I took off the driver's side door pull cover I broke off one plastic latch Fortunately after finishing the job of covering it with leather and reattaching it, it seems to stay on fine w/o it.
So I am putting the passenger's side door pull cover on the backburner until someone can tell me if there's a trick on how to get it off w/o breaking something

Pedro, these DYI pages are great

[yellowboxster01]

A panel puller tool is one of the most useful tools your could have in your garage.

[23109VC]

get a panel puller took kit. when I bought my 987 shifter console,, I knew I'd be pulling off all sorts of interior panels, so I added a panel puller tool kit to my order...it wasn't very expensive...maybe $20'ish??? it has a whole punch of tools that are soft plastic...various shapes/sizes for slipping into cracks and prying apart panels.. it was a good investment....

my window regulator is now going bad, so I'm sure when I change that out, i'll get to use that tool kit again!

post up pics of how it turned out! my door pockets are scuffed up and I'd thought of replacing them or covering them. i'd be interested to see how the DIY turns out.

how long did it take you to do?

[Burg Boxster]

I know which one you're talking about - I broke one of mine too when I upgraded the door speakers. It'll stay on fine...mine's been for 4+ years. Anyhow, to get it off properly, you need to release the bottom part gently but don't take it all the way off. Then reach in w/ a skinny flathead screwdriver and push down to release the hidden tab underneath. Details are on page 6 of Andy_M's guide to upgrading the Boxster's sound system over on Renntech or the Boxster Wiki.

Here's a link to the thread w/ the downloadable pdf on Renntech or you can PM me w/ your email address and I'll send you a copy.

Good luck and looking forward to seeing your after pix

[ChrisZang]

Hi,

thanks for the tip, that did it :-) project finished.
As I didn't make any "before" pictures, the after pictures would look pretty much the same, (you can't capture the nice feel of leather in a pic)

Thanks again

[ChrisZang]

update: I was bored this weekend and finished the job and did also cover the center console with black leather

On a scale of 1 to 5
* armrest: 1
* door pull cover: 2
* center console: 4

It worked out fine with one small imperfection (and by now I almost have ALL the dried contact cement off my fingertips

[RandallNeighbour]

Hey Chris, I bought a whole hide of what I thought was "thin" black leather and it's actually kinda thick for interior recladding.

Do you remember the eBay seller you bought it from?

[ChrisZang]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

Hey Chris, I bought a whole hide of what I thought was "thin" black leather and it's actually kinda thick for interior recladding.

Do you remember the eBay seller you bought it from?

Will check old e-mails when back home, I remember that this seller actually was specializing in leather for making shoe strings, maybe that will help you finding him.
The leather I got was super-thin (maybe 2/10 of an inch) and super-soft.

[23109VC]

i'd like to see the center console in leather... my car is having the center console painted as i type this...so I won't be doing the leather console, but I'd like to see how that turns out!

I am planning on doing my door pocket lids in leather... i've seen teh Pedro DIY page and it doesn't look very hard at all...

the only "hard" part would be finding leather that looks right. i have a full leather interior, so I'd need to find somethign that is thin enough to use/cover with , but also looks similar in color/texture to the OEM stuff...

maybe a store like "Joanne's" those fabric stores - maybe they have a leather section wehre you can see/feel it before you buy it and get something suitable???

[ChrisZang]

Pictures won't do the project any justice. The console was dark plastic before and now it's covered with black leather. In pictures you can hardly tell the difference.
However the touch and feel of leather vs. plastic that's where you appreciate the job

Here is my "lessons learned" from the center console project (the arm rest and the door pull cover are simple in comparison)
a) you have to do it in steps, one area at a time. I worked my way from the passenger side of the console over to the driver's side.
In hindsight I should have started in the middle and worked my way down on both sides.

b) the console is very complex with many openings (duh). I wanted to make my work easier by already pre-cutting some of the openings after very carefully determining where the holes would go.
What I failed to include in my calculations is how much you must stretch the leather to fit perfectly, so it happened that one of my pre-cut openings (the one for the ash-tray) was a little too large and I could no longer stretch the lather hard enough to fit perfectly, that's where the imperfection came from and now I have a few very small ripples between the ash-tray and the shifter, nobody else will even notice, but it's not perfect
So my advise is NOT to precut any holes and to use an exacto knife (instead of scissors), it cuts through the leather like butter and makes the job so much easier compared to using scissors.

[Lobo1186]

well either way pics are nice! im sure they would be fine! also some here mentioned a panel puller does anyone have a link to a good kit? or any recomendations.?

[ChrisZang]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

Hey Chris, I bought a whole hide of what I thought was "thin" black leather and it's actually kinda thick for interior recladding.

Do you remember the eBay seller you bought it from?

Hi Randall,

the seller was "bobkitchener"
Dangerous Threads
73 White Bridge Rd Suite 333
Nashville, TN 37205

I just measured my leather and its 0.8 mm which - if my math is right - is 1/32"

Good luck

[ChrisZang]

Originally Posted by Lobo1186

well either way pics are nice! im sure they would be fine! also some here mentioned a panel puller does anyone have a link to a good kit? or any recomendations.?

I don't think you need a panel puller
Ok, if the sun is out this weekend I'll take a few pics

[Lobo1186]

to be honest im pretty excited since i have been considering such things! heres a preemptive thanks!

[ppbon]

... Tandy Leather Store.
Google and find a location near you.
They have an outstanding variety of hides in all colors, and grades.
If you get the garment-quality, that's very thin and easy to work with because it stretches quite a bit.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

[ChrisZang]

nice day today, top down weather
so I quickly snapped a pic during my lunch break

[S3adrag0n]

Nice job! Well done...