Tomikaze's 2004 Boxster S

[Tomikaze]

Haven't updated this in a while so here's what I've been up to. Attempted to DIY. Spent hours on sanding and prepping. Time consuming but no issues. Laid down several layers of good primer. No issues. Paint was a disaster. I'm picky so fish eyes and runs in the paint wouldn't fly. Sand back down. Prime and try again. I ended up spending enough on paint that it would have cost me the same to bring it to a body shop in the first place. Lesson here is if you have metallic paint this can't be professionally done with a rattle can. Bring it to a body shop. $200 later I had this and it was perfect...

[Tomikaze]

Finished off the painted console with the GT3 console delete kit.

[Starter986]

Originally Posted by Tomikaze

Finished off the painted console with the GT3 console delete kit.

Looks clean with the delete.

[Tomikaze]

Added a hardtop this summer and never removed it once. I drove around trying to convince myself I was driving a Cayman. Actually just like the look and the fact you don't see many Boxster Hardtops.

[Tomikaze]

While the car was in storage this winter I took the seats and seat belts out. Should have taken some before photos but I didn't. My graphite gray leather wasn't too bad. The drivers seat bolster had signs of wear. No cracks in the leather itself but cracks in the dye covering it. So do I risk dyeing the entire seat so it all matches or just that bolster? Will it fill the cracks? Will it look OK? Pondered these questions for a while and then settled on Color Plus. Explained the seat wasn't too bad and made some suggestions for me. Anyone with Graphite Gray knows these seats show the dirt pretty easy. First step was a citrus based cleaned that was SUPER concentrated. Did a great job cleaning the leather. They actually looked a shade brighter after this step. Next was the conditioner. Then the dye. Started on the inter portion of the seat bottom so in case it looked horrible I would stop. To my surprise... one light coat of this dye and IT LOOKED NEW. Had it color matched to a piece of leather off my dash so the dye actually brightened up the seat and I swear it looks like factory fresh leather now. The photos don't do justice. Ended up doing the entire seat. It blends very nice. No swirl marks. I put it on with a micro fiber cloth. The one bolster that had wear looked almost perfect just wiping one light coat of dye over it. Very happy I took the plunge. The seat on the left is the finished seat. The one on the right is untouched. Last step is to rub it down with a microfiber cloth and it will remove some of the sheen. haven't done that yet. You can see the right seat is a shade or two yellower (dirtier)

[grc0456]

Originally Posted by Tomikaze

While the car was in storage this winter I took the seats and seat belts out. Should have taken some before photos but I didn't. My graphite gray leather wasn't too bad. The drivers seat bolster had signs of wear. No cracks in the leather itself but cracks in the dye covering it. So do I risk dyeing the entire seat so it all matches or just that bolster? Will it fill the cracks? Will it look OK? Pondered these questions for a while and then settled on Color Plus. Explained the seat wasn't too bad and made some suggestions for me. Anyone with Graphite Gray knows these seats show the dirt pretty easy. First step was a citrus based cleaned that was SUPER concentrated. Did a great job cleaning the leather. They actually looked a shade brighter after this step. Next was the conditioner. Then the dye. Started on the inter portion of the seat bottom so in case it looked horrible I would stop. To my surprise... one light coat of this dye and IT LOOKED NEW. Had it color matched to a piece of leather off my dash so the dye actually brightened up the seat and I swear it looks like factory fresh leather now. The photos don't do justice. Ended up doing the entire seat. It blends very nice. No swirl marks. I put it on with a micro fiber cloth. The one bolster that had wear looked almost perfect just wiping one light coat of dye over it. Very happy I took the plunge. The seat on the left is the finished seat. The one on the right is untouched. Last step is to rub it down with a microfiber cloth and it will remove some of the sheen. haven't done that yet. You can see the right seat is a shade or two yellower (dirtier)

Looks great! I also used the Color-Plus products on my ‘03 with great results. I had previously used a competitor’s products, which looked great initially, but didn’t hold up. The key to the Color-Plus (beyond following the instructions faithfully) is the conditioner - apply it liberally, let soak overnight, and dry thoroughly before applying colorant.


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[Tomikaze]

$75 a belt from SafetyRestore.com. Very happy with the results.